Thursday, January 8, 2015

Throwback Thursday #3: Israel

In June, 2012 I went on a trip to Israel to see my cousins there. There were also lots of birds there, many which were hard to identify. Vultures and hawks were frequently seen. I also marveled at the Palestinian Sunbirds. They are basically the Old Word equivalent of hummingbirds. Other birds I saw included Laughing Dove (they really sound like they're laughing), White Stork, White-Throated Kingfisher, Eurasian Kestrel, Common Swift and Spur Winged Lapwing just to name a few. Familiar birds from the United States were also around. such as Barn Swallow and Black-Crowned Night Heron. I also got to see wild(!) Rock Pigeons for the first time. One of the weirdest experiences was looking at a cage filled with Monk Parakeets at a zoo, and then looking above me to see a whole colony of this invasive species! Speaking of invasive species, I also saw a Neutria (beaver-rat) in Israel too.  Birding was fun there!

Other Birds:
Willow Warbler (heard)
Great Tit
Hooded Crow
Tern sp.
Gull sp.
White-Throated Kingfisher
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Great Egret

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