This was it!

My glorious adventure in Israel has ended! Back to the confrontating truth!

It feels so weird to be back home now, waking up, without hearing any singing Bulbuls or Laughing Doves, yes I miss Israel already.. But hey, it feels good to have a sleep-in for a change :)

I had my last morning at the JBO yesterday. It was a great ending of a enjoyable week in Jerusalem. 2 Nightjars in the early morning, and a River Warbler later in the morning were the definite highlights! Thanks to all the nice people from the JBO for the past week!

Then it was time to check out from the Abraham Hostel and wait for the airport taxi. I arrived around 14:00 at Ben Gurion Airport. After the check-in I ate some pizza of the Pizzahut and continued my way through customs. At 16:50 the plane would leave. I was a bit sleepy so I fell asleep as soon as we got in to the plane. I woke up after an hour, still under the impression that we still hadn't taken off yet, but we were flying above the Mediterranean Sea, leaving me a bit disoriented haha.

At 21:15, Middle-European summer time, we landed at Schiphol airport. I picked up my baggage quickly from the baggage hall and then at the arrival hall, I saw my family again after two months :)

 Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana), I had my big lens with me, but the light was still terrible in the early morning..

A Jackal came out in the open, to relax a little bit near the water, such a dog!

Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) , foraging in front of the hide

European Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus), both were males, on distinctively bigger and more defined (better looking) than the other. The wings were respectively 195 mm and 210 mm (210 was out of the 'normal range' for Capeur!) 

Note the differences.

And an overall shot of the best-looking one of the two.

River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis)

And one more interesting picture from a Pied Flycatcher from monday the 23rd. On the right wing, p5 had dropped out for some reason, and it was now full regrown again, the new p5 showed a white spot on the shaft, unlike the left wing...! The photos below will illustrate this:

Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), overall shot

 Left wing

Right wing

Bye bye Israel!