110% ringing

Menetries's Warbler, Semi-collared Flycatcher, Pied Wheatear and a big female Sparrowhawk were the highlights today with ringing... What an incredible amount of (rare) birds here at the moment... Just simply amazing! Lots and lots of ringing today, a good 400 birds day.

 Menetries's Warbler (Sylvia mystacea), 2cy male

 Pied Wheatear (Oenanthe pleschanka), 2cy male. This Pied Wheatear was just hanging in between the swallows during the evening session...!

And while I was relaxing at the ringing station I saw a raptor flying around in trap 1. I grabbed a big net and ran as fast as I could into the trap. A beautiful adult female Sparrowhawk was in the trap. Great!

In the afternoon we did a quick twitch. We went for the reported Striated Scops Owl at Kibbutz Samar. It didn't take us long to relocate our first Striated Scops Owl!

Striated Scops Owl (Otus brucei)

On our way back we went to the city where the parks were packed with birds: cleary huge arrival of Red-throated Pipits, Balkan Wagtails, Tawny Pipits and Cretzchsmar's Buntings. 

Red-throated Pipits (Anthus cervinus) walking 'just' along the pavement.

This Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola) was present at the saltpans near the IBRCE. A fine individual.

Next to all this, the 2nd day of the Eilat Bird Festival has ended today! I'm curious about what all the tours have seen today, probably a lot of good birds;) Yesterday evening we went to the opening of the festival in the Red Sea Isrotel which was very nice. The website of the Eilat Bird Festival: http://www.eilatbirdsfestival.com/ !