Champions of the Flyways Bird Race pt 2 plus my Israeli list

White Wagtail

The Champions of the Flyways Bird Race was organised by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. The whole thing was steered by the energetic and all around nice guy Jonathan Meyrav with the help of his colleagues. The race featured 24 competing teams of birders from Israel, Britian, Georgia and the US racing around Eilat and the surrounding Negev Desert trying to identify as many species as possible over a 24 hour period.

To cut a long and sweaty story short, my team ended up with a very respectable 140 species. The winners were The Palestine Sunbirders on 169. Second were the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology e-birders on 165. Third were The Digital Stringers on 165 - the highest ranking British team.

 The Media Birders - (L-R) Stephen Moss, Tim Appleton & TUB

Assembled teams awaiting an evening visit from Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse coming in to drink.

Eilat is an amazing region for birding and the cause for this brilliant bird race is also very very worthy. 

Please donate here: - http://www.champions-of-the-flyway.com/ to help protect migrant birds from illegal hunting.

My Eilat and environs bird list

((Little Grebe))

Brown Booby

Cormorant

((Bittern))

Night Heron

Cattle Egret

Squacco Heron

Little Egret

Great Egret

Western Reef Egret

Grey Heron

Purple Heron

White Stork

Glossy Ibis

Spoonbill

Greater Flamingo

Shelduck

Egyptian Goose

Mallard

Pintail

Shoveler

Wigeon

Teal

Garganey

Griffon Vulture

Egyptian Vulture

Osprey

Steppe Eagle

Booted Eagle

Short-toed Eagle

Black Kite

Marsh Harrier

Hen Harrier

Steppe Buzzard

Sparrowhawk

Kestrel

Barbary Falcon

Sand Partridge

Chukar

Quail

Little Crake

Moorhen

Coot

Avocet

Black-winged Stilt

Stone Curlew

Collared Pratincole

Little Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

Kentish Plover

Greater Sand Plover

Spur-winged Plover

Dunlin

Temminck’s Stint

Little Stint

Wood Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Greenshank

Marsh Sandpiper

Black-tailed Godwit

Snipe

Red-necked Phalarope

Ruff

Black-headed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

White-eyed Gull

Heuglin’s Gull

Lesser Black-back Gull (fuscus)

Sandwich Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Common Tern

Crowned Sandgrouse

Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse

Feral Pigeon

Namaqua Dove

Collared Dove

Laughing Dove

Barn Owl

((Scops Owl))

Swift

Pallid Swift

Alpine Swift

Hoopoe

Common Kingfisher

White-throated Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Bee-eater

Little Green Bee-eater

Wryneck

Crested Lark

Short-toed Lark

Desert Lark

Sand Martin

Rock Martin

Swallow

Red-rumped Swallow

House Martin

Tawny Pipit

Richard’s Pipit

Water Pipit

Tree Pipit

Red-throated Pipit

White Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail (flava & feldegg)

Citrine Wagtail

Nightingale

Bluethroat

Common Redstart

Northern Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

Black-eared Wheatear

Mourning Wheatear

White-crowned Black Wheatear

Desert Wheatear

Blackstart

Pied Bush Chat

Song Thrush

Blackbird

Rock Thrush

Scrub Warbler

Graceful Prinia

Blackcap

Common Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat

Eastern Orphean Warbler

Ruppell’s Warbler

Reed Warbler

Great Reed Warbler

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Wood Warbler

Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler

Chiffchaff

((Great Tit))

Woodchat Shrike

Masked Shrike

White-spectacled Bulbul

Palestine Sunbird

Arabian Babbler

Hooded Crow

House Crow

Brown-necked Raven

Common Myna

Tristram’s Starling

House Sparrow

Spanish Sparrow

Greenfinch

Ortolan Bunting

151 species

11 lifers

((Heard))