More Autumn updates

The Northern wind keeps on blowing and temperatures are decreasing slowly. 
It has been very easy going at the IBRCE ringing station during the last week, a male Scops Owl this morning was a great treat.

Apart from it earlier this week, I had 2 Egyptian Vultures still hanging around at Yotveta and today at the ringing there was a nice wave of Sand Martins which looks like a continuation of what Juan and Manolo had yesterday:

“On Thursday the 20th we woke up with not too many birds. The ‘usual’ species were still present though: Reed and Sedge Warblers, Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, Masked Shrikes, Bee-eaters and Savi´s Warbler… anyway, something had changed because we only had one re-trap along the morning while during the last few days we had many more and in fact most were re-traps from the whole number of birds. during the morning, Itai reported of a growing number of waders also at K20, among them one Broad-billed Sandpiper. Thirsty of action, the IBRCE ringing team took advantage of the tranquillity and looked out for the surrounded fauna. At the IBRCE salt ponds there are growing numbers of waders as Ruffs, Little Stints, Dunlins, Marsh, Wood and Green Sandpipers, Caspian Terns…  But our neighbourhood does not only involve birds: Cape Hares Lepus capensis and the Look-At-Me-But-Don´t-Touch Viper (also known as Saw Scaled Viper) Echis coloratus are some of our other friendly companions which one can meet just having a walk like I do: quiet, slow and heavy, something alike a one hundred kilos ninja…

On Friday 21th we rose up in the same way like yesterday except the temperature, obviously cooler… This change of weather has resolved in loading the mist nets with tens of Sand Martins and Barn Swallows, about 50 during the first two rounds plus the usual incoming of warblers, shrikes and so. After focus our attention in a 98 mm wing long Sand Martin (where else but Eilat do you expect to catch the eilata subspecies of Riparia riparia?), we found out a nice number of Savi´s Warblers as well. A little work fixing traps and cutting trees leaded by Tzadok, the Master of the tools, ended the morning. The nice arrival of Sand Martins made us decide for another trial at down. Some tens of Sand Martins and Barn Swallows as well as Yellow Wagtails were ringed (remarkable, not a single re-trap from the morning) before the night supper: kebabs swimming on a sea of fried cauliflower and onions with a paprika tide (cheff Manolo strikes again…)
J.R."