Israel 4th - 13th Sept 2009 a report in .pdf format (1.25Mb) by Tristan Norton

Israel 3rd - 11th December 2005 

• We realised that a winter trip to Israel was more than likely to produce an excellent birding spectacle in addition to the potential to see some relatively tricky and ‘most wanted’ species...Richard Bonser reports

Eilat – Israel 25 November to 2 December 2001

• A walk through Ovira Park soon resulted in three new species for me a nice White-breasted Kingfisher, 2 Masked Shrikes and 2 Little Blue Bee-eaters. Other species recorded here where a juvenile Red-backed Shrike, 3 Black-crowned Night Herons, Song Trush, Blackcaps, Lesser White-throat (smaller ssp), Bluethroats belonging to the volgae and pallidogularis ssp, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Sardinian Warblers, Laughing Doves, Garden Bulbuls..... Justin Jansen reports

Birdwatching  Trip  to Israel Summer  2001

• We took a path that surrounded the pool, and we went to the place where there is the dam. In that area there is less vegetation around the pool, just few small bushes. There we saw our first Mourning Wheather, a really spectacular bird. Walking around the small hills that are around the pool, we saw Desert and Crested Lark and Trumpeter Finch...Arnau Bonan Barfull reports.

Eilat, Israel 1st – 8thApril 2001

• Up early the next morning at dawn. As I headed out of the hotel a pair of House Crows were calling from a tree in the nearby park and a short distance later I found several Laughing Doves. House Crows are very common around Eilat and Laughing Doves are found anywhere where there are a few bushes. As I headed towards North Beach I spotted a Pied Kingfisher hovering over the lagoon...Bob Swann reports

Israel 2000

• The first bird was familiar enough, many House Sparrows could be seen, but the more African influence emerged immediately when the delightful Laughing Dove was also very visible, and what turned out to be a common sight throughout our stay in Israel. The view was onto the beach and some small rocky islands just offshore, and the next species were a stunning Spur-winged Plover and equally exotic Pied Kingfisher...Keith Shepherd reports

Israel (Eilat area only) Oct 25^th-Nov 1^st 1999

• This was a family holiday with 'Dad' nipping out for a little birding on the side. Consequently only 94 species (depending on Gull taxonomy) were seen and many sites were not visited. Also with me being unfamiliar with the area and it's birds, identification was sometimes a struggle (particularly Wheatears) and many times I had to get out the 'rubber' to make deletions..... Mike Robinson reports.

• We travelled fairly widely in the south of the country but did not touch the north so there are a lot of easy species up there that we did not see....in addition it was fairly early in the migration season so there were not the quantities of birds like raptors and storks. Still we saw enough to come home satisfied!....Gareth Watkins reports

Israel March '94

• Hugh Harrop visited Israel between 13^th - 27^th March 1994. He was based at Eilat. This is his report:

The Birds of Israel Hadoram Shirihai: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk "An all-embracing avifauna guide to one of the most ornithologically exciting countries in the world. It is not simply the comprehensive text that makes this an outstanding work, but also the lavish quality of the whole 876-page production."

Birds of the Middle East R.F. Porter, S. Christensen, P. Schiermacker-Hansen: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk If your going to this region you must buy this book. It is a great break through. Comprehensive and complete, it eliminates the need to carry too many books in the field: we know how important that is! The text is well written by experts, and many of the plates are fantastic; those by John Gale especially stand out; just dream about those raptors! Birds of the Middle East" is the first comprehensive field guide dealing exclusively with the birds of this region. It covers all the species, including vagrants likely to be seen in Turkey

Finding Birds in Isreal
Dave Gosney: Buy from Amazon.co.uk

• An invaluable site guide

Collins Bird Guide Lars Svensson et al: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk Described by some as the best field guide in the world, and 15 years in the making. Has it been Worth the Wait?...Yes definately! If you buy just 1 book a year then make sure that its this one. Stunning drawings by the worlds finest bird illustrators..and it shows..check out the plates on tern, Skuas, and the Ducks...not forgetting the Finches and Crossbills.

Recommended Travel books for Israel:

Israel and the Palestinian Territories: the Rough Guide
Daniel Jacobs: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk