With ringing in February as slow as Martin Demichelis (the centre half of man city for those only interested in tits and bulbuls), I joined with Meidad for a night safari deep in the Judean desert in search of the legendary Hume's owl. We met with Yoav Pearlman and his group of Dutch birders at the entrance to a wadi and after introductions, coffee and with darkness setting in, the tape of the owls call was played. after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, nothing and so with the light of the full moon of we set deeper into the wadi. two more stops like the first and was this going to be my normal wildlife experience, well no because on the fourth stop about 2km into the wadi and with everyone becoming resigned to missing out, the unmistakable call was heard. Yoav quickly located the bird with his spotlight and everyone got some terrific views of this almost mythical bird. with everyone well chuffed Yoav suggested we go see the Nubian nightjars that were close by. So two lifers in the night made for a very satisfying and enjoyable evening. many thanks to Yoav for letting us join. And here's a couple of photos taken by Meidad.
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| Hume's Owl |
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| Nubian nightjar |
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