January cold

As a ringer i dislike January as much as the unmentionables, from down the road from my former place of residence in Wolverhampton. Which if you know football is a lot. It's cold here in the desert, close to freezing at night, and the recent storms seem to have got rid of all but the hardiest of individuals. Getting out of bed is hard and doesn't seem worth the while for 2 or 3 birds that frequent my ringing plot. So i jumped at the chance to go and join Israels premier ringer Yosef Kiat on a trip to the Meishar plain, a large flat area of desert frequented by numerous wintering larks and warblers. We arrived around 6am, after the nets were up, just as first light was beginning to show. A little bit of birding was done first, getting some nice views of Temincks larks and seeing good numbers of Spotted sandgrouse. Then it was back to the ringing. Around 20 birds were caught including Desert wheatears, Hooded wheatears, Asian desert warblers and a first for me Scrub warbler.

Asian Desert Warbler Sylvia nana

Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti

ScrubWarbler Scotocerca inquieta