Entrance to the Rosh Tzippor Bird Sanctuary in Tel Aviv

This small 8 acre reserve has several hides and this one is sunk into the ground so we are viewing almost at water level….

view from the main hide to the left

and to the right

An Egyptian goose posed in the morning glow

The hooded crows were everywhere

across the pond just infront of another hide, the pied kingfisher perched

he put on an aerial display, hovering and trying to catch fish unsuccesfully

he then flew in right next to the hide to give us definitive detailed shots of it..the beautiful Pied Kingfisher

Having just seen monk parakeets in their native Brazilian habitat last month, I was surprised to see them here too in Israel…

Spotted dove

Common mynah

In and amount the bushes, this little active fellow flitted

a graceful prinia

graceful prinia

Graceful prinia

on the water, this little grebe posed

Little grebe…he soon dived to catch his breakfast

and came up trumps!

Sashimi for breakfast

a pair of moorhens

then this coot sailed past

with a common kingfisher zipping by

wayyyyy in the distance beyond the pond I glimpsed something …could only get this blurry shot of the Eurasian Kestrel

coming to the first hide,a kingfisher perched

a white breasted kingfisher

it looked pretty much like the ones I get in Singapore except we call it the white throated KF

this little hide was excellent…..a common KF was nearby

and he too posed for quite a while in brilliant sunshine

the common KF

and then this drab bird appeared with a curved beak …a type of sunbird…and since the only sunbird in Israel is the Palestine Sunbird, I guess it was the female…

and the last bird of the morning was this European Stonechat or Saxicola

Shooting this bird in the sunshine was a wonderful end to the morning’s walk

Saxicola : male

the female Saxicola was not to be outdone and also posed

Female saxicola

Hoopoe metal sculpture by David Gerstein

Here is the real thing…a hoopoe with a few common mynahs

Hoopoe