Happily ever after

Or in other words- THE END

Spring 2014 ringing season is all over now. after three months of ringing daily, the nets are closed. 

It was very unusual spring, some species showed up in big numbers (like Balkan Warbler Phylloscopus orientalis עלוית לבנת בטן or Garden Warbler Sylvia borin סבכי אפור) while others didn't show at all- most Wheatears, Buntings etc.

The broken canal

In the past few days we were busy not only with ringing and guiding but also with fixing the floods damage. I'm glad to share with you that the IBRCE Park is now open again and looks almost as if nothing happened (yet some mud and flood markings are noticeable). We enjoyed watching the water evaporating slowly, the footprints all around..

Jackal Canis aureus תן זהוב

Little Egret Egretta garzetta לבנית קטנה

Corn Crake Crex crex מלכישלו
Male זכר

In the ringing not much was happening, with about 80-90 birds a day. The surprise of the week was this healthy Corn Crake Crex crex מלכישליו after observing (and collecting) many exhausted ones in the past two weeks. It's food to know some of them can weight over 130 grams not only in the books but also in real life.

Another wierd ringed bird is this Olivaceous Warbler Iduna pallida שיחנית קטנה covered with oil. It was not only darker and greasier than usual but also smelled like gasoline.  

At the salt ponds at K20 we enjoyed a lovely wave of migration with loads of Waders. The best, if you ask me, is this flock of 43 Red-necked Phalaropes Phalaropus lobatus שחיינית צרת מקור. There were also some Curlew Sandpipers Calidris ferruginea חופית מגלית and 7 Broad Billed Sandpipers Limicola falcinellus חרמשית. We couldn't relocate the Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos חופית כהת חזה found there a day before, May 12th, by Shachar Shalev.  

To sum this spring in the first stage, here are some totalls:

Total captured birds- 7,265

New- 5,674

Recapture- 1,589

Foreign rings- 1 (Turkey)

Species- 92

Further information and statistics will be published in the future...

Yael Lehnardt

Head Ringer & Guide, IBRCE

Not only feathers

Dorcas Gazelle Gazella acacia צבי נגב
at K22