Recent trips and additions to the site
July 19, 2025
While waiting (unsuccessfully) for the Hypocolius family to show up at Km20, I passed the time taking some shots of a male Namaqua Dove building a nest. They always remind me of big, beautiful butterflies when they zip past with their colorful wings outstretched.
July 5, 2025
White-eyed Gull, North Beach, Eilat
Cory’s Shearwater, North Beach, Eilat
Saturday morning survey of some key birding sites in the Southern Arava with David Schoneveld. We started at the North Beach in Eilat, and from there proceeded to the Bird Park, Km19 (Eilat wastewater system), Km20 (Flamingo pools) and finished at Samar wastewater system. A few welcome photographic additions for me: Cory’s Shearwater and White-eyed Gull at North Beach were really too far away, but some quite nice shots of a Purple Heron and Little Bittern at the Bird Park, and a Hooded Wheatear at Km20.
Purple Heron, Eilat Bird Park
Little Bittern, Eilat Bird Park
Hooded Wheatear, Km20
Moon-less summer nights are the time to try to capture images of the Milky Way. The challenge is to find a spot with the absolute minimum of light pollution, which is actually not an easy task even for a resident of the Arava desert like me. Fortunately all it took was a 45 minute drive to the Faran Wadi and I was in a beautiful spot. And in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, when I came across another vehicle, I knew immediately that it could only be another photographer obsessively on a similar journey. It took Yaniv Shaya most of the day to get there. That's dedication. We spent a happy couple of hours enjoying the company, the desert, the night sky and geeking out about cameras and lenses. Thanks Yaniv.