Saturday, November 7, 2009

Birds spotted in Tiberias

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Luck was with me these last three weeks doing archaeology in Tiberias: no poisonous snakes or scorpions to photograph. Several fellow volunteers did encounter them at our site, however.
Instead, I'm happy to show you and the Camera-Critter friends some of the birds that grace the Sea of Galilee.

Early one morning the faint sound of birds way high up alerted us to a flock in migration!
Click to enlarge the photos, and maybe you can help me identify them?

Click on this one too, it's without the zoom.
You can just see a very lop-sided V formation.
They (storks maybe?) had just crossed the Sea of Galilee, flying from east to west.
At some point nearer the Mediterranean I imagine they would turn south and head for Africa.

Living near landlocked Jerusalem, I don't even know the names of these water birds.
Can you see the fish in the lake?!

These boulders along the shore would normally be covered by water. But over the last five years of drought, the lake has shrunk drastically.
That's bad because much of Israel's drinking water comes from the Sea of Galilee.

Two birds watching the pink dusk at 4:20 pm.

Round about dusk the swallows start flitting around.
Here we are looking toward the southern end of the lake, from which the River Jordan exits the Sea of Galilee.
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19 comments:

  1. Great capture of the migrating birds. Some of the others look like our Night Herons. Thanks for sharing your critters.

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  2. Great selection of photos, enjoyed them all.

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  3. The last picture is gorgeous. I'm guessing that the migrating birds are storks and I wonder if might have seen them on their way to you. Seeing migrating birds always make me a bit melancholy, especially hearing the honking of geese.
    The black and white bird is probably a night heron and the all white one may be a Little Egret.

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  4. A lovely spot and lovely birds.

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  5. Hi Dina
    Thanks for sharing these birds. I don't know birds that aren't from the Americas, so won't offer any IDs, but it is good to see them. I could see the fish, also!
    Shalom.

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  6. Hi Dina! Great pictures of these birds. I think that one of the birds is a kingfisher kind of bird. It has at least the shape of one.(Photo 3)I think there is also a stork sitting on a pole.

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  7. Cool photo of all the birds flying in the distance. Have no idea what they are though.

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  8. Hi Dina,
    A wide selection of photos for a wonderful camera critters posts.

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  9. I'm glad you told us to click and enlarge the shot so we could see it better. Such fun to see all the different birds. You've just given me an idea for a post, Dina. I've got a bunch of photos that Art took in Africa of a bunch of different birds. I have no idea what they are though. Ah well.

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  10. I did enlarge the pics! Wonderful post, Dina!

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  11. the migrating birds are wonderful. I love the way you spotted and photographed them and then displayed them here. I would of tried to fiddle, loosing the impact of the natural spectacle.

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  12. I really like that shot of the birds and the pink dusk.

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  13. I'm sorry, but I can't help you with the identifying, but I'm impressed by the migrating birds precision when it comes to flying.

    I liked that photo with the birds on sockets - atmosphere.

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  14. I love the migrating birds, and your pink dusk shot is so peaceful and serene.

    Calico Contemplations

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