We're Back!!!!

And you didn't even know we'd gone, did you?

Well, we've just got back from an 11 day trip to Israel. It was nice to get away from all the rain for a while. In Israel the weather was smashing, with temperatures in the low 70s during the day. Add lots of sunshine to that and you can see that it was a real treat.

It was great to see my twin aunties - Suzy and Louise. They seem very fit and well and took great care of us. We stayed in their appartment in downtown Tel Aviv. My two cousins are also well. Hagai chauffered us around and Becky came to visit from Haifa. Last Wednesday, while John gave a lecture at Tel Aviv University, I went to Haifa on the train along with the twins and Hagai's wife, Chantal. We met up with Becky and had a girls day out which included a wonderful lunch at a fish restaurant and a brief visit to the new gardens at the Ba'hai Temple. These are amazing - covering the side of Mount Carmel with both formal and informal plantings.

I had prepared a CD with old family photos and was able to give one each to my cousins - they were quite a hit! It started up some discussions about family history and I was able to get some information for my Turkish family tree. I doubt if I'll be able to get any more, the records are a bit hazy beyond my great-grandparents.

While we walked a lot in Tel Aviv, we weren't realy terribly touristy this time. We spent a lot of time visiting with relatives and friends, and we did manage a bit of bird-watching. Took most of a day to bird along the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, and also took a trip to the Dead Sea with Hagai. While there we had a short walk in the Ein Gedi reserve and have decided we have to go back and do it more thoroughly. I took only a few pictures and they're quite disappointing, so I won't be including any in this post.

Here's our trip list - 42 species in total.

CORMORANTS
Great Cormorant
DUCKS, SWANS, GEESE
Egyptian Goose
Mallard
HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS
Little Egret
Gray Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
IBIS AND SPOONBILLS
Glossy Ibis
FALCONS AND CARACARAS
Eurasian Kestrel
RAILS AND COOTS
Common Moorhen
CRANES
Common Crane
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Spur-winged Plover
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Dove
Laughing Dove
Eurasian Collared-Dove
PARROTS
Rose-ringed Parakeet
KINGFISHERS
Common Kingfisher
White-throated Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
BEE-EATERS
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
HOOPOES
Hoopoe
WOODPECKERS
Syrian Woodpecker
CROWS AND JAYS
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Fan-tailed Raven
STARLINGS
Tristram's Starling
European Starling
Common Myna
OLD WORLD FLYCATCHERS
Black Redstart
White-crowned Wheatear
Blackstart
SWALLOWS
Rock Martin
BULBULS
White-spectacled Bulbul
CISTICOLAS AND ALLIES
Graceful Prinia
OLD WORLD WARBLERS
Wood Warbler
BABBLERS
Arabian Babbler
CHICKADEES, TITS
Great Tit
OLD WORLD SPARROWS
House Sparrow
WAGTAILS AND PIPITS
White Wagtail
Red-throated Pipit
SISKINS, CROSSBILLS AND ALLIES
Chaffinch

Let me know if you're reading this - I'm not sure who my audience is!!

email me:joanarnfield@gmail.com