Day 1

I saw several kinds of birds on the drive to Jerusalem, but had no idea what they were. There were two main kinds. One was black with swept back wings and the other was black with wing tips like fingers and flapped constantly as it flew.

Day 2

I asked Mishi about one kind of bird I kept seeing, the one from the first day that flapped constantly. Turns out they’re ravens. There are a few more kinds that I’ve seen quite a bit and would like to figure out. I think one might be a Chimney Swift (the one from the first day that had swept back wings), but I’m not even sure that makes sense in this area of the world.

Day 3

At the end of Hezekiah’s tunnel, I heard some warblers of some sort. Their rhythm was about the same as a Pine Warbler, but the tone was different. They sounded like rapid-fire Saturn Missile fireworks, actually. I also started seeing some Pigeons of some sort.

Day 4

After the tour of The Garden Tomb, I saw a book in the gift shop that I would have really liked to have. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Israel. It seemed perfect! Unfortunately, it was 61 shekels (about $13) and I didn’t really want to spend that much money on a book that would only be useful for the next few days. I did have a chance to flip through it, though. For being a photographic guide, it didn’t have as many pictures of the birds as I would have liked, and I didn’t have enough time to positively identify anything I’d seen before it was time to go. I did notice that it had a section on Swifts, so maybe my Chimney Swift guess isn’t so far off.