For my second full day, I headed up the Arava valley to Kibbutz Samar, which, I was told, was the place to find Black Scrub-Robin. Sure enough, as soon as I got to the horse enclosure at the far end of the kibbutz, a beautiful Black Scrub-Robin perched out in the open before I'd even had a chance to get my camera out of my bag! I didn't manage any decent pictures, therefore, even though I saw it two more times over the next hour or so but was very happy with my first, and probably most wanted, lifer of the trip. Little Green Bee-Eaters (above) were feeding along the perimeter fence and I also photographed this butterfly which turned out to be a Desert White, another new species for me.
I then crossed the road to visit the kibbutz's sewage ponds, which held a Temminck's Stint and at least three Bluethroat, with a couple of Siberian Stonechats, a Hooded Wheatear and this Southern Grey Shrike of the local, aucheri subspecies along the way.
After that, I headed back into Eilat and returned to Wadi Shachamon to try and photograph some more butterflies since I didn't really have much time the previous day. The birds were pretty much the same as the day before and I only managed to get pictures of one new butterfly, this African Babul Blue.
