Pekin at introduced Robins in Tuscany

The Red-billed Leiothrix (or Pekin Robin to aviculturists) is something you'd normally expect to see on the Indian Subcontinent but, thanks to a helping hand from man, this stunning species has colonized a handful of spots in Spain, France and Italy where it is eagerly sought by tick-hungry Western Palearctic birders such as myself. Here are a few shots of some of the several Leiothrix we saw along the River Serchio near Lucca, Tuscany on Sunday 5th May:

Cat C species aren't to everyone's taste, and some of the targets on our Italian trip (Northern Bobwhite, Sacred Ibis and Vinous-throated Parrotbill) will certainly raise a few eyebrows among those who like their wildlife a little more 'natural'. We only had shit views of the bobwhites and the ibises were admittedly rather unpleasant, but the parrotbills were pretty characterful!

Believe it or not, we did see some real birds too (not photographed; too wary!) that included several Rock Partridges plus nice Med stuff like Collared Flycatchers, Red-backed Shrikes, Wrynecks, Golden Orioles and so on - I hope to produce a full trip report in the coming days/weeks which will detail all the sites you need to fill your boots with non-native goodness.

Black Bush Robin

Bush Robin at dawn

Though far from guaranteed to turn up, Black Bush Robin is a species that many visitors to Israel hope to see on an early spring trip. On our outward journey from Luton we had vowed that, if one were to turn up, we would make an effort to see it as soon as was possible and thus receiving news of two birds at Neot Smadar on 16th saw us driving south from the Dead Sea late that evening. After an hour or two searching Yotvata unsuccessfully for Egyptian Nightjars in a delirious state, we eventually settled in the car for an hour's kip at Shizzafon sewage works. Soon after dawn, we were out and quickly located the bird showing well although it wasn't until the sun came up that we managed some half-decent pics - my camera settings were a bit off so the shots aren't as nice as I had hoped:

As it turned out, March 2013 proved an excellent period for the species in Israel with as many as six birds found in the south of the country. We even saw the second bird at Ne'ot Smadar the following day:

American Robin

I finally managed some reasonable shots of American Robin on our final afternoon. This individual was spotted feeding on manicured lawns in a leafy suburb of San Francisco. Unfortunately the warm sunshine was evaporating the morning dew, creating some pretty intense heat haze and thus the shots aren't as sharp as they might otherwise have been.