BirdGuides

www.birdguides.com World of Birds • 2023 25 ❯ seasons. The third week of March is the International Eilat Birds Festival – a huge draw for birders from around the world, when the skies fill with thousands of birds of prey and hirundines. Some of the most numerous species are Steppe Eagle, Steppe Buzzard, Black Kite, Black Stork and Egyptian Vulture. Birding is fantastic on the deck, too, with many passerines fuelling up ahead of the next leg of their journey across the desert. be seen in exceptional numbers. Eilat, Israel Eilat is one of the most important hot-spots for migratory birds in the world. Situated on the only overland bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa, it’s a bottleneck that hosts hundreds of millions of migratory species; it’s also the last haven before the foodless and hostile Sahara Desert. The best times to visit are during spring and autumn migration at least 20,000 birds of prey will be logged by watchers. There are huge numbers of European Honey Buzzards, Black Kites and Steppe Buzzards, with many other species travelling with them. Eagles, harriers, hawks and falcons also use the flyway and an amazing 35 di erent species of birds of prey have been recorded. The highly desired Crested Honey Buzzard is a possibility, with regular sightings peaking in the third week of September. Côte-Nord, Canada In Quebec each autumn, the north shore of the mighty St Lawrence River is transformed into a huge migration corridor, one of the most important in north-eastern North America. Late September is the peak time and is when the Tadoussac Bird Observatory hosts the annual Festival of Migratory Birds of the North Shore. The event is held in one of the most beautiful regions of Quebec, bordered to the west by the majestic Saguenay Fjord, to the south by the St Lawrence Estuary and to the north by rolling boreal forest. The St Lawrence Estuary is a natural barrier for birds heading south during their autumn migration – thousands of raptors fly south-west along the Lower North Shore and can be seen in concentrated numbers over Tadoussac Dunes where they cross the Saguenay Fjord. Passerines, especially boreal species such as crossbills, grosbeaks and Cedar Waxwings, use the same migratory corridor and can Tens of thousands of Broad-winged Hawks can be enjoyed on migration in Mexico and Panama. Migration can be spectacular in Quebec, with huge numbers of landbirds, such as these Cedar Waxwings, on the move. ALAN MURPHY (BIA) HELGE SORENSEN (WWW.AGAMI.NL)