Saturday I took a late afternoon trip around the base. I started at 1800 and went until dark around 2000.

I took the loop road around the perimeter down to the Laundry pond. A couple of the Philippino KBR guys came over and asked what I was looking at. I let them look at the purple swamp hen through my binoculars. They seemed amused at me wanting to look at the birds.

Also at the pond were a few blue-cheeked bee-eaters and 2 red-backed shrikes.

I continued around the perimeter seeing more bee-eaters, a common babbler, and a Smyrna Kingfisher.

At the second pond I found a magpie hopping around near the water, some red-wattled plovers in the field, and a few Dead Sea Sparrows carrying nesting material.

As I came back on the road I passed one of the many large cement bunkers here on base. On the top of the bunker twenty feet from me was a Little Owl. It flew away when I got out of my truck, but I came back at dusk and it was sitting in the same place.

My final stop was a marsh near the north part of post. This was the same area that I had seen a Jackal the day before. I planned to park next to the marsh and wait for sunset hoping to get a better look at the Jackal.

I saw quite a few birds waiting for the jackal. Bee-eaters flew back and forth making churring sounds, a couple common swifts flew over the reeds, a group of cattle egrets flew over, and some black-winged stilts flew around in the marsh.

Just before sunset, the jackal poked its head out from behind the berm and trotted out into the open. It came within 50 feet of me and stopped, sensing something wrong. I was able to study it for a few minutes before it ran off into the marsh.

Here's my birdlist for the evening:
Cattle Egret - 8
Purple Swamphen - 1
Black-winged Stilt - 10
Spur-winged Plover - 1
Red-wattled Plover - 2
Rock Dove - 5
Wood Pigeon - 30
Collared Dove - 10
Little Owl - 1
Common Swift - 2
Smyrna Kingfisher - 1
Blue-cheeked Kingfisher - 10
Barn Swallow - 20
White-cheeked Bulbul - 4
Common Babbler - 1
Red-backed Shrike - 2
Magpie - 5
Hooded Crow - 1
House Sparrow - 10
Dead Sea Sparrow - 3