On the 13th I went south to the Meyshar area to search for a few species of Larks that were reported by Eran Banker on the previous week. The Meyshar is the straight section of road 40 between Mitzpe Ramon and Tzihor jnc.
Earlier this winter, I saw several Bar-tailed and Desert Larks at that spot, but what triggered me into driving this time was Eran's report of Temminck's Horned and Hoopoe Larks.
In previous years, Hoopoe Larks were present yearound at Km 33, and were therefore quite easy to find. Due to recent agricultural developments, this site could no longer support the local population and consequently Hoopoe Larks became quite rare.

Scanning the eastern side of the road, I spotted a distant party of 14 Sandgrouses feeding on the plain. I decided to approach them in order to identify the species.
Closing in on the Sandgrouses, I was able to identify them as Crowned and take a few shots, severely affected by the heat haze.

On the way back, scanning the plain, I saw 2 Asian Desert Warblers, an uncommon winterer in Israel, regularly seen at the Meyshar.

Only 20 meters away from the road, on it’s western side, I spotted 4 species of Larks feeding close together, among them 8 Temminck’s Horned and 5 Bar-tailed Larks, yet no Hoopoe Larks.
In the same area, I also noted 1 male Desert Wheatear and 3 Mourning Wheatears.