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Genesis 12:8 (NLT)
After that, Abram travelled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshipped the Lord.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Unspecified in Bible narrative, I have made it early evening.

LIGHTING NOTES:
The desert sun (low and off to the right) illuminates this scene, casting shadows from right to left.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
From left to right: Abram (in his usual blue outer robe) is standing behind the newly built rough stone altar, Abram’s nephew Lot is the green robed man next to him. Various other men are standing behind them.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This picture shows Abram, Lot & various other men standing behind the newly built altar. They have a burnt offering on fire on the altar.

In reference to geological maps of Israel, Bethel and Ai appear to be built on a region of Limestone [1], marl [2] & dolostone/dolomite [3].

Bethel, a city of foremost importance in the Bible, was located about 11 miles north of Jerusalem and near Ai. Bethel was located at a crossroads of major trade routes, with its north-south road passing through the central hill country from Hebron in the south to Shechem in the north, and its main east-west route leading from Jericho in the east to Joppa/Jaffa, the sea port, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the west. Only Jerusalem is mentioned more frequently than Bethel in the Old Testament.

Genesis 12:8 is the first Biblical mention of Bethel, with Abram building an altar to God there. Abram returned to bethel after visiting Egypt. The Hebrew name Bethel means “house of God”. Originally named Luz (Genesis 28:19; Judges 1:23), the city was renamed Bethel by Jacob after the patriarch experienced a remarkable dream there. Bethel is not referred to in the New Testament.

The two birds flying in the sky are Falco columbarius (aka Merlin), a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. The merlin is 9.4–13.0 in (24–33 cm) long with a 20–29 in (50–73 cm) wingspan. Compared with most other small falcons, it is more robust and heavily built. Males average at about 5.8 oz (165 grammes) and females are typically about 8.1 oz (230 grammes). There is considerable variation, however, throughout the birds’ range and—in particular in migratory populations—over the course of a year. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters which specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to quail. The male merlin has a blue-grey back, ranging from almost black to silver-grey in different subspecies. Its underparts are buff- to orange-tinted and more or less heavily streaked with black to reddish brown. The female and immature are brownish-grey to dark brown above, and whitish buff spotted with brown below.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(bird)]

Here’s the scene without the figures and altar in the foreground.

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Background of Genesis 12 – Call of Abram – Scene 05 – Bethel and Ai camp altar

Map of Central Israel showing Bethel and Ai

Link to related Map
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[1]
Limestone (calcium carbonate CaCO3) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. Colour: white, grey, cream or yellow when pure; red, brown, black when impure. Texture is very variable, ranging from very fine-grained and porcellaneous, to coarsely crystalline and of sugary appearance..
It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of CaCO3. Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. Fossils are common in limestone. The rock is often criss-crossed by calcite and mineralized veins.

[2]
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt.

[3]
Dolostone (aka Dolomite, dolomite rock, or dolomitic rock) is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2. It often occurs in association with limestone and evaporites. Dolomite is resistant to erosion and can either contain bedded layers or be unbedded. It is less soluble than limestone in weakly acidic groundwater, but it can still develop solution features (karst) over time. Dolomite rock can act as an oil and natural gas reservoir.