Is Israel for the birds? Some of the country’s most prominent avian enthusiasts think so.
While many tourists may not view Israel as a centre for birding, opting instead for the usual historical and religious sites, it turns out that the Jewish state is among the world’s leading magnets for fanciers of our feathered friends.
“Israel should be very proud,” pronounced Dan Alon, director of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel’s (SPNI) Israel Ornithological Center. “We are one of the best birding destinations on the globe. Not many people are aware of it. Among birdwatchers around the world, it’s well known, but in the general public, we still have a lot to do.”
Between 30,000 and 50,000 birdwatchers come to Israel each year to see and learn about birds, both exotic and run-of-the-mill, said Alon, one of four representatives of the SPNI to visit Toronto recently.
They came to boost the fortunes of the Canadian Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, founded in 2011 to help protect Israel’s natural features by raising awareness and funds for SPNI.
The birders and environmental activists held a parlour meeting at a private home in Toronto and – naturally – led a group of local birdwatchers to the sandbanks of Presqu’ile Provincial Park, about 90 minutes east of Toronto.
Established in 1953, SPNI bills itself as Israel’s leading environmental non-profit organization, which is dedicated to protecting and preserving the country’s natural resources and animal habitats.
Importantly, it’s non-political. “Birds know no boundaries,” said Jonathan Meyrav, director of tourism at the organization’s ornithological centre. “Conservation comes before politics.”
Israel is home to 545 distinct species of birds, Meyrav said. That’s remarkable, he noted, because there are no more than 1,000 varieties in all of North America.
“Israel, a country the size of New Jersey, has a huge diversity of bird species,” Meyrav said. “It’s one of the best birding destinations in the world.”
Of those 545 unique species, about 200 call Israel home. “That’s where they breed and rear their young,” Meyrav explained. The rest migrate through the country, using it to re-fuel or to stop for the winter.
In fact, explained Alon, Israel is “a land bridge,” a meeting point of three continents. Between half a billion and one billion birds fly over the country from Africa, Europe and Asia each year, including some two million birds of prey in the spring. That makes Israel part of the biggest migration corridor in the Old World (Mexico has the largest in the New World), Alon said.
It’s serious business: the SPNI’s ornithological centre alone has about 15 full-time staff and operates a network of birdwatching centres throughout the country that run excursions and educational programs.
Among the best places for birding, Meyrav noted, are Eilat and the Negev highlands in the south, and in the north, the Hula Valley, where the opening of the Jewish National Fund’s Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Center, which was named for Canada’s former prime minister, is scheduled to open on Nov. 6.
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The SPNI’s Jerusalem Bird Observatory, located next to the Knesset, is Israel’s first urban wildlife site and specializes in song birds. “We act like an island over the city,” explained Alena Kacal, the observatory’s director. “We’re probably the last stopover before the birds hit the desert.”
Common birds in Israel include the hoopoe, which was chosen as the country’s national bird in a campaign led by the SPNI (it’s mentioned in the Bible), the white stork, the common crane and the griffon vulture.
Meyrav describes Israel as “very conservation oriented, very advanced. We live in a crazy neighbourhood where none of this exists. In our neighbouring countries, conservation is dire. Birds and wildlife are seriously threatened. Israel is a safe haven for many birds, both breeding and those migrating.”
A little-know fact, added Alon, is that fully 25 per cent of Israel is under environmental protection.
The Canadian Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel is planning a birding trip to Israel from Nov. 3–8, with lectures and visits to major sites. For details, call Avi Sadiv at 416-833-4578.