SPRING BIRDS OF ISRAEL
Bird Migration map by Yossi Leshem of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
The ABC meeting on November 13, 2018, featured birding travels in Israel by two sets of the WIllettes. Carol Smith and Laurel Parshall traveled there in April 2017 in a small tour group. Faye McAdams Hands and Diane Yorgason-Quinn went in March 2018 in connection with the International Swift Conference and the Eilat Birding Festival.
Click to enlarge maps and photos.
Willettes’ travels in Israel
First shown was the migration map showing that the migration route through Israel is huge due to its being a bottleneck. Then a map was shown of points of interest covered by each twosome. We actually covered different areas in the north half, then many of the same points getting down to Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Interestingly, Israel is only about the area as one-third the state of Washington.
Carol Smith starts out the Israel bird show (photo/Diane Y-Q)
The difference of a month made a big difference in species seen. Spring migration continues pretty strong for March and April as different streams flow through. The Med, the Dead, and the Red sea were covered well between the two groups, as well as the huge Negev Desert in the center. Jerusalem was a high point for March this year as the Common Swifts returned right on time to places holy to all three of the monotheistic religions.
Faye IDs a Steppe Buzzard (photo/Diane Y-Q)
Carol and Laurel saw and photographed all 5 species of Sandgrouse in April, while the March twosome had only three species which were very hard to find that early. Carol and Laurel also saw the rails and crakes, while the March trip only had Coots and Moorhens.
Hoopoe, national bird of Israel (Photo/Laurel Parshall)
Palestine Sunbird (Photo/Diane Y-Q)
Raptor migration was going on over the cliffs above the Dead Sea and of course at the world-famous Eilat Mountains. The March group rubbed shoulders with teams prepping for the Champions of the Flyway, a huge international bird contest that took place soon after our trip, which raised funds for tackling illegal killing of birds in Croatia and Serbia for 2018. They choose different projects for the funds each year. Faye and Diane had the good fortune to have Jonathan Meyrav as a leader at the Eilat Birding Festival, who founded the Champions of the Flyway project, keeps the Israel Bird List, and is birding tourism director of the Israel Ornithological Center.
Carol Smith & Laurel Parshall model the Birds of Israel shirts from their April 2017 trip to Israel (photo/Diane Y-Q)
The iconic birds for all were the Hoopoe (national bird of Israel), four species of Swifts, Wryneck, Tristram’s Starling, White-spectacled Bulbul, Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Black and White Storks, and lots of different Buzzards and Eagles!
Diane Yorgason-Quinn and Faye McAdams Hands model their Swift Conference shirts & regalia from March 2018 (photo/Adam Trent)
A web article that describes the incredible migration: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-israels-500-million-birds-the-worlds-eighth-wonder-1.5485176