Migrating Birds

FLORA AND FAUNA

Migrating Birds

Israel sits on one of the world's main bird migration routes, linking Europe and Asia with Africa. Every spring and autumn, hundreds of millions of birds pass over the country. The best places to watch are the Hula Valley, the Golan, Jerusalem, and Eilat.

Mediterranean Sea

JORDAN

EGYPT

Common crane Winter guests at the Hula

עגור אפורGrus grus

The common crane is a tall, grey bird with a black-and-white neck and a red patch on its head. Tens of thousands of cranes spend the winter in the Hula Valley in the north, arriving in the autumn and leaving in the spring. In the past, they ate crops, and so farmers and conservationists agreed to feed them corn at the Agamon Hula park, which keeps them from nearby fields. Visitors watch them at dawn and dusk, when flocks fly out to feed or return to roost.

Glossary: Common crane

White stork Spirals over the hills

חסידה לבנהCiconia ciconia

The white stork is a large white bird with black wing tips and a long red bill. Hundreds of thousands pass through Israel on their way between Europe and Africa each spring and autumn. They are too heavy to flap for long and ride warm air, so they gather in huge, slowly turning spirals and then glide to the next one. Flocks stop overnight in fields and fish ponds. Storks are mentioned in the Bible, and people regard their return in spring as a sign of the season.

Glossary: White stork

Great white pelican

Giants on the fish ponds

שקנאי לבןPelecanus onocrotalus

The great white pelican is one of the largest flying birds, with a wingspan of close to three meters. Large flocks pass over Israel in spring and autumn, and many stop to rest on fish ponds, reservoirs, and in the Hula Valley. They fly in formation and glide on warm air. They feed on fish, which has led to conflicts with fish-pond farmers, who scare them away. Some pelicans spend the winter in Israel, and visitors can watch them at the Agamon Hula and at coastal pools.

Glossary: Great white pelican

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Levant sparrowhawk

A flood of small hawks

אצבעות-נץ קצרAccipiter brevipes

The Levant sparrowhawk is a small, slim hawk with a pale grey back and barred underparts. In spring, thousands pass over Eilat in a single morning, crossing the Gulf of Aqaba on their way from Africa to the Balkans and the Black Sea region. The sight draws bird-watchers from many countries. The hawks travel in loose flocks and feed along the way on lizards, insects, and small birds. In autumn, they return along a similar route, and they are watched near Eilat.

Glossary: Levant sparrowhawk

Steppe eagle

A giant from the plains of Asia

עיט ערבותAquila nipalensis

The steppe eagle is a large, dark brown eagle that breeds in the open grasslands of central Asia. Each autumn it flies south to Africa and Arabia, and each spring it returns. Tens of thousands pass over Israel, and the best places to see them are the Arava and Eilat. The eagles ride rising warm air and then glide for long distances. The species is endangered worldwide, in part because of habitat loss and power lines, and counts at Eilat help scientists to follow its numbers.

Glossary: Steppe eagle

European honey buzzard A raptor that raids the wasp nest

עקב צרעיםPernis apivorus

The European honey buzzard is a brown and barred raptor that breeds in European forests. It is a specialist in eating wasps and bees, and it digs up nests and eats the grubs. Hundreds of thousands pass through Israel each autumn on their way to tropical Africa. Huge flocks spiral up on warm air currents and then glide south, in sights that are visible from inland lookouts and along the coast. Counts of the birds in Israel have helped scientists follow European populations.

Glossary: European honey buzzard

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