Bird Watching Fans Flock to Israel

Bird watching enthusiasts from around the world arrive in Israel in March to see hundreds of millions of birds make their way to back from Africa to Europe

Starting in March, flocks of migrating birds pass through Israeli skies, en route from the warm regions of the globe back to Europe, including flocks of storks. By the end of April, 600,000 storks are expected to follow the migration route over Israel.

In addition, flocks of birds of prey, cranes, pelicans and small song birds can be seen, making their way mostly at night. 500 million song birds reach Israel in the spring and can be seen throughout the country.

The list of birds includes, among others, millions of chiffchaffs, Cretzschmar's buntings, bluethroats and woodchar shrikes. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel operates bird watching centers throughout Israel, and holds bird watching and bird ringing activities.

According to Yoav Perlman of the Society's bird watching center, bird ringing activities are open to the public, and when the process is over, after the birds have been measured and recorded, they are released back to nature. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel also holds a series of guided bird watching tours.

Information about these tours is available at www.aspni.org.