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Experts Identification Workshops:
Gull identification on the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea – Klaus M. Olsen
Raptor identification in the field –
Dick Forsman
Expert Evening Lectures
Wagtails and Pipits – Identification and
Taxonomy – Per Alstrom
Expert Photography
Workshop
Bird Photography in the Field – Techniques –
David Cottridge
Bird
watching excursions
1/2 day – 1 day trips to different
bird-watching sites in the region. These include:
Hula Valley –
Once an extensive swamp, it was drained by
early settlers for the purpose of intensive agriculture.
While farming
still dominates the Hula Valley, some natural swamps has thankfully been
preserved with the foresight
of the Israel Nature Reserve & Parks
Authority (INRPA) and is now contained within the well-established Hula
Nature
Reserve. North of the reserve, a relatively large area of poor
agricultural land has been re-flooded since 1994 in an attempt
to restore
some of the former natural habitat of the valley. Little time elapsed
before the site became a magnet for
tens of thousands of Waterfowl,
Raptors and Waders. Key species:
Pygmy Cormorant, White Pelican, Purple Heron,
Black Stork, Ferruginous Duck, Marbled Duck, Black Francolin, White-tailed
Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Spotted &
Imperial Eagles, Common Crane, Oriental Skylark, 'Siberian' Stonechat…
Golan
Heights – This Volcanic plateau, south of Mount Hermon possesses a
fascinating avifauna at all times of the year.
Much of the area is rough
pasture with some agriculture, intersected by several large, steep-sided
gorges. We will visit
key sites for sightings of the area most wanted
species – Griffon and Black Vultures, Bonelli's Eagle, Little
Swift,
Calandra Lark, Blue Rock Thrush and many more. We will also
search for wintering specialties such as
Little Bustard,
Finsch's Wheatear, Radd's
Accenter, Red-fronted Serin, Pine Bunting…
Bet-Shean Valley & Sea of Galilee area –
This whole area is extremely
fertile and full of fish ponds and agricultural
fields, creating a score
of wetland habitats in what would otherwise be a rather arid region. Much
of the area is below
sea level thus giving a more steppe-like climate. We
will visit key sites for locating migrants, vagrants and local species:
Pygmy Cormorant, Black Francolin,
Pin-tailed Snipe, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Dead Sea Sparrow,
Desert Finch,
Little Bustard, Sociable Plover, Oriental Skylark, 'Siberian' Stonechat,
Indian Silverbill…
Not far from the Sea of Galilee, Mount Arbel
has long been known as an excellent place to see Wallcreeper
during
winter and few Long-billed Pipits, Blue Rock Thrush are also known
from this site.
Mediterranean Coast –
The whole area offers an excellent cross
section of habitats for birding. The fish ponds attract
a host of overwintering species and passage migrants, including large numbers of
Storks, Pelicans, Herons and
other Shorebirds such as
Broad-billed Sandpiper, Greater Sand
Plover...
This is also a known site for Pallas’s,
Armenian, Yellow-legged Gulls, Citrine Wagtails, Clamorous Reed Warbler,
Penduline Tit, Moustached Warbler…
Additional Festival Activities:
Tours of general interest:
Cultural –
Israel is a great mixture of
cultures and traditions. During the week you will have the opportunity to
experience
a little of it, such as a visit in one of
the Druze villages, a visit to one of the socialist 'Kibbutz' and
investigate how this system
has evolved over 50 years, a visit to one of
the Galilee Bedouin villages…
Christian –
As the birth place of
Christianity, Israel offers many holy sites and other historical sites;
The Sea of Galilee,
Jordan River, Capernaum, Magdala, Mt. Tabor, Nazareth
to name just a few. Visits to these sites are on offer during the week.
Natural –
Israel holds many wonders.
Geographically it is where Eurasia and Africa converge, and so within the
relatively small area of Israel it is possible to see fauna and flora from
both continents. Further, scenically, this part
of the world is
spectacular with the Great Rift Valley cutting through eastern Israel. You
will witness many spectacular
views. Indeed during this trip we will
travel through some of the most interesting, yet physically easy, trails
in northern
Israel looking into the natural
history of these places.
At the end of the Festival (as an
optional) we will organize a bird watching tour to the North and West
Negev Desert.
Western & Northern Negev –
The vast expense of the Negev covers more
than half of Israel's land surface area.
In this trip we will try to cover some of
the birding sites within this huge area while enjoying the great scenery
and
magnificent views of the Negev desert.
We will visit sites like Urim-Ze'elim Rd and
area, where Sociable Plover, Saker Falcon, Imperial Eagle,
Oriental Skylarks, Calandra Larks and many more are known to winter.
In this area we should also look for;
Pin-tailed, Black-bellied,
Spotted and Crowned Sandgrouse, Cream-coloured Courser,
Greater and
Lesser Short-toed Larks and the hard to find
Houbara Bustard.
Around Sde-boker, we will look for
Griffon Vultures, Bonelli's and Golden Eagles, Lanner
and Barbary Falcon,
Brown-necked
Raven, Mourning, White-crowned Black and
Isabeline Wheatears, Blackstart, Little
Green Bee-eater…
At the Yerucham reservoir, we will look for
Purple Gallinule that is known to have bred in the area in the last
few years;
we should also see many other waterfowl
species.
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