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Our biggest win this year on behalf of Israel’s feathered friends was the Northern District Planning and Construction Committee’s decision to overrule plans to erect 20 wind turbines in the Galilee, which would have harmed birdlife.

 

SPNI’s Israel Ornithological Center was born at the end of the 1970s, a result of an initiative to protect eagle’s nests. Ever since then, the Center has undertaken research and field studies to protect the diversity of Israel’s avifauna. The Center’s main focus has been to protect at-risk species and their critical habitats. Time and time again we have been involved in public battles to protect our birds, and together with you, we have succeeded in achieving a number of important wins.

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The wind turbines were set to be erected in Ramat Sirin, an area designated as an open space with no construction--one of the largest remaining such areas in northern Israel. Ramat Sirin contains a wildlife corridor—a natural crossing area for wildlife. The Northern District Planning and Construction Committee ruled that the multiple adverse impacts of the wind turbines in this area, when balanced against their minor benefits, did not justify continuing with the plans.

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Vulture Poisonings in the Golan Heights

In May 2019, 10 vultures in the Golan Heights —around half of the area’s total vulture population—died from poisoning.

Sadly, in Israel, there are almost no repercussions or enforcements to prevent poisoning. Despite hundreds of poisoning cases, in recent years almost no indictments have been filed against the alleged culprits. Even when punishments are meted out in poisoning cases, they usually only amount to token fines of several thousand NIS, which does not reflect the damage caused, and definitely does not deter potential offenders.

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To fix this problem, SPNI and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority have initiated an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Law, which will be voted on by Members of Knesset when a new government is formed. We are calling for a clear and explicit ban on the use of poisons and pesticides when there is concern over harm to wildlife.

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Current legislation does not include such a ban. The amendment proposes to prohibit the use of poisons and pesticides in circumstances where there is the potential to harm wildlife. Poisons in open spaces are a major cause of harm to wildlife. These poisons do not only kill the animals that directly consume them but also lead to the “chain poisonings” of animals that consume poisoned carcasses (a phenomenon known as “secondary poisoning”). This unpleasant phenomenon depletes wildlife populations and endangers rare species—and can also harm humans if they come into contact with the poisons.

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According to the proposed amendment, if a poison or pesticide is dispersed on lands owned by an individual, or on lands for which that individual has right of use, such as grazing lands, that individual shall be deemed to have caused the dispersal or use of the aforementioned poison or pesticide unless he can prove otherwise. The amendment has been drafted based on background research and experience showing that in most cases it is landowners or those with right of use over a particular area that are responsible for commissioning the spraying or usage of poisons and pesticides.

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Counting Backyard Birds

From January 16-26, 2019, we conducted our 14th annual Big Bird Count with the public. The survey was organized by our Israel Ornithological Center, the Israeli Center for Yardbirds, with the participation thousands of Israeli bird lovers who helped us with this important project.

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The data we collect during these annual surveys help us learn about changes and trends in bird populations. For example, we learned about the spread of invasive bird species in Israel (birds that were introduced to Israel from elsewhere, and which then escaped and began breeding in the wild) such as the myna, the rose-ringed parakeet, and the monk parakeet, and to understand whether and to what extent they impact on local species. We compare trends that researchers have found elsewhere in the world (like the decline of rose-ringed parakeets in the United Kingdom), with trends in Israel. Each year, more and more people are taking part in the survey and submitting reports. As well as reports from hobbyist bird watchers and professional ornithologists, we were delighted to receive reports from educational institutions and the wider public. The bird count data make a significant contribution to the development of citizen science in Israel and to nature conservation. We employ various methods to improve the reliability of the reports, including technology and also manual screening by senior ornithologists who discount any reports of rare bird species that are not expected to be in Israel in the season when the survey was conducted, or that are not found in the particular area where the report was made.

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This year we joined the global eBird online database of bird observations, to survey birds alongside tens of thousands of people from all over the world. eBird is a global online database of bird observations created by the world-leading Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In 2019, we reported 82 different species and a total of 33,657 birds. We found that the hooded crow is the most widespread bird in Israel—a phenomenon that we have also seen in previous years. The five species that we saw in the majority of our observations are widespread in human habitats thanks to the availability of food and the birds’ ability to adapt to changing environments. All five of these species were also at the top of last year’s list of most common species, in more or less the same order, which is indicative of the relative stability of the system and also of the reliability of the data, thanks to the statistical power of multiple observations.

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The Lesser Kestrel: No Longer Endangered

Until a few years ago, the lesser kestrel was endangered in Israel and around the world--a result of shrinking habitats and pesticide use. In 1996, the Israel Ornithological Center began work to protect the lesser kestrel.

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The Israel Ornithological Center’s flagship lesser kestrel initiative is a joint venture with the Alona Regional Council and “Porsim Kanaf” (Israel’s national birds of prey conservation project). The initiative comprises a community education project in the Alona regional school to protect the lesser kestrel’s main habitat in Israel. In recent years, we began a similar project in the Megido Regional Council. Today, partly as a result of these initiatives, the lesser kestrel is no longer considered endangered.

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Nature Defense Force for Birds

This year, as part of the Nature Defense Force initiative—a joint venture between SPNI, the Israel Defense Force (IDF), and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority—we began a number of impressive bird conservation projects. These included an initiative to restore the common swift population in the Kiriya and Sharona compounds in Tel Aviv. Common swifts are small, insectivorous flocking birds that spend most of their lives in flight. They arrive in Israel in the spring to breed and build their nests inside crevices in walls and under the cornices of roofs. However, modern buildings are unsuitable nest sites, because they are incompatible with the swifts’ unique flight form. To help the birds breed, IDF soldiers placed nesting boxes made from ammunition cases around the Kirya compound. The nesting boxes are especially tailored to the swifts’ flight form and thus enable them to fly in and out of the nests easily.

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As part of a project to protect the bird species that breed around the Nahshonim kibbutz, IDF soldiers created nesting sites there for the lesser kestrel. This project also included advocacy education activities, such as observing and ringing birds, designed to increase awareness and sensitivity toward nature conservation among IDF soldiers.

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Over the last 20 years, we have seen a 90% drop in the number of Lichtenstein’s sandgrouse in the Negev. One of the reasons for this sharp decline is contaminated sewage water, which the sandgrouse drink. As part of a project to save the sandgrouse population in the Shivta area of the Negev, IDF soldiers provide these birds with sources of clean drinking water, and raise awareness about the need to protect sandgrouse living within their unit’s firing zones.

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Champions of The Flyway: Breaking Records for The Sixth Time

This year, the sixth annual Champions of the Flyway bird race took place in Eilat, alongside the International Birding and Research Center’s annual conference. Over 400 people from 25 countries attended the conference, with around 150 ornithologists and 30 teams taking part in the race, raising over $75,000 to protect Rift Valley vultures. The race generated lots of positive energy from all over the world, at the end of the conference we were showered with compliments and well-wishes from delegates, many of whom said they would like to return next year.

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Birdwatching Classes

SPNI’s Israel Ornithological Center continues to educate the next generation of young ornithologists. Every year, we run birdwatching classes for children and young people. The classes are held in different areas of Israel and are taught by adult ornithologists with knowledge of birdwatching and of nature in general. During school vacations, young ornithologists from all over Israel get together to observe the country’s spectacular birdlife.

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 A Joint Venture with Salt of the Earth Ltd

The Salt of the Earth company’s salt pools in Eilat and Atlit are an important stop-over and resting site for waterfowl during their annual migration. To help protect the salt pools, the Israel Ornithological Center has teamed up with Salt of the Earth to run a number of initiatives. This impressive joint venture has been ongoing for several years, and we are delighted to report some impressive results in the conservation of seagull nesting colonies in the salt pools.

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Our 40th Annual Birdwatching Seminar Day

We ended 2019 with our 40th annual birdwatching seminar day at Tel Aviv University. Hundreds of ornithologists and bird lovers attended the day, which included a review of the status of birds in Israel over the last 40 years. The worrying data presented at the seminar means that we will have to rethink our direction of travel. Since 1979, six species of nesting birds have become extinct in Israel, including the bimaculated lark, Savi’s warbler, the lappet-faced vulture, and the bearded vulture. A further 65 bird species are endangered. We must do everything in our power to change this situation and save more species from extinction, so that generations to come can enjoy our country’s birds.

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For Israel to become a good place for birds, we must protect their habitats, including large, continuous, open spaces, and their stop-over stations along migration routes; prevent the introduction of invasive species and pests and reduce the spread of existing ones; pass the amended Wildlife Protection Law, which first and foremost prohibits sport hunting.

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Over the next year, we will continue our efforts to improve the status of Israel’s birds—in particular those that are endangered—by actively promoting ways to protect threatened species, preventing the erection of wind turbines, mapping key bird areas, and raising public awareness.