Israël : une vidéo du passage migratoire des 4 et 5 octobre 2008

Annual autumn raptor surveys have been conducted in the Afula (Israel) area since the late 1980′ s when, owing to political unrest, the famous Kfar Qassem survey was moved to this valley. The more recent ‘Northern Valleys soaring bird migration survey’ spans the breadth of Israel from the Jordanian border to the Haifa coast. The survey which is a joint venture of the Israeli Ornithological Center and the Israeli Air Force is a thorough, serious operation. About a dozen surveyors are spread across Israel’s Northern Valleys in posts several km apart. The surveyors are equipped with radios and are aware at all times of the passage in the sector and when to expect birds coming their way. The migration is also tracked by a Russian radar located at the International Center for the Study of Bird Migration at Latrun.
On Saturday and Sunday 4-5.10.2008, 53,000 Lesser Spotted Eagles passed through Israel on their migration. This is about half of the global population of this species which passed over Israel within two days. Eyal Bartov, an Israeli wildlife photographer, who lives on Moshav Sde Yitzhak south-east of Hadera, documented the « flood » on the western migration axis (Kfar Kasem – Latrun). Thank to the Israel Ornithological Center, we present you a representative video that includes also a flock of Pelicans.