Highly recommended: the Israeli summer at its peak

There are those who see summer in Israel as the "cucumber season" of Israeli nature, but for Avner Rinot, a surveyor in the Urban Nature Surveys Unit of the Society for the Protection of Nature, it is actually a fascinating season that photographs beautifully

Ziv Reinstein

11/08/2022

Thursday, August 11, 2022, 3:07 p.m

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The hot summer in Israel is considered by many to be the "cucumber season" of Israeli nature, meaning a season lacking in "surprises" that nature has to offer.

However, according to Avner Rinot, a surveyor in the Urban Nature Survey Unit of the Society for the Protection of Nature, this is actually a fascinating season, in which many wild animals are busy breeding, with an emphasis on nesting birds.

"In addition to fascinating learning in the field how Israeli wildlife copes with the harsh conditions that prevail in high temperatures, in the surrounding aridity and dryness and when food sources are quite scarce, we have a lot to learn from our wildlife and special flora," he says.

So, while you're turning the air conditioner down again, avoiding any unnecessary exit into the steamy heat outside, or maybe looking for a cool source of water, Rinot documented some fascinating situations during his fieldwork this summer.

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Shrekrak Green, Jordan Valley

The green shrek is the largest of Israel's three shrek species, some say the most beautiful of them.

Its flocks roam these days with the end of the nesting season mainly along the Syrian-African rift in the Valley of the Springs, the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea Valley and the Arabah and also in the northwestern Negev region, with an emphasis on the Heshur region.

In this photo you can see a mature individual feeding a young individual with a bee.

Before feeding, the adult rubs off the stinger and drops it from the bee's abdomen.

green shrek

A mature individual feeding a bee a young individual (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

wild, wild

Pra is the wild donkey of the deserts of Israel.

After the extinction of the original population that originated to the east of us, a successful restoration project began and today the wild is common in many areas of the Negev and the Arabah, especially in the plains of Mount Negev - the Fathat Nitsana area, the Ramon Crater, the plain, the Ovda Valley, the Great Rivers Reserve and more.

Common in many areas of the Negev and the Arabah.

The wild in the wild (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

Frog streams, winter pool in Teiba

The river frog is the most common amphibian species in Israel.

It can be found in many water sources throughout the country, including winter pools, springs, lakes, streams and also artificial water sources such as fish ponds, ornamental ponds and irrigation ditches.

The frog is an effective repeller of mosquitoes and therefore its presence in water bodies is also beneficial to humans.

The most common amphibian species in Israel.

A brook frog in the winter pool in Taiba (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

Brown butterfly eyed, Nahal Kasziv Reserve

The brown-eyed brown is a fairly large diurnal butterfly with camouflage colors and an eye-like pattern on the wings, these are apparently mainly intended for warning potential predators and also for communication between the individuals.

This butterfly is common in moist groves in the mountain area, from Carmel through the Upper Galilee, such as Nahal Kaziv, and the north of the Golan Heights.

A butterfly has a wonderful camouflage in the thicket of the forest.

The eyes on the wings are designed to alert potential predators.

A brown butterfly browsing in Nahal Kaziv (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

Common Katalev, Pilot Mountain

Common cataleb is a beautiful forest tree, characterized by its red trunk that stands out from afar.

In the summer season the bark of the tree peels off in many forms and finally leaves the trunk without the reddish bark.

In this way the tree saves liquid loss.

Towards the winter, the bark regenerates and contributes to the tree by absorbing the rainwater to the roots.

The tree is common in the high mountain groves, the Judean Mountains, the Samaria Mountains, the Carmel and the Upper Galilee.

Towards the winter the bark is renewed.

Katalev is found in Kilopu, Mount Pilots (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

The water bulb, in the coal mines in the Golan Heights

The water lily is a beautiful water plant that blooms in the spring months in many water sources in the north and center of the country.

While in most of the sites where the plant grows it is no longer in bloom, in the north of the Golan Heights you can still see the flowering of the water bulb even in the summer months, mainly in shaded water bodies.

Most of the bulb species that bloom in Israel are yellow, a minority of them are white and yellow, and only one species, known to all of us, blooms in red - the Asian bulb.

In the north of the Golan Heights you can still see its flowering.

The water bulb in Ein Paham (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

An Israeli deer in Sde Kotiz, Emek al-Mada'im in Jerusalem

The Deer Valley Urban Nature Park in Jerusalem currently houses a herd of deer, numbering close to a hundred individuals.

The valley is a breeding nucleus for the Israeli deer population which is currently in danger of global extinction.

The observation of the deer found in the valley is comfortable and pleasant in the morning and afternoon even in the hot summer months.

It is best to see them in the morning and afternoon.

An Israeli deer in the Emek al-Emchim (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

A pair of Crowned Kitas and Sharp-tailed Kites, Azuz in the Negev

The hot summer months in the Negev are a significant challenge for the desert dwellers.

Many animals need available water sources in order to survive and to feed their offspring who are waiting in a shelter somewhere across the arid desert.

The hekta birds are a wonderful example of desert survival skills - the hekta males have special breast feathers that absorb water like a sponge and keep it until they reach the chicks hidden among the desert stones.

A wonderful example of desert survival skills.

A pair of crowned stilts and a sharp-tailed stilt (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

Carpet of a common hedgehog, Taiba

We all know how unpleasant it is to go through a thicket.

Many gardeners prefer to spray or harvest areas where thorns grow abundantly.

However, many thorns have a beautiful appearance that paints the dry season with wonderful colors.

For example, the field of hedgehogs in the picture taken during an urban nature survey in Tayba.

Throughout the country you can meet different species of hedgehogs, whose flower color ranges from white to deep purple.

Apart from the eye-catching blossoms, many thorns have fatty seeds that are important for nutrition for many animals, with an emphasis on songbirds.

Various species such as the common thistle also have many medicinal properties and this is a particularly acceptable plant to collect.

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To the full article

A purple field of a common hedgehog (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature, Avner Rinot)

Rust-tailed Hamaria, Sdot Afula

The hummingbird is one of the special songbirds that come to us in the spring and summer months.

It is a rather small clay-brown bird as its name suggests, its tail is extremely long and shaped like a fan.

Its color is rusty brown with black and white edges.

The harrier usually raises her tail and spreads it like a fan while looking for food and guarding her property.

The song of the nightingale is as wonderful and beautiful as the song of the nightingale, its relative.

Listen to the Rusty-tailed Hamaria singing in Afula

Rusty-tailed Chamaria (Photo: Avner Rinot, Society for the Protection of Nature)

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