All over the world tomorrow (Friday) will mark Bird Day, first marked in the United States in 1894, which was established to promote the value of conservation and protection of birds. On the occasion of the festive occasion, the Nature and Parks Authority, which works together with other entities to reduce damage to the birds' habitats and reduce their damage from infrastructure, gathered for us five impressive birds that are endangered in Israel – which you may be able to see in the skies of Israel.
Eagles observation at Hai Bar Carmel Nature Reserve (archive) // Photo: Yaniv Cohen - Israel Nature and Parks Authority
Biblical Eagle
A large, flocking bird of prey from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to India in the east, as well as in North Africa and Israel. In Israel, it nests in high and steep areas, including the Gamla cliffs, the eastern Galilee, the Judean Desert and the Zinim cliff in the Negev. In recent years, a nesting colony has been reestablished in the Carmel cliffs, after decades of absence from the site. The eagle feeds on the carcasses of farm animals or large wild animals. Eagles are monogamous, and parenthood is divided equally between the couple in incubating and feeding the chick.
In recent decades, the population of vultures in Israel has shrunk by half, mainly due to poisoning, making them critically endangered. In Israel there are about 200 vultures in 37 nests.
Biblical eagle at Hai Bar Carmel, photo: Yaniv Cohen - Israel Nature and Parks Authority
golden eagle
It is the largest eagle that nests in Israel, feeding mainly on medium and small mammals such as rock hyrax, rabbit and fox, but also hunts harpoons and even land turtles, which it carries and throws from a great height in order to crack their back armor.
Golden eagles nest in dissected mountain landscapes, cliffs and canyons. Today their nesting sites are found in desert and semi-desert areas. The Golden Eagle has nine nesting points this year.
Golden eagle in flight, photo: Yuval Dax
Desert brochure
It is one of the rarest, largest and most impressive birds in Israel. The desert brochure is a ground incubator bird whose habitat has greatly reduced in recent decades, one of whose most prominent characteristics is the impressive and special courtship customs: in spring, the males embark on a unique wedding dance, during which they run hundreds of meters while drumming their legs, raising their head back and inflating their chest feathers, giving them a look that resembles a white-black ball of feathers. It boasts a magnificent head crest, which is prominently featured during courtship season.
In the past, the booklets nested in large areas in the central, western and northern Negev, from the Judean lowlands to the Ramle area, in the Jordan Valley and in the Arava. It is estimated that only about 400 brochures remain in Israel today, about 250 of which arrive in the Hatzerim area on foot in the summer from their nesting areas in 'Azuz.
In 2021, an agreement was signed with the Abu Dhabi International Foundation for the preservation of the booklet and cooperation to promote research to save this special species.
Desert brochure, photo: Doron Nissim
Marbled duck
This is a small and delicate duck, whose general color is gray-brown and is stained with whitish spots that give it the appearance of marble, hence its name. Around his eye there is a dark mask-like spot and the beak is black and narrow. In Israel it is a rare nester, and can be found mainly in the Hula Valley and the Jezreel Valley in swampy landscapes, shallow ponds and reservoirs with dense riparian vegetation, while in winter we will see it in open water landscapes, fish ponds and reservoirs in the Mediterranean region.
The marbled duck is an endangered species in the world in Israel, due to the change and destruction of moist habitats. Its population in Israel is very small but stable: there are about 53 families with about 400 chicks.
Marbled duck, photo: Eldad Amir
Swamp Diver
This bird is a species very similar to a duck. Divers have a short and cumbersome body compared to ducks, a large head and a thick beak. Their legs are located at the back of their bodies, which improves their ability to swim when diving, but makes it difficult for them to get up for flight, so they need a few foot taps like running on the water before they get off in flight.
Their habitat is large bodies of water, usually deep. To eat, they dive to the bottom or center of the body of water and pluck out their plant food. They tend to flock and be in the center of the body of water – from where they can react quickly and also fly in case of approaching danger.
The swamp diver nests in the summer in the Hula Valley, the Carmel coast, the coastal plain and the lowlands, and sometimes also in suitable places in the southern Dead Sea and reservoirs in the Arava. Today, their populations have declined and they are critically endangered, mainly due to the destruction of the moist habitats of lakes and wetlands. In the past year, about 260 individuals were counted in Israel.
Swamp diver, photo: Itay Shimshon - Israel Nature and Parks Authority
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