Urban Birder: Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel
David Lindo enjoys more than just a ‘Biblical experience’ at a fantastic bird observatory
David not only enjoys a biblical experience, but gets to see many great birds, too
One of my favourite countries for birding is Israel. It is on the radar of many birders, owing to the phenomenal migration that can be witnessed, all thanks to its geographical positioning as a bottleneck on the south-western shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
I have enjoyed many fabulous trips to Eilat and the nearby Negev Desert, watching incredible numbers of raptors spilling overhead; and exploring urban Eilat, as well as the numerous wadis, for a host of exciting migrant species.
In 2013, I was invited to the International Hula Bird Festival, near the Syrian border, as a guest speaker. The original plan was for me to spend a week at the festival, enjoying the wintering flocks of more than 30,000 Cranes, plus the opportunity to see Syrian Serin, Crimson-winged Finch, Black-winged Kite and Pallid Harrier.
As planned, I gave my talk on the second afternoon of my stay, and was surprised to see that my audience comprised a large contingent of people from Jerusalem who counted themselves among my greatest fans! After the talk, they convinced me to return with them back to Jerusalem. I guess my wayward spirit and the lure of the city lights were too great, so, I soon found myself on a coach with a garrulous bunch of Israeli birders.
On the way, we stopped at the Sea of Galilee. Viewed from a distance, it certainly looked biblical: a shimmering lake in the Jordan Rift Valley where, once upon a time, Jesus had famously walked on its waters. Now, I am not a particularly religious person, but I did wonder if I would have an epiphany on the water’s edge and throw my binoculars into the lake to become a pilgrim. That did not happen.
Instead, when I stood by the shore, or to be more precise on the elevated boardwalk, my jaw dropped. I was greeted not by a religious icon but, instead, by a very tacky touristic ‘kiss me quick’ scene with a sonic backdrop of loud, banging, acid house.
Fortunately, there were birds around to divert me from the disappointment. A couple of Night Herons stood on the jetties, patiently waiting for the next tour boat to arrive, while Armenian Gulls joined their Black-headed brethren on nearby rocks whom, in turn, were sitting with plentiful Pygmy Cormorants. A rather approachable Squacco Heron was stalking the rocks beneath the promenade that I was standing on, keeping a watchful eye on a nearby group of feral cats rummaging through a discarded falafel wrapper.
Ringing station
We reached Jerusalem by nightfall. The next morning I was taken to Jerusalem Bird Observatory in the heart of the city. Sitting on a hill sandwiched by the parliamentary buildings, a high court and the ornamental Rose Garden, it seemed an unlikely site for a ringing station. Yet, within this one-acre
oasis, replete with artificial water features and the bush cover that you expect from an observatory, more than 200 species have been encountered, and in excess of 7,000 birds ringed, annually. This is a staggering number of birds caught, including some great rarities like an Eyebrowed Thrush.
Founded in 1994, it is a community urban wildlife site that serves as a great educational resource for Israeli students and local children, who come along to watch and learn about birds and conservation. Their visitor centre was the first in Israel to be a ‘living one’, with a green roof, and is festooned with 70 nestboxes for Great Tits, Hoopoes and sparrows.
A school party arrived during my morning at the observatory and I sat excitedly with them as Spectacled Bulbuls and Palestine Sunbirds were extracted from the nets and processed. A few Robins and Song Thrushes were also caught, including a ‘controlled’ seven-year-old Robin whose ring was coincidently inscribed 007! Both species are winter visitors to the city and were the greyer ‘continental’ versions of our own birds. Jerusalem was also experiencing a great Hawfinch winter. Like Waxwings in the UK, Hawfinches occur here each winter in varying numbers, and the signs were that this was to be a bumper year. I easily saw about 40 birds in the JBO as well as in the adjoining ornamental Rose Garden. I was also super thrilled to see them in the hand at close range.
Unfortunate wader
After the ringing session, Avner Rinot, a young Israeli birder who worked at the observatory, and I decided to do some birding in the adjacent Rose Garden. We were standing at the top of the hill next to the parliamentary building, looking downhill, when we noticed a cat with a still live Woodcock within its jaws. Without thinking, we both pelted towards the cat to try to rescue the unfortunate wader. No luck. Both had disappeared by the time we arrived on the scene.
Dejected, we both started to ascend the hill. Looking up, I saw a man in a black suit, dark glasses and a very visible handgun urgently climbing over a wall of the parliamentary building. He had eyes on us while speaking into his earpiece. This didn’t look good. It must have looked as though I was chasing Avner. How many years would I get for that? He asked for my ID while sweeping his jacket back to reveal his gun. Avner did some swift sweet-talking in Hebrew and the special agent was on his way, satisfied. Another potential international birding incident averted!
● Special thanks to Amir Balaban, Dr Gidon Perlman, Avner Rinot & Jonathan Meyrav.