Mizrachi SA Jewish Observer - Pesach 2016 | Page 26

BIRDS OF ISRAEL

BIRDS OF ISRAEL

ISRAEL IS FOR
THE BIRDS
ILANA STEIN

Photo Credit: Jonathan Meyrav

NO, SERIOUSLY.

BIRD MIGRATION BY THE NUMBERS
The red knot has one of the longest total migration
routes of any bird, travelling up to 16 000 kilometres
twice a year. It breeds in Siberia and overwinters on the
west coast of Africa, some even going down to the tip of
South Africa. The Arctic tern holds the long-distance
migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic
breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year.

Birds are hip and
happening in Israel these days, and birders and
twitchers (again, seriously – that’s the official
terminology for “a birdwatcher whose main aim is to
collect sightings of rare birds” – Oxford English
Dictionary) are arriving in increasing numbers to view
the incredible spectacle of literally millions of birds –
500 million in one count – belonging to hundreds of
species flying overhead – either southwards to escape
the northern winter or back north in spring.
While humans winging their way in to see such a
phenomenon is relatively recent, for birds it’s aeons
old. The Tanach mentions it. Iyov’s description of the
manifold wonders of nature states: “Is it because of
your understanding that the hawk grows a wing; that it
spreads out its wings to the south?” (Iyov 39:26), while
Yirmiyahu (8:7) uses it as a metaphor: “Even the stork in
the heavens knows its seasons, and the turtle dove, the
swift and the crane keep the time of their arrival.”
Migratory birds have always used the small country as
a flyway, taking advantage of the Syrian African Rift
as a terrestrial bridge between their northern homes
in Europe and Asia and the warmer southern climes
of Africa. That way, they avoid the cold and dearth of
nourishment that a Eurasian winter brings and go where
food and water are abundant. Migration can be short
– moving from the top of a mountain down to a valley
– or all the way from the Arctic to the Antarctic (see
box). Indeed, if you’re lucky, you can see the same bird
in flight overhead in Israel, then go to Kruger a week
or month later and see the same bird there, nesting or
feeding and generally enjoying the African sun. (It may
be his cousin, but you get the point.)

“Some of
the birds, it
seems, have
heard the
call of Herzl
and are
making
Aliya.”

But aside from this incredible feat of thousands of
kilometres flown with nary a break and the questions it
raises – how do they know where to go? Do they have
GPS systems (possibly)? How on earth do they survive
without eating or drinking to get there? There’s now a
peculiarly Zionistic twist to an already intriguing story.
Some of the birds, it seems, have heard the call of Herzl
and are making Aliya. Instead of moving on, they’re
remaining in the land of milk and honey – because it’s
just that: a land of abundant food.
Take the cranes. Officially Grus grus in scientific
nomenclature, or Agur in Hebrew, the common crane
(not found in South Africa; we have others including
the blue crane, our national bird) flies from Finland to
Ethiopia every autumn, along three different flyways,
one being via Israel. Seeing thousands (at least 100 000
at one official count) of these large birds flying across
the sky, mewling plaintively as they go, is a sight to
behold. Up until a few years ago, they would stop off at
the Hula Valley in the Galilee to take in a little
sustenance before continuing on their long, arduous journey.
Then, thanks as always to the meddling of humanity,
things changed.
Continued on pg 28

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