hulabirdfestival

Moustached Warbler - Yoav Perlman Birding - Yoav Perlman Bar-tailed Godwit - Yoav Perlman

The 1^st international Hula Valley Bird Festival was an incredible week. The days flew by quicker than the 200 species of birds that were logged by visitors during the week. Besides the daily backdrop spectacle of over 30,000 Common Cranes which is remarkable on its own right, a host of rare and interesting species made every session in the field unique. Festival tours connected with great birds like:
Saker, E. Imperial, Bonneli’s, White-tailed, lesser and Greater Spotted Eagles, Long billed Pipit, Namaqua Dove, Black Francolin, Dead Sea Sparrows, Crimson Winged Finch, Sombre Tit, White-headed and Ferruginous Ducks, Pygmy Cormorants and many more.
The now famous family of Black-winged Kites at the Agmon is a real attraction and put on a show the whole week.

The Festival Checklist

Mammals were noteworthy with around 15 species seen.

The festival tour groups were incredibly lucky and had frequent encounters with Jungle Cats, and even 3 Wolves on Mt Hermon in broad daylight.

The photography workshop was a great success and the participants came up with award winning shots of all the key species that were targeted. A full gallery from the workshop will be uploaded soon.

One of the 2011 Hula festival’s key features was the international scientific conference, on the importance of stop-over sites on migration. Many key speakers gave inspiring talks, the sessions were interesting and the workgroups held on the final afternoon came up with some interesting ideas for the future.

The best thing about the festival week was the assembly of birders and nature lovers from 12 nationalities that joined forces to bird northern Israel, and the company was just as interesting and pleasant as the birds.

Stay posted for a full festival summary.

The 2^nd International Hula Valley Bird Festival will take place on
11-18 November 2012

A full program will be available soon.

Thanks again to all our friends old and new for making the festival a week to remember, see you next year!

Jonathan Meyrav – On behalf of the festival staff.