Migration through the Holy Land

Tuesday 11^th March by Robin Khan

Robin’s talk was based on his numerous visits to the middle east, particularly Israel, with reference to the migration of birds which follow the route up through the eastern side of Africa and on through the Holy Land into Turkey and beyond. Despite Robin’s modesty about his skill with a camera his talk was brilliantly illustrated with slides showing not only the birds but the harsh terrain that the birds have to cross and the problems that this causes. Interestingly Robin told us that the watch and count of the raptors etc., which pass through in great numbers, is partly funded by the Israeli Airforce and by El Al so that the information is passed back to them to avoid planes being damaged by striking the birds. He told us of the millions of birds that pass through and of the huge numbers dying on migration. On one morning in April 2002 he and the team counted in 5 hours – 23,500 Steppe Buzzards, 1,800 Black Kites, 18 Egyptian Vultures, 2 Imperial Eagles, 400 White Storks and 187 Black Storks amongst other birds passing through! On another full day the count of Steppe Buzzards reached 128,000! We also saw slides of many varieties of wagtails, hirundines and other small migrants. Our thanks to Robin for not only entertaining us, but greatly improving our knowledge.

Roger Tucker