The Capital's Feathered Friends

By ESTEBAN ALTERMAN
Extract from Issue 16, November 24, 2008 of The Jerusalem Report. To subscribe to The Jerusalem Report click here. Tucked away in an unobtrusive byway in the parkland between the Knesset and the Supreme Court is an unlikely neighbor to those august institutions: the Jerusalem Bird Observatory (JBO). Here, every year, bird lovers give some 10,000 of their feathered friends a quick physical check-up, weigh them and set them free after fixing an aluminum ring on one of the bird's legs as an aid to tracking migration patterns. Up to 500 million migrant birds overfly Israel twice every year, stopping for nourishment and rest on their long trek to Europe in the spring and back to Africa in the fall. Of the 200 different species of birds that reach Jerusalem, two thirds are migrants. The low-lying observatory, which blends in with the natural habitat, provides students, particularly children living in Jerusalem and other urban areas, with an opportunity to experience the environment firsthand. Student activities include "close encounters" with ringed birds, birdwatching tours, a birdwatching club, lectures about bird life, nature conservation, and presentations of current research being conducted at JBO. Tourists and other visitors can stop by for an eco-experience. Established in 1994, under the auspices of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the Jerusalem station is one of four such facilities in Israel and serves as the national bird-ringing center. Its staff consists of five full-time workers, 15 part-time workers and 50 volunteers. Extract from Issue 16, November 24, 2008 of The Jerusalem Report. To subscribe to The Jerusalem Report click here.