Hobby flights disrupt wildlife, society complains

According to a report, native birds and animals had abandoned Israel's swimming beaches because of the constant human traffic there.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has issued a complaint against the many light planes and gliders that dot the skies over Israel's beaches on weekends, saying the fliers are disruptive to birds and wildlife, reports www.local.co.il. In a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority, SPNI says there has been a significant rise in the number of gliders and light planes over the past two years, and their low flights pose a "grave disturbance," also to humans on the beaches. According to the report, SPNI wrote that native birds and animals had abandoned Israel's swimming beaches because of the constant human traffic there, and now their habitats at previously undisturbed beaches are being threatened. The letter said that most recently gliders flew over the nests of protected birds at the Carmel beach, one of the few remaining Israeli beaches to be left in its natural state and a "treasure" in the number and variety of protected native species it houses. The letter said such disturbances to native birdlife should not be tolerated, and asked the authority to remind all pilots not to fly over nesting areas and to explain the damage that could be caused to wildlife. No response was reported from the authority.