Migratory Soaring Birds |
 Migratory Soaring Birds and there Status within Jericho
District
(Southern Part of the Jordan Valley)
More than thirty species of Raptors (Soaring Birds) pass
through Palestine every Year, 6 of them are abundant and fully migratory
species; these Raptors leave the western half of the Palearictic entirely (Honey
Buzzard , Steppe Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Black Kite, Levant Sparrowhawk,
Steppe Buzzard). Other raptors are less abundant such marsh Harrier, Hen
Harrier, Pallid Harrier Montague’s Harrier , Booted Eagle, Short toed Eagle,
Bonelli’s Eagle Spotted Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Osprey. Some other raptors are
Passage migrant and Summer visitor, for example Short toed Eagle, Long Legged
Buzzard, Egyptian Vulture, Lesser Kestrel. The wintering raptors include Black
Kite, the 4 species of Harriers. The soaring birds also include White Stork,
Black Stork, White Pelican and Cranes. These species unlike migratory raptors,
they stop on the way to feed, rather than mainly or solely to roost. Storks and
Pelicans are truly soaring birds, cranes are very large birds but considered as
a semi-soaring bird.
The abundant of all these soaring birds that cross Palestine
twice each year from north to south or from south to north, is due to several
reasons and they can be summarized as follow:
► Palestine stands at the crossroad of three continents (Asia, Europe, and
Africa) and various climatic zones and is the scene of interaction between three
biogeographically regions.
► Palestine is located on the main migration route to and from Africa of the
birds of Europe and western Asia.
► Palestine has an abundant variety of environments, providing a rang of habitat
► The soaring birds are large bodied birds, that use the raising thermals and
updraft air while they are migrate. This compels them to avoid the crossing of
large water bodies. The cir*****navigation around the black, Caspian,
Mediterranean and Red Sea brings most of the Soaring Birds into Palestine air
space during their migration.
Soaring birds, specially raptors( diurnal birds of prey) are
secretive, wide ranging, highly mobile avian predators, they exist at the tops
of many food chains, their populations are especially sensitive to alterations
in ecosystem structure and they are an important indicators of the ecological
condition and productivity of the ecosystem.
The Migration of soaring birds is recognizable through the
Jordan Valley, (Jericho District is located on the South Western part of the
Jordan Valley) especially during the spring migration. Within Jericho District,
two migration routs can be identified, the first one is the western migration
rout and the other one is the east central migration rout. In the last three
years Palestine Wildlife Society conducted monitoring and survey programs for
the Soaring birds, unfortunately for some reasons these monitoring and survey
activities where not standardized through the seasons or through the years. The
procedure includes a 45 discontinuous days of monitoring and survey activities
from the beginning to the ending days of the migration seasons. The following
are the data that collected by the research Department of Palestine wildlife
society (researchers: Anton Khalilieh, Sami Backleh and supervisor Mr. Imad Al
Atrash):
Common Name
Latin Name
Status
Number
Comments
Common Crane
Grus grus
PM
1600
Spring and automn
migration
Black Stork
Ciconia nigra
PM, WV,
850
Spring and automn
migration
White Stork
Ciconia ciconia
PM, WV
18000
Spring and automn
migration
European Honey-buzzard
Pernis apivorus
PM
8000
Mainly Spring
migration
Black Kite
Milvus migrans
PM, WV
1700
Mainly Spring
migration
White-tailed Eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla
PM, WV,
1
winter
Egyptian Vulture
Neophron percnopterus
PM, WV, SV
76
Mainly Spring
migration
Eurasian Griffon Vulture
Gyps fulvus
resident, PM,
WV
3
Spring and automn
migration
Short-toed Eagle
Circaetus gallicus
PM, WV, SV
120
Mainly Spring
migration
Western Marsh-Harrier
Circus aeruginosus
PM, WV, )
17
Mainly Spring
migration
Hen Harrier
Circus cyaneus
PM, WV
2
Mainly Spring
migration
Pallid Harrier
Circus macrourus
PM, WV
4
Mainly Spring
migration
Montagu's Harrier
Circus pygargus
PM, WV
2
Mainly Spring
migration
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus
PM, WV, SV
6
Mainly Spring
migration and Winter
Levant Sparrowhawk
Accipiter brevipes
PM
158
Mainly Spring
migration
Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
PM, WV,
7
Mainly Spring
migration and Winter
Steppe Buzzard
Buteo buteo vulpinus
PM
10000
Mainly Spring
migration
Long-legged Buzzard
Buteo rufinus
resident, PM, WV
6
Spring and automn
migration
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Aquila
pomarina
PM,
1480
Mainly Spring
migration
Greater Spotted Eagle
Aquila
clanga
PM, WV
1
Steppe Eagle
Aquila
nipalensis
PM, WV
2050
Mainly Spring
migration
Booted Eagle
Hieraaetus pennatus
PM, WV
70
Mainly Spring
migration
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
PM,
5
Mainly Spring
migration
Lesser Kestrel
Falco naumanni
PM, WV, SV
2
Mainly Spring
migration
Merlin
Falco columbarius
PM, WV
2
Winter
Eurasian Hobby
Falco subbuteo
PM, SV
1
Mainly Spring
migration
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
PM, WV
1
Winter
Posted on Thursday, January 04 @ Eastern Standard Time by qlaith
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