March and November are the best months for birdwatching in Israel, and Shatour Israel can help you plan your visit to coincide with their migrations and to see Israel’s native birds in their natural habitats.
During each migration an estimated 500 million birds fly through Israel, stopping to find food and rest their wings in their favorite habitats. There are some great places around Israel where you can spot and photograph multiple species, whether you are a keen “twitcher” or just enjoy watching one of nature’s most beautiful sights.
In March the Eilat Birds Festival is a social opportunity for serious “birders” to swap stories and photographs of their sightings. The International Birdwatching and Research Center in Eilat (IBRCE) is the best place to spot the millions of birds that are heading across the Southern Arava Desert. With a pair of good binoculars you can sometimes spot up to 200 species of migrant bird. Even outside of the migration season, birdwatchers report seeing between 80 and 110 species passing through this area, including many desert birds.
Israel bird tours are very popular and a day or two of bird-watching can easily be incorporated into a general or family tour of Israel, since there are many other attractions in proximity to the main bird-watching areas.
Israel Birding Portal has information about the best birding sites and their interactive map shows 200 good locations for birdwatching that you may want to visit. For example, if you like spotting birds of prey, head to the Ramat HaNegev Birding Center in Sde Boker, where you can see up to ten species of vultures, eagles, buzzards and falcons.
Located at the heart of Jerusalem, near to the Israeli Knesset and the Supreme Court, the Jerusalem Bird Observatory (JBO) runs conservation and environmental educational activities for all ages, including bird-ringing and birdwatching tours. In Tel Aviv’s central Yarkon Park there is a new bird-watching Center called Rosh Zipor, where you can enjoy a relaxing natural retreat from the bustle of the city.
If you are heading to Northern Israel, the Gamla cliffs in the Golan Heights are a great place for watching convocations of eagles floating on the thermals. The Hula Valley Nature Reserve is a bird-watching paradise, designed with different types of water features, lakes and landscapes that appeal to different species of wading birds and water fowl. Herons, flamingos, cranes and egrets are the easiest to spot here.
We can either organize intensive trips for birding enthusiasts or incorporate a few hours of birdwatching into your Israel tour schedule. Talk to Shatour’s Israel tour experts today about the best times and places to visit to watch birds in Israel.