Soaring-bird migration over northern Israel in autumn

Israel is renowned for the large numbers of pelicans, storks and raptors which migrate through the country en route to and from African wintering areas. From 1990 to 1999, the autumn migration of soaring birds was intensively studied during the Northern Valleys Survey, one of the few comprehensive, long-term, ground-observation surveys in the Western Palearctic. The principal species, including White Stork Ciconia ciconia, Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus, Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes and Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina, tend to concentrate in large numbers on a relatively narrow front, making them comparatively easy to monitor. This paper, which complements an earlier paper describing raptor migration at Eilat (Shirihai & Christie 1992), summarises the results of the survey between 1990 and 1999. For some species, especially those difficult to census on their breeding grounds, long-term monitoring along migration routes provides critical information on world population trends.