ISRAEL: Togetherness Takes Wings

Pierre Klochendler

HULA VALLEY, Dec 12  (IPS)  – Hasn’t anyone dreamt once of taking refuge under the shelter of a bird’s wings, coiled up in its feathers, catching a bird’s eye view of what looks from above like paradise?

For millions of birds, and thousands of birdwatchers, this wildlife preserve is a jewel of Mother Nature, “paradise on earth,” marvels Yitzhak Ben-Dor, observing pelicans bathing in the Hula Lake.

“In times of migration, 250 million birds fly over here. Then, they return to their breeding grounds. In a year, 500 million birds cross Israel’s sky – it’s amazing, God-created heaven!” exclaims the Israeli birdwatcher.

It’s a free fall of birds heading southward, fleeing the winter frost. When spring blooms, they head back northward in full swing.

During both high seasons, birds rest, eat, in the Promised Land, before they take off again, setting out on a hazardous, adventurous journey, covering thousands of kilometres from northern Europe to Africa.

“The only place where birds from three different continents meet is here,” Ben-Dor adds.

Enclosed between the Syrian Golan Heights (occupied by Israel) to the East, Israel’s Galilee hills to the West, and the Lake of Galilee to the south, the valley lies at the heart of the Afro-Syrian Rift – one of the world’s most renowned bird migration routes.

Though a small bottleneck, Israel stands at a strategic crossroad in the bird migration highway. Say birdwatchers, the valley’s ‘refuelling’ station.

Where birds stop, so do birdwatchers. “Westward is the Mediterranean Sea, no food; eastward is the vast emptiness – the Syrian, Iraqi, Jordanian, and Arabian deserts – no drinks. Here, they’ve got everything they need, the Jordan River, crops, trees to rest,” explains Ben-Dor.

Free, they fly. Carefree, they land here – with a clamour. ‘A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer’ goes a Chinese adage. ‘It sings because it has a song’. The Crane has long been crowned the earthly prince
of all feathered creatures. It’s said the souls of the departed ride on them to heaven.

Spotted amidst clouds, Cranes stand for long life, wisdom, nobility. Sighted hovering amongst pine trees, they embody determination, wealth, power. Symbol of human desires and well-wishes, the Crane also exemplifies health, prosperity, happiness, purity.

There are some 90,000 Cranes in the nature reserve. They first landed here in 1997, when the collective farms’ agrologists of the area switched from growing cotton to cultivating peanuts, chickpeas, wheat. “And, we have the Hula Lake,” notes Ben-Dor.

Before Israel’s creation in 1948, a land of marches and swamps irrigated by the tributaries of the Jordan River, the valley was a breeding ground for malaria.

In the 1950s, the marshland around the lake was drained. Though initially perceived as a great national development project, with time, draining the Hula turned out to be a mixed blessing.

The soil stripped of natural foliage was blown away by the winds. The peat of the drained land ignited spontaneously, causing underground fires difficult to extinguish. Water polluted with chemical fertilisers began flowing into the Lake of Galilee, Israel’s main water reservoir.

All that caused the extinction of the unique endemic fauna of the lake. “It’s people who destroy birds,” laments Omri Bone, the Jewish National Fund’s regional director.

In the 1990s, a small section of the valley was re-flooded in an attempt to revive the nearly extinct ecosystem. Nature was reclaimed. Species like the Hula painted frog, or the whooper swan were spotted here last month after a long absence.

Yet, other problems await the birds, such as global warming. Birdwatchers have observed that in recent years, migrating fowl are on the decline while the overall number of birds is on the rise.

Ben-Dor tries to elucidate the mysteries of global warming. “There’s no rain, so farmers don’t sow, and birds feed on old crops seeds and leftovers. That’s why Cranes stay longer.” Some 30,000 of them have moved to the valley permanently, inflicting damage to crops.

“We prevent them from eating the seeds during the seeding season by attracting them with corn seeds to designated areas,” says Omri Bone.

Then, there’s the risk of conflict. Five years ago, Israel launched a war against the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah.

Recalls Ben-Dor: “The military said there were no birds during the war. Had they been quiet for just five minutes, they would’ve heard the birds. There are birds – all the time. They know no border, no war.”

Here’s a soothing message from birds to birdwatchers. “If you set up a bomb in the middle of this,” says Mel Zach, a birdwatcher from Britain, his arm inclusively caressing the soft surroundings like a wing, “they’ll regroup, fly around, check what’s going on, think about it. Then, they’ll settle down again.

“Birds are very good indicators of things going wrong. They know to detect real danger. There are security problems anywhere. People who really want to see beauty, see nature, won’t be deterred. Like birds, birdwatchers don’t think about the political situation.”

Birdwatchers are watchers of both nature and human nature.

Such is the advice dispensed by Ben-Dor: “First, love nature. Then, cultivate the ability to sit quiet and be patient. Either you have it, or don’t. But if you don’t, learn how to master these qualities. “It’s just a matter of going out. It doesn’t matter where you live. In the city, just open the window. A birdwatcher won’t have a heart attack!”

The winged voyager, so noble, how he rides the storms, rises above the Golan ridge! How he mocks the birdwatcher.

“Do you hear the Cranes? They’re talking,” marvels Ben-Dor.

Could the prince of the clouds and the skies be a poet, like the birdwatcher? Exiled, stranded on the earth, his wings encumber his majesty. But, in the celestial expanse, his giant wings are wings of a giant.