Israel Birding Tours

Israel is one of the Western Palearctic’s most important flyways for migrating birds and timing your Israel birding tours to view this spectacle will leave you with a greater appreciation of the marvel of bird migration. The State of Israel (“Israel” hereafter) is geographically located in Western Asia and is part of the Western Palearctic realm. It is also considered part of Europe. The country is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Palestinian territories of West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The Mediterranean Sea is to the west of the country and the southern tip of Israel, near the famous (at least amongst birders) city of Eilat, abuts the Gulf of Aqaba, part of the Red Sea. Tel Aviv is the economic and technological center of the country. The region is regarded by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as the Holy Land. The country, and the Levant region as a whole, has an ancient human history and is a very interesting subject to read about, and too much detail to go into here!

Israel is a very narrow country, it is 62 miles (100 kilometers) wide and 250 miles (400 kilometers) long, yet despite its small size, the country has some impressive geographic features such as the Negev Desert, the Galilee mountain range, the Jordan Rift Valley (a part of the Great Rift Valley which runs for approximately 4,300 miles (7,000 kilometers), all the way from Lebanon to Mozambique), the River Jordan, the fertile Hula Valley (once the site of a vast freshwater lake), the Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea (the lowest point on the surface of Earth).

According to International Ornithological Congress (IOC) taxonomy (v10.2 in January 2021), the Israel bird list stands at 587 species, 34 of these are considered to be globally threatened. One of the incredible things about birds and birding in Israel is what happens during the migration seasons (spring and fall/autumn) when over 500 million birds (that is not a typo, it is five hundred million birds!) pass through the country during each season. The migration is a phenomenal sight to observe and really is something you must see at least once in your lifetime, it will not be forgotten but warning, it is addictive! We are currently offering customized Israel birding tours, so if you are interested in joining us here, please get in touch. These custom Israel birding trips can be to target specific key species of the region, or to just marvel in the wonder that is visible migration.