Israeli State of the Birds Report

An analysis based on the data from the recently updated Red List of Breeding Birds in Israel (2017).

As part of the update of the Red List of Breeding Birds in Israel, 213 breeding bird species were examined. Of these, 14 species are believed to be regionally extinct and 65 species were assessed as threatened with extinction (Figure 1). Following the assessment, they were divided into the following categories:

Regionally Extinct: Species that no longer breed in the region, although some can still be observed as passage migrants, wintering or accidentals.

Threatened Species: Species that were assessed as Endangered (Figure 1, complete list in the appendices). These species were divided into three categories according to the probability of becoming extinct in the coming decades (CR – Critically Endangered, EN – Endangered, VU – Vulnerable to extinction).

The remaining species that were defined as less threatened according to IUCN criteria were divided into the following categories:

Least Concern: Species whose population or range has not decreased, or if it has, the decrease is below the threshold values determined. For example – the reduction in population size in the past 10 years or 3 generations (the longer of the two) is below 30%, as required by criterion A.

Near Threatened: Species whose populations or range has decreased significantly, but the decrease is below the threshold values specified by IUCN criteria (the conditions for inclusion in this category are specified in the introductory section).

Data Deficient: Species with inadequate information to make a direct or indirect assessment. In some cases, data maybe available but is still insufficient to address population or distribution trends.

Not Applicable: Species observed breeding in Israel, but which are considered invasive or naturalized in recent years; or species breeding in Israel sporadically whose population changes cannot be assessed. An additional 28 species are globally endangered species observed in Israel as passage migrants, wintering or accidental species. These species were included in the list as globally endangered species but their regional threat status was not assessed.

Of the 14 species classified as extinct in the 2017 edition, three species are recent extinctions, i.e. have not been observed breeding in Israel during the past ten years or more (Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides, Bimaculated Lark Melanocorypha bimaculata and Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta). However, four other species, which in the previous edition were considered extinct, have been recorded breeding in Israel in recent years and have therefore been down listed (Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus, Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus, White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla and White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala).

Savi’s Warbler Locustella luscinioides – an example for a recently extinct species

 

The dramatic decline of its population occurred over a very short period, between the late 1980s and the late 1990s. During this time, Savi’s Warbler went from being a relatively common breeding species found in almost all the water bodies surrounded by reed and tamarisk thickets, to an extremely rare and inconsistent breeder. During the past decade, there are no verified records of its breeding in Israel. Savi’s Warbler is known to exhibit strong inter-annual population fluctuations throughout most of its range. During recent years, it has been expanding its range in northern Europe, apparently due to global warming. The fact that Israel is its southern distribution limit, together with the decline in the quality of local water bodies have probably prevented its population from recovering from bad years. Savi’s Warbler, along with other species found in marsh thickets, such as the Moustached Warbler Acrocephalus melanopogon and the Great Reed-warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus, which are critically endangered, is considered an indicator of the poor state of Israel’s wetlands.

 

White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla – a species that has returned to breed

About 50 White-tailed Eagle chicks were released into nature over some 25 years of restoration efforts, before the first successful breeding was recorded. The restoration project began in 1990, with the establishment of the White-tailed Eagle captive breeding nucleus. Every year a number of fledglings hatched in captivity were released in the Hula, Bet Tsaida and Bet She’an valleys. The eaglets had to cope with a very different world since the last white-tailed eagle nest, on the slopes of Mt. Gilboa, was abandoned in 1957. Most of them were decimated during their first year as a result of electrocution, poisoned baits set out by farmers, or shooting or trapping by hunters from neighboring countries. In this manner, the White-tailed Eagles “provide information” about risk factors for birds of prey spending time in Israel. In 2015, the first White-tailed Eagle was fledged from a natural nest in the Hula Valley, after 60 years of absence. Since then one eaglet has fledged from the same nest every year.

 

Since the previous version of the red book (Mayrose & Alon 2002), the number of endangered species has increased from 38 to 65. Of these, 57 species were up-listed and their current status is more severe, while the status of 43 other species has improved and the remainder have not changed or cannot be evaluated (figures 2 and 3).

On the other hand, some of the differences in species status assessment between the two editions result from the considerable differences in the quality of the available information and the assessment methods, and not necessarily from a real change in the status of the birds in Israel. When we neutralized[1] the effect of these artifacts, the picture changed significantly, and the status of 37 species was worsened and that of 21 species improved (the remaining species remained unchanged or the change could not be evaluated, Figure 4).

[1] The effect of differences in the standard of information and assessment methods was neutralized by analyzing risk assessments for species, while using data available when the previous edition was published, but with criteria defined for the current edition. In addition existing information regarding the status of species before 2002 was compared to data from 2002 until the present, and submitted to expert assessment to see if the differences in status justified changing the threat category.

Eight species were categorized as DD in the following cases:

1. The index of certainty of the species is below 0.7 (i.e. less than 70% of the grid cells in its range from 1990 received expert distribution and abundance evaluation).
2. Species discovered breeding in Israel only during the past year or two, whose population trends are unknown (Pallid Scops Owl Otus brucei and European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus).
3. One species (Rock Dove Columba livia) has been categorized as DD because the degree of hybridization with feral pigeons and the effect of this genetic mixing on the population is unknown.

The relatively small number of species categorized as DD does not reflect actual knowledge gaps, because the number of common species (e.g. House Sparrow Passer domesticus, Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula, European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris, European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis and others) have been categorized as LC based on generalized expert opinion, despite the fact that their certainty index is low. This emphasizes the need for standard breeding observation reports that contain useable and analyzable data (e.g. by using a standard terminology) and for expanding the number of birders reporting breeding data for common species (as opposed to general observation reports, that are not necessarily nesting observations).

The species categorized as DD are Pallid Scops Owl Otus brucei, Common Swift Apus apus, Alpine Swift Apus melba, European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus, Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia, Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, Rock Dove Columba livia.

 We live in an age characterized by rapid and extreme habitat changes, on a global scale. Most of these changes are a consequence of the growth of human populations and the extensive resources they consume, and have a dramatic effect on the animal world. Habitats in which organisms developed for millions of years suddenly change within a few years, at a rate too rapid for the genetic and behavioral adaptations needed for survival. This situation causes entire populations to be pushed to the limits of their survival and sometimes beyond. Scientists term this age the “sixth extinction”, an age in which global biodiversity is declining at an ever increasing rate.

Whereas the general cause (i.e. the growth of human population) is clear and known, the immediate cause or mechanism that affects specific animals is not always obvious. Some of these factors are extremely indirect, such as global warming, while other are direct and evident, such as hunting, poaching and collecting.

We know from the scientific literature that the sensitivity of wild populations to environmental changes is related to features of the species’ biology (e.g. body size and nutrition), behavior (migration vs. stability), distribution (different geographic regions) and habitat (arid, moist, etc.). In the next section, we have analyzed some of these features in order to gain a better understanding of the risk factors affecting avian populations in Israel.

The body size of birds affects their lifespan, reproductive rate, the size of the habitat they exploit and consequently their exposure to risk factors. Larger birds have larger breeding territories, slower reproduction rates and their populations are naturally smaller and more sensitive to disturbances and changes in their environment. These assumptions were evaluated by classifying breeding species according to their body size and comparing their threat level.

The birds were classified according to body mass: small (up to 500 g), medium (500-1,000 g) and large (above 1,000 g). The results (Table 2, Figure 6) illustrate the relation between body size and threat level; most of the large avian species are already extinct in Israel or are threatened at various degrees, while most of the small species are classified at low threat levels. Many of these large species are birds of prey, a particularly vulnerable group of species, most of which are already extinct or endangered. Songbirds and waterfowl on the other hand, are examples that represent the medium-sized and small birds, respectively (Figure 7).

The breeding birds in Israel can be roughly divided into two groups according to their migratory habits: resident species that spend most of the year in their breeding grounds and summer breeders that spend the winter in areas further south and return to Israel to breed. Migratory behavior in birds has a very significant effect on the status of their populations and conservation. During the last decades, a growing number of populations are declining due to threats or deterioration of living conditions in their wintering areas or stopover sites during migration (Birdlife 2013). An analysis of breeding populations in Israel presents a similar picture (Table 3, figures 8 and 9), with 80% of the summering species in Israel categorized in various threat categories (NT to extinct), compared to 40% of the resident species.

Core Areas for Preserving Biodiversity

The analysis of the number of threatened species breeding in each grid cell of the distribution map shows areas in which the diversity of threatened species is relatively high (Figure 10). The areas with the most significant concentration of threatened species are the Eastern Galilee, northern Jordan Valley, Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, with 19-33 threatened species per grid cell. Other, smaller areas (with 15-23 species per grid cell) include the southern Judean Lowlands, the Tsinim Cliffs and the northwestern Negev. It is important to note that the natural number of species breeding in desert areas is lower due to the extreme climate that allows mainly species adapted to breeding in these conditions to subsist.

Changes in the Number of Threatened Species

The maps in Figure 11 illustrate changes in the distribution of species classified as threatened and near threatened (category NT and above) during the past two decades. Some of the areas with more prominent declines in the number of breeding species, are, for example the Carmel, Ramot Menashe and the Western Galilee as well as the Hula Valley and the northern Golan Heights. Many of the species that bred in these areas have disappeared in recent years because of development, afforestation, maturing and closing of Mediterranean woodland and other factors. Most of the species that ceased breeding in these regions belong to the group of birds with an affinity for scrubland (Batha), such as the Long-billed Pipit Anthus similis, Cretzschmar's Bunting Emberiza caesia, Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala, Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin Cercotrichas galactotes, Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata and others. Species that favor woodland, such as the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo and the Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus have increased. The decline in biodiversity in desert regions is generally more moderate, and mostly related to the disappearance of large species (e.g. Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueeni, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus and Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos). On the other hand, many species have apparently expanded their range in the Negev (e.g. Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata, Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cinctura, Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina and Greater short-toed larks Calandrella brachydactyla). This, however, is probably due to the improvement in the quality of data and not necessarily to actual changes in distribution patterns.

A rough grouping of birds according to their breeding habitats provides us with an indirect picture of the condition of landscape types and their value as avian habitats (Table 4, Figure 12). The situation of water birds and other wetland species is particularly bad, with six species already extinct as breeders and half of the remaining species classified as endangered. This is not surprising considering the degraded situation of Israel’s water economy and the fact that most of our wetlands are artificial (e.g. fishponds and reservoirs), with natural wetlands only a small fraction of the springs, marshes and streams that once existed.

Another group of species whose situation has deteriorated is the group of scrubland (shrubs or grasses) species, more than half of which are classified as endangered. The generalist species group includes species that exploit a broad variety of habitats. This group includes most of the birds of prey, an avian order extremely affected by anthropogenic activity, but also very common species accompanying man such as the Hooded Crow Corvus corone and the Eurasian Collared-dove Streptopelia decaocto.

This group includes 38 species that breed in water bodies and wetlands, the most seriously affected group. The distribution maps of these species (Figure 13) show that the main areas they inhabit (Israel’s northern valleys, the Golan Heights and the coastal plain), are also the main regions in which the most significant decline of threatened species occurred. This is because wetlands are concentrated mainly in these areas (Lake Kinneret, reservoirs and fishponds), and less so as we move south to more arid, desert areas. Thus, despite the harm to species diversity and the disappearance of some water birds (e.g. Savi’s Warbler Locustella luscinioides, Great Reed-warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus), these areas are still the main breeding grounds for this group of species in Israel. On the other hand, we can point out two regions that have become new habitats for these species in recent years – the southern Dead Sea Basin (Sodom Basin) and the southern Arava. In the southern Dead Sea Basin, new habitats for water birds were created by the development of reservoirs, while at the same time the receding Dead Sea is exposing springs and creating sinkholes that store water. These provide habitat for water birds, such as the Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio and the Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca. Similarly, the number of recycled water reservoirs and salt ponds in the southern Arava increased, allowing species such as the Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus and the Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus to breed.

This group (21 species) inhabits areas with characteristic sparse low shrubby or herbaceous vegetation and is a specialized group of species found in relatively arid, exposed areas. It is very sensitive to development and changes, such as tree plantings and road building, and requires extensive, continuous scrubland to survive. Over the years, these regions were not sufficiently protected and preserved and have been reduced by agricultural expansion, plantings and afforestation. At the same time, goat grazing, that has shaped and characterized most of Israel’s Mediterranean region, ceased after the plant protection law (the “black goat” law, 1950) was passed. Consequently, this group was severely affected and many of the species in it are now in danger of extinction. The distribution maps (Figure 14) show the areas where the scrubland specialists are still relatively numerous, including the Golan Heights, the Eastern Galilee and the Judean Lowlands. The sharpest decline in species diversity in this group occurred in the Western Galilee, the Carmel, the Menashe Plateau and Western Samaria. In the Jerusalem Mountains and the Northern Negev the trend is mixed – some species have disappeared (e.g. Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris, Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra and Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala), whereas others have expanded their range, such as the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni and the Woodlark Lullula arborea. In the southern Negev and the Arava, distribution maps indicate stability and even an increase in species richness. This may be related to expanding ranges due to expanding agriculture (e.g. the case of Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin Cercotrichas galactotes), or to the increase in sampling effort and the level of available information (as in the case of the Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata).

This group includes 26 species that occupy open landscapes in the desert, such as the sandy, loess and hamada flats. The threatened flagship species in this group are the Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueeni, the Cream-colored Courser Cursorius cursor, the sandgrouse species and unique larks such as the Greater Hoopoe-lark Alaemon alaudipes and Temminck’s Lark Eremophila bilopha. The distribution maps (Figure 15) show that the main concentration of these species is in the Western Negev (sandy areas in the region and Pit’hat Nitsana) and in the interior wadis in the southern Negev and the Meishar. The most significant decline in the ranges of species in this group has been recorded in the northeastern Negev and along the Arava (the decline of the three sandgrouse species, the Asian Houbara, Cream-colored Courser, the Greater Hoopoe-lark and others), the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights (the Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles alchata, Cream-colored Courser). The apparent increase in the number of species in the central and southern Negev is probably related to the increasing number of birders visiting these areas and to the extensive surveys conducted by the SPNI’s Ornithological Center.

This group includes 26 species that inhabit rocky areas and cliffs in the desert. Some of the prominent species include the Sinai Rosefinch Carpodacus synoicus, Desert Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta, Striolated Bunting Emberiza striolata, various wheatear species, owls such as the Desert Tawny Owl Strix hadorami, Pharaoh Eagle-owl Bubo ascalaphus and diurnal raptors such as the Sooty Falcon Falco concolor and Barbary Falcon Falco pelegrinoides. Whereas most of the representatives of this group now inhabit cliff habitats in the southern Judean Desert and the eastern Negev (Figure 16), the sharpest declines were recorded in eastern Samaria and the western Negev Highlands. The cliff habitats in eastern Samaria suffer from overgrazing by sheep herds that inhabit the caves in and above the cliffs, including within the boundaries of declared nature reserves. The shepherds and their flocks create disturbances that interfere with nesting efforts of many of the species as well as depleting available food resources.

Mt. Hermon, in addition to being the highest mountain in Israel (2,200 m on the Israeli side, 2,814 m in Syria) also has diverse landscapes and natural ecosystems not found in any other part of Israel. The short transition from the mountain base to its summit crosses a number of zoogeographical zones – from Mediterranean woodland, through the Irano-Turanian steppe zone and up to the alpine zone at the mountain summit, which is above the tree line. Mt. Hermon is the landscape unit with the highest breeding bird diversity in Israel with 84 avian species breeding there, of which, in Israel, 18 breed only on Mt. Hermon. These unique species reach the southern limit of their global range at the Israeli side of the Hermon. They are represented by extremely small populations due to the limited area of suitable habitat. Species such as the Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis, Finsch's Wheatear Oenanthe finschii, Eurasian Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris and the Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana breed on the Hermon, with a maximum of ten pairs per species.

The authors of the red book were faced with a dilemma of how to approach these edge populations, most of which have always been extremely small in Israel, although this does not attest to their extinction threat in our region (mainly because, across the border, in the mountains of Syria and Lebanon, there are larger populations). In the previous edition of the red book (2002), these species were only categorized as endangered if a significant decrease in their population had been recorded. Consequently, most of them were categorized as LC or NT.

In this edition, it was decided to apply regional adaptations regarding species that are at the edge of their global range in Israel, so that the assessment process could be transparent and repeatable and correctly express the risk of extinction facing the species in Israel.

Regional Adaptation l2 – species at the edge of their global range. This adaptation is meant to reflect the reduced extinction threat to species whose population in Israel is a marginal population and a negligible portion of the global population (and therefore the species has always bred here in small numbers, like most of the species unique to Mt. Hermon). These species were assigned a high threat level (CR/EN) during the first assessment stage that is based on the global IUCN criteria.

Table 5. Regional Adaptation – l2 – species at the edge of their global range.

The results of applying these regional adaptations was that the Mt. Hermon species were assigned different categories than in the previous edition. Some of these changes are a result of differences in methods, but some result from changes in the population status according to data collected in recent years, e.g. the Hermon breeding bird census conducted in 2013, 2014 (Israeli and Perlman 2013).

Table 6. Species unique to Mt. Hermon, ranked in descending order of threat level.

In conclusion, the new assessment of the Mt. Hermon species totals one regionally extinct (RE) species, 10 threatened species (VU, CR) and 7 near threatened or least concerned species (NT, LC). One species, the Syrian Serin, is both regionally and globally endangered.

These results emphasize the importance of Mt. Hermon to the biodiversity of Israel’s birds. Despite the uniqueness of Mt. Hermon’s natural resources and despite the fact that considerable portions of it have been declared nature reserves, no real attention has been paid to the conservation of this unique bird population. Katef Hermon has been subject to extensive development, tourist and economic pressure during recent decades. This activity, which includes building, fencing, roads and soil exposure is conducted on the mountain summit by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Hermon Ski Resort. The lower mountain zones are extremely impacted by intensive grazing, planting and building on the part of the settlements at the foot of the mountain. All these activities have far-reaching effects on the natural environment on Mt. Hermon and require regulation in the framework of a specific conservation program.

Forty-one bird species that spend at least part of their annual life cycle in Israel are categorized at various levels of global threat. Most of these species are passage migrants, wintering birds or accidentals and nine species also have breeding populations in Israel.

Globally Endangered Species Meriting Special Mention

A number of species categorized as globally endangered are observed in Israel in relatively significant numbers:

Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius – classified as critically endangered (CR) is seen in Israel in small numbers during migration and in winter.

White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala – classified as endangered (EN) with about 10% of its global population wintering in Israel. Found nesting in Israel in summer 2017, after being absent as a breeder for about 100 years.

Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus – a vulture species classified as endangered (EN); several tens of pairs breed in Israel. Has been severely affected by poisoning and electrocution.

Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus – classified as vulnerable (VU). This beautiful songbird is endemic to our region (Mount Lebanon, Syria and Jordan). Some 100-150 pairs breed on Katef Hermon, and they comprise a significant portion of the global population.

Sooty Falcon Falco concolor – classified as vulnerable (VU). A small raptor with a limited global range. The population in Israel numbers about 100 nesting pairs, out of a global population of 2,800 to 4,000 individuals.

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