On my birthday at the end of March I’ll be chasing birds in Israel which will be terribly hard work, I’m told. I’ll be the most useless member of the Birdwatch-Birdguides Roadrunners team whose fellow members are ace-birders David Callahan (henceforth known as Team Captain Callahan) and Mike Alibone.
There are, so far, three aims of this trip: to raise more money than any other team, to see more birds than any other team and to have more fun than any other team. You could help with the first aim please.
The fundraising is more important than the funraising as all the money raised will go to combatting illegal killing of birds in Greece. Your generous donation will go to the BirdLife International partner in Greece, the Hellenic Ornithological Society, so that they can combat illegal killing of migrants such as Turtle Doves and Quail and the illegal trapping of songbirds for the black market in cage birds. Both seem like good causes to me. So, not to put too fine a point on it, please donate to this cause, and please donate through the Birdwatch-Birdguides Roadrunners‘ Justgiving page so that we feel loved. And, please, please, do it now.
I’m likely to return to this subject now and again in the next six weeks…
[registration_form]
Good luck. But there won’t be much fun around those illegally fenced off olive groves. Never mind. Your birds can flit back and forth even if the Palestinian farmers can’t.
Mark. I’m not sure if I should have placed that comment. It was easy to write and, in respect of age-old ethnic battles, something of a cheap shot.
Here’s a vague kind of justification. It’s thinking on the hoof and I still remain somewhat ambivalent:
Biodiversity often depends on who or rather, who doesn’t, control the land. No doubt there are numerous ‘gardens of Eden’ throughout Israel and Palestine irrespective of ownership. But add in this unpleasant irony: some of the best spots will be courtesy of their no-man’s-land status. Big questions then arise. For example, looking worldwide, how do we celebrate the wildlife legacies along the line of the abandoned Iron Curtain; the glories of the wilderness town of Varosha on the Greek-Turkish Cypriot border or the wonders of the D-M zone between North and South Korea? On and on these stories keep occurring between countries in conflict.
The groves and fields cut in two by the settlers’ new highways and security fences, albeit on a much smaller scale to the above, might be of similar interest. Perhaps some are becoming new habitats that are a riot of flowers, insects and birds all thriving in the increasing absence of chemicals? I don’t know and if true, feel there is little to celebration here. It would be interesting to see what the locals think.
At least the ‘good luck’ comment was not cheap and there was no judgement about the choice of country. Who knows what serendipity will bring? Somewhere amongst all that strife, some people will have come together for peace. They may well be birders too. Jew, Arab Israeli, Palestinian or Zionist they might run and watch with you. If not, they will at least welcome you. Whatever: Good fun, good luck, good talking and discussion.
Murray – your first comment was fine and this one is very welcome too. Thank you.
I’ve got to agree with Murray on this one. I spent several months working in Israel in the 1990’s but I wouldn’t go back. Things were bad enough then and they have got a lot worse since. I care a lot about birds but I care a lot about dead Palestinian children too (the massacres in Gaza weren’t that long ago were they really?).
PS. If it’s about saving birds in Greece wouldn’t it make a lot more sense doing it in Greece and help raise awareness there?
Announcement: the next Hen Harrier day will be held in Barcelona.
Sorry Mark I have to agree with the above, Israel is no place for a politically aware birder. There is no difference between the old apartheid South Africa and the current Israel and its illegal occupation and treatment/persecution of Palestinians. When they get off other peoples land and stop blockading Gaza I might and its a big might, change my mind. Palestinians are human too!
Yes, have to agree
A lot of birders turn a blind eye to the situation in Israel (there’s a lot of good birds there after all).
Better to do it in Greece, or better still save some carbon, set an example, and do it here.
It will be interesting to see if there’s any room left for the birds between the illegal settlements. Evidently there’s no room for the original human inhabitants.
Israel wouldn’t have been my first choice of venue, Mark. I appreciate that you’re taking part in a competition organised by others, but I am genuinely surprised to hear you’re taking part in an event here, when there were many many other less problematic places and ways to raise money for what is undoubtedly a good cause. Is there some background to the choice of Israel that we’re unaware of?
ps – I can’t help noticing that the justgiving page doesn’t mention the venue. Maybe that’s normal, but it seemed odd to me.
Mislabeling of Israeli products, well I’ve heard everything now. Time for disinvestment?
pps neither does the Champions of the Flyway page, your first link. Which also seemed odd to me – I would have thought that at the least people should be able to clearly understand the activity they are supporting as well as the cause it’s all in aid of.
Maybe this is just one of those topics we’re never going to agree about. Happy to have the argument over a pint sometime, Mark!
Odd choice of destination for the so called ‘political birder’. Would Greece not be better?
If you are set on going to Israel Mark how about getting together with a team of Palestinian birders (there certainly are some) and see how that works out? A bit for birds and a bit for people, ideal campaigning in my book.
It is sad that political claims have to tarnish this worthy cause, project and the fact that Mark Avery is taking part. All this talk of illegal settlements etc is completely irrelevant here and has nothing to do with the race, the venue or anything along those lines. Champions of the Flyway is a great project that works beyond borders, where people on the ground come together for birds everywhere regardless of background…
The reason the race is held in Eilat Israel is because A. it is the best place to witness and celebrate Spring Migration in late March, B. Because of it’s popularity many eyes “turn to Eilat” during this time, helping to further promote the message of the project, to stop the illegal killing of birds along the Flyway. The money raised DOES NOT remain in Israel but goes to where it is needed the most.
We have quite a few Palestinian colleagues that participate every year, we work with the Palestine Wildlife Society on a regular basis and highly support and cherish this partnership. We are “little people” working on the ground for birds. It is not an issue of what goes on in Israel it is an issue of the crazy illegal killing of birds all over the region. For all those “slamming” Mark for taking part in a great project that is actually trying to tackle the illegal killing of birds which is the #1 problem birds face today, that is simply not fair. Mark is supporting Champions of the Flyway, not supporting the situation in Israel and for that we are all grateful and proud.
Stop the nonsense and donate some money to the project as it is truly helping to make a change… and don’t worry the money goes through Birdlife International, no hidden motives here, lol.
Jonathan Meyrav – Champions of the Flyway coordinator
Jonathan, there is no ‘slamming’ of Mark intended on my part (I’ve expressed my opinion to Mark in the same way as I do with any friends contemplating a visit to Israel). Nor was a general swipe at Israelis intended; I spent 5 very memorable months in your country (mainly Eilat and the upper Jordan Valley), along with some time in the occupied territories (raptor passage in Eilat is incredible no doubt but for me the eye-level experience from the edge of the Golan was better). During that time I made many friends, and met many other interesting people along the way; Israelis (Jews, Arabs & Druze), Palestinians, other non-citizens such as the ‘Black Hebrews’, many foreign visitors etc. But I also saw some of the bad stuff firsthand and was acutely conscious at times that I could travel freely (doing something a frivolous as birding) when others, because of their ethnicity, could not. I personally find it impossible to separate visiting Eilat into some sort of bubble completely isolated from what is going on in the rest of the country, the land it occupies, or the settlements; it isn’t, I lived and worked there long enough to know that. Do you really think (I ask this as an honest question to you) that turning up at a well publicised international event in Israel at the moment is completely devoid of political meaning? That is doesn’t, even if just a tiny bit, help to present the current situation in the country as somehow sane and reasonable to the outside world? I am certainly not accusing you or any of the team of playing politics with the event but the politics are inseparably there. Sorry Jonathan, I cannot in good conscience support this event, I would encourage others to donate directly without sponsoring, and would ask people to consider, for example, Lesbos as a more than adequate alternative migration hotspot for any future events in aid of Greek birds.
I have to say that I agree with Jim.
I won’t add anything as he has made the relevant points admirably
I would have thought the fact that this event brings together people across borders to celebrate the wonders of migratory birds and raise money and profile to protect them sets a powerful political statement. It proves Birds / Wildlife bring people together in peace and love and should set an example to others. From what John says its doing exactly that. After all Birds don’t recognise borders.
Many of the birds that are passing through Israel at that time will be heading for Greece so intercepting them at this bottleneck makes perfect sense.