I am very happy to announce that yesterday we published the new Arava Breeding Bird Atlas, which summarizes our 2009 field season. This 3-year project funded by the USFS is conservation oriented, and aims to identify the most important habitats and regions in the over-developed Arava, to identify the status of our rarest breeding species, and to update the Arava IBA's. This is actually the first proper bird atlas project ever carried out in Israel. It has already stirred some important conservation actions, and I am sure that by the end of the project we will have a very solid database on the birds of the Arava.
I am coordinating this project on behalf of the Israeli Ornithological Center, but much credit goes to my colleagues Eyal Shochat, Zev Labinger and Jonathan Meyrav. Thomas Krumenacker contributed many stunning images for the production of this report, as you can see:
At the moment we produced only this Hebrew version. At the end of the three-year project we will produce an English version too.
At the moment we produced only this Hebrew version. At the end of the three-year project we will produce an English version too.
To me, USFS means United States Forest Service. Is this the same organization that funded your bird atlas? Congratulations on getting it published.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the English version.
ReplyDeleteMazel Tov! I look forward to seeing it next time we come to Israel.
ReplyDeleteJohn: yes, USFS stands for US Forest Service. They have a very strong international division, and they support and initiate many conservation projects worldwide. Here in Israel they support quite a few of our monitoring and conservation projects.
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