Some of the birds, it seems, have heard the call of Herzl and are making Aliya.

Birds are hip and happening in Israel these days, and birders and twitchers (again, seriously – that’s the official terminology for “a birdwatcher whose main aim is to collect sightings of rare birds” – Oxford English Dictionary) are arriving in increasing numbers to view the incredible spectacle of literally millions of birds – 500 million in one count – belonging to hundreds of species flying overhead – either southwards to escape the northern winter or back north in spring.

While humans winging their way in to see such a phenomenon is relatively recent, for birds it’s aeons old. The Tanach mentions it. Iyov’s description of the manifold wonders of nature states: “Is it because of your understanding that the hawk grows a wing; that it spreads out its wings to the south?” (Iyov 39:26), while Yirmiyahu (8:7) uses it as a metaphor: “Even the stork in the heavens knows its seasons, and the turtle dove, the swift and the crane keep the time of their arrival.”

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Topic:	An article about the amazing bird migration in Israel.
Author(s):	Ilana Stein
Published by:	Mizrachi South Africa Observer
Date:	01 April 2016
Direct link:	https://clippingsme-assets-1.s3.amazonaws.com/cuttingpdfs/1350359/2c23277468bc0fc51e260562cd1d3d5a.pdf