Buzzards have found that flying low over Lebanon on their annual migration between Europe and Africa can be hazardous to their health.
They have yet to learn from other migratory species to fly high, beyond gunshot range, dropping lower only when they enter Israeli air space.
According Israel’s Nature Reserve Authority, 10 wounded honey buzzards were brought to the Hula Nature reserve in northern Israel for treatment recently. Five died of their gunshot wounds, and the rest have been transferred to the Ramat Gan Safari park, game officials said. None are likely to be able to fly again.
According to Yossi Va’adia, director of the Hula Reserve, the Lebanese shoot at the birds migrating from Europe to winter homes in Africa.
A number of birds, like pelicans and storks, have learned to fly higher over Lebanon and only drop their height when they reach Israel, apparently realizing they are entering an area with a nature reserve protection policy, he said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
