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One of millions of our guests each year! |
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On arrival, all Bird Watching guests receive a brochure
giving background on the area and the different birds that can be expected
at any time of the year.
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All the illustrations have been drawn by our tour
guide James Smith. James has been a serious birder for more than
sixteen years, combining his interests and talents in artwork and birds
into a career. In 1992, James took 2nd
place in the "British Birds" bird illustrator of the year competition
and followed it up with several illustration projects in Israel.
These included Dr. Yossi Leshem's book "Flying with the Birds" and a set
of ten postage stamps on the "Songbirds of Israel", which have been in
circulation for the past four years. The "Songbird" stamps were
later chosen to represent Israel at the 9th Asian Philatelic Exhibition
in China in 1996. |
| More recently James worked on the up-grading of the
CD-Rom guide to the "Birds of Europe" published by Birdguides Ltd. |
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In Israel, much of James's field experience has come from
a series of International Bird Migration surveys organized by the Society
for the Protection of Nature in the north of Israel and by the International
Birdwatching Center of Eilat in the south.
In addition, James has traveled Israel extensively,
leading tour groups throughout the the country for several years in
search of birds. Since teaming up with Kibbutz Lotan, James has
led over forty tours in the past three years. |
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One of the exciting and special features of the Bird reserve that
members of Kibbutz Lotan have established just south of the Kibbutz
perimeter fence. The reserve includes blinds overlooking microclimates
like the pond, the rocky desert, and the alfalfa field. |
The main objectives of the reserve were set out as
follows:
- To build within a small area, a uniquely beautiful
environment, in balance with the ecology of the area, that will make a
positive contribution to the habitat quality of both migratory and
resident birds.
- To create a safe haven for feeding, resting and
breeding birds.
- To provide another nature reserve to encourage
educational tourism and recreation in the southern Arava.
- To educate visitors from abroad as well as Israelis
(youth and adults) to value the unique desert ecosystems of our area.
- To demonstrate our attempt to reconcile human
settlement with the fragility of the environment. The focus on the
birds reflects global ecological questions because of their dependence
on multiple habitats for their survival.
- To ensure maximum participation of the Kibbutzniks in
order to create a communal expression of our commitments to
environmental values.
- For further information, please feel free to email
us:
click here
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