Flamingo Watching in Eilat’s Salt Pools

Photo credit: Eilat Birding Center - IBRCE

Eilat, Israel's southernmost city, is located in a central location along the migration route from Africa towards Europe and Asia. During the migratory seasons, autumn and spring, you can enjoy the amazing experience of watching hundreds of thousands of pink flamingos and other birds in their natural environment. We took some time during our stay in Eilat to visit the salt pools, just a few minutes drive north of the city, where Greater Flamingo, waders, raptors and many other birds come to "refuel".  About one million birds pass through the region during the migratory seasons.

Eilat's salt pools are an industrial site for the production of salt for both the domestic and international market. The Salt of the Earth salt plant uses the pools, which cover a total area of around 180 hectares (440 acres), to extract Red Sea salt from the sea water by evaporation. An experimental solar evaporation salt production plant was already operating in Eilat between the years 1954-1959 and the current plant was set up in 1976. Over the years, the plant's manufacturing processes became more sophisticated, doubling and even tripling the plant's production and processing output. During the early years, when the pools operated only with water sourced directly from the sea, annual production reached about 150,000 tons. Salt harvest progressed from collection by tractors and carts to laser-guided equipment used today that preserves salt purity and prevents damage to pool infrastructure. Over time, new processing and drying equipment was added, improving the salt quality to superior levels.

The salt pools serve as a very special haven for flamingos since they are loaded with algae as a result of the evaporation. The flamingos feed on the algae, which are rich in beta-carotene, which causes the pink colouration in the flamingos' wings.

The first few years after the salt company built the ponds, only 10s of flamingoes came in the autumn and left in the spring. In the mid-1990s a change was observed. Adults that wintered in Eilat between September and March brought their young and after the adults left for the subsequent breeding season in March, the young, which can be identified by their black and white plumage, stayed back for the summer.

There are several observation posts overlooking the salt pools and the flamingos. The one we visited, after a short bumpy ride off-road, allowed us wonderful views of the jagged peaks of the Edom mountains in Jordan and of Israel's Mount Amram, which is notable for its dark colour. Opposite us was Jordan's Aqaba International Airport, above. A peace agreement in 1996 between Israel and Jordan included arrangements for Israel to use the runways and for passengers to proceed from their aircraft directly into Israeli territory.

The salt pools are constantly under threat. In 2020 a plan to build a visitor centre for marine and ancient agriculture with a large campsite for 750 people, on the shores of the pools, was put forward for approval. Because the pools are an industrial site for the production of salt and not a nature reserve, protecting the birds and habitat is a constant fight.
In addition, visitors using drones to film flying flamingos and ATVs racing through the habitat in the past has scared the birds away. The flamingoes leave for the day to a protected but foodless site and only come back to feed at the pools when the crowds leave. Signs now enforce against the disturbance of the birds and on the day we visited it was very quiet.

Photo credit: Tiuli

Near to the pools is the ancient site of Evrona, which we will check out on a future visit. Evrona is mentioned in the Bible as one of the stations that the Israelites stopped at on their long journey in the wilderness. "They journeyed from Jotbathah (Yotvata) and camped at Abronah (Evrona). They journeyed from Abronah (Evrona) and camped at Ezion-Geber (Eztion-Gaver)." (Numbers 33: 34-35).
Over a thousand years ago, farmers constructed an elaborate underground water system at Evrona and turned it into Israel's savanna. The location was excellent, on the route called Darb el-Haj - Road of the Celebrants. Although it had been used by traders for millennia, after Islam was established, Darb el-Haj became the main pilgrimage trail to Mecca. Thousands of travelers from North Africa and Spain took the route every year, stopping to buy their provisions in Evrona.
The farmers, who were probably Muslims who came from the surrounding Arab countries, dug to reach fresh underground water and transport it to the fields. Every 10 meters, a shaft was dug so that air could circulate. Today you can descend a ladder down a six-meter shaft, crawl about 20 meters through the tunnel, and surface through another shaft. Apparently it's cool down there and a great way to get out of the heat!
Nearby are the "Doum Palms", a group of rare and impressive Egyptian palm trees. This is the most northerly point in the world where this species of palm trees grows. They are more commonly found in Sudan and the tropical regions of Africa and they don't grow any further north than Evrona. Unlike date palms, whose trunks are tall and straight, those of the doum palm (also known as gingerbread trees) split into V-shapes that open to the sky, with tufts of large fan-shaped leaves at the ends of the branches. Their presence here for thousands of years indicates that the weather in the past was far different than it is today.

* This post has been shared on The Hearth and Soul Link Party, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), My Corner of the World and Wild Bird Wednesday.

A Flock of Flamingos in Atlit

I continued to look at Facebook after my son's death, even though many of my friends' posts irritated me. How could they be posting gleeful photos and writing such joyful things after what had happened? One by one I snoozed them but I remained on Facebook and took a little joy in the many wonderful photos I saw posted in the various nature groups I belong to.

In October I started to see photos of flamingos passing through Israel for the winter. Between moments of great sadness, I suggested to Mister Handmade in Israel that maybe we take a day off to go and see them for ourselves. It required an early get up - flamingos are more active in the morning and evening hours - and a good long drive to Atlit, a small town located on the northern coast, about 20 kilometers south of the city of Haifa. Though far from it being his ideal day out, he was willing to come with me.

Twice a year 500 million birds from 550 species including the flamingo, fly over Israel on their way back and forth from their nesting grounds in Europe and Asia. While a few hundred flamingos choose to stay here for the winter, most of the population passes through Israel and continues to Africa.

Israel has two places where the flamingos can find food. These are the saline pools in Eilat and Atlit. The saline pools in Atlit belong to the Salt of the Earth salt company. They were mined for the production of table salt.  The permission in principle "to produce table salt from seawater in Atlit" was given by the British as far back as October 1921. In a letter sent from Downing Street, Mr. Shuckburgh, Winston Churchill’s assistant, wrote: "From London's point of view, the matter is confirmed, and now permission is subject to the British High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel."

The flamingos eat small shrimps, algae, small seeds, microscopic organisms, mollusks and other plants and animals that live in shallow waters. It sucks water through its sharp curved beak, which acts as a strainer and filters out the food. The saline pools in Atlit are large and shallow, which allows for the evaporation of salt water for the salt mineral industry. During this evaporation process, large amounts of pink species of algae and miniature crustaceans grow on the water. Flamingos love this pink delicacy and they get their pink colour from this food. The young flamingo is mostly grey in colour but while growing and feeding on pink crustaceans, its body metabolizes the pigments and turns the feathers pink. In fact, the name flamingo comes from the Portuguese or Spanish word flamengo, which means flame-coloured. 

The saline pools in Atlit and Eilat offer a unique ecological habitat for many species of waterfowl. Executives at Salt of the Earth noticed that many migratory birds were using their pools as nesting areas as they pass through the region, though the flamingo itself does not nest in Israel. Natural predators such as jackals, foxes and dogs were threatening these birds with extinction, so a program was launched to fence off islands in the saline pools to deter the predators.

As a side benefit, the protected islands also solved serious flooding problems caused by rising water levels in the saline pools, which took a severe toll upon the population of the little terns. Before these efforts, the terns' population had dwindled to a perilous low of just 300 pairs. Salt of the Earth has also installed observation cameras in nesting areas for continued research and monitoring.

While Atlit and Eilat are the main places in Israel to see flamingos, there have also been sightings at Kibbutz Nahsholim, Ein Afek and Agamon Hula.

After quite some time viewing the flamingos, we took a short walk on the beach to see the Crusader fortress Château Pèlerin, and then hiked at Khirbet Karta, to see the ruins of another Crusader fortress (all of which I will blog about in another post). On our way home we made a return visit to the Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir in the Hefer Valley to see the pelicans that come to spend time at the reservoir during the migration season.

The Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir is one of many water storage facilities built by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in the Hefer Valley. The Vickar Observation Point, a large shaded balcony that rises above the reservoir, offers a wonderful view of thousands of great white pelicans and other birds in the reservoir.
Members of staff at the reservoir feed the pelicans with six tonnes of fish three to four times a week, during the three months that the pelicans are flying over Israel, all funded by the Ministry of Agriculture. Large flocks of pelicans used to cause immeasurable damage to local fish farms and were chased from one pond to the next, without being provided with an alternative food source. This exhausted some of the pelicans to the point of death. This "refueling station" at Mishmar HaSharon has been placed at the pelicans' disposal to provide them with enough food to allow them to continue their migration.

As with previous visits, it was a wonderful thing to see. Our day out in nature allowed us a little relief from what has been a horrendous few months.

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday

Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir and Agamon Hefer

Some weeks ago we drove north for the day to visit the Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir in the Hefer Valley. I had read about the large numbers of pelicans that come to spend time at the reservoir at this time of the year, either to continue their migration to Africa or to stay on to winter in Israel, and we wanted to see them for ourselves.
The Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir is one of many water storage facilities built by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in the Hefer Valley. With a capacity of around one million cubic metres, it absorbs the overflow from the Alexander River in time of floods, stores recycled water and supplies other reservoirs. The reservoir is surrounded by a garden of ornamental plants and flowers that attract butterflies and insects. In the garden is a disabled-accessible path that climbs up to the elevated Vickar Observation Point, a large shaded balcony that rises above the reservoir which offers a wonderful view of thousands of birds during the migration season. The observation point was funded by a donation from the Vickar family of Canada.
We made our way up the path and, as we reached its end, each of us was stunned as we caught our first glimpse of the magnificent sight before us. Hundreds of pelicans, as well as cormorants, egrets and herons, were gathered around the reservoir. It was truly a sight to behold.

It is not just by chance that such large numbers of pelicans come to spend time at the reservoir. Thousands of great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) nest in Europe. This population is largely migratory and, as it overwinters in Africa, all its members pass through Israel during migration, mainly between March and May and then again between September and November. In recent years, however, several hundreds of pelicans have stayed on to winter in Israel.

The pelican is a very sociable bird that lives in large flocks. Unless it is part of a flock, it can’t nest. When they're kept in captivity, they’re given a mirror to keep them company. Pelicans reach adulthood at the age of four, when they turn white, and they are one of the largest species of bird in the world. Their wingspan can be as much as three metres and they can weigh around ten kilos. Their bones are hollow, which makes it easy for them to fly and float on the surface of the water, but renders it harder for them to dive and hunt for fish.
An adult pelican eats a kilogram of fish every day, and they hunt in flocks. A large flock of pelicans can cause immeasurable damage to a fish farm, and they used to be chased from one pond to the next without being provided with an alternative food source.  This exhausted some of them to the point of death. Others, with no strength left to continue southwards, remained in Israel. The dilemma was resolved by providing the pelicans with enough food to allow them to continue their migration. Two "refuelling stations" have been placed at their disposal: one is in the Hula Valley and the other here at the Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir.

These days, the Nature and Parks Authority, working in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture's Fisheries Department, populates the Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir with fish that are not intended for sale. The fish are provided solely for the beaks of the pelicans. Members of staff at the reservoir feed the pelicans with six tonnes of fish three to four times a week, during the three months that the pelicans are flying over Israel, all funded by the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry at one point said it was going to stop the project, claiming it was not responsible for feeding migrating animals passing through from Europe to Africa but, under pressure from farmers and environmentalists, it reconsidered.
The pelicans start to arrive in Israel from Europe in mid-September and stay here for just two weeks. They stop over in the Hula Valley before continuing southwards on their journey to Lake Chad and Lake Nakuru in East Africa. En route they pause first at the Hula Valley and then once more at the Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir, where they rest and refuel before continuing on to their destination. Estimates of the number of birds that pass over Israel each year range from 75,000 to over 100,000.

It was hard to tear ourselves away from the observation point, but there was more for us to see in the area. In the heart of the fields of the Hefer Valley, near the Alexander River, is a gorgeous new sanctuary for birds, Agamon Hefer. The sanctuary was established with the support of the Jewish National Fund, the Emek Hefer Regional Council, the Sharon River Authority, the Israel Lands Authority, Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

In the past, Emek Hefer was home to natural swamps that provided a habitat for a great deal of flora and fauna. The pioneers who settled the area almost one hundred years ago drained the swamps and developed communities and agriculture. At the spot where the new sanctuary is now located, there used to be fish breeding pools that were owned by Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh. The pools were abandoned, and the site became neglected and deserted. Now it is a beautiful sanctuary that is a paradise for both birds and humans.

The sanctuary includes an artificial lake, wooden decks, hidden observation points, hiking paths and new trees planted around the lake. Future plans include the building of a new entrance bridge and paving a trail that will be accessible to people with limited movement. The sanctuary covers 350 dunams, most of which is covered by the lake, which is about 300,000 cubic metres. The variable depths in the lake are designed to suit the needs of a variety of birds. 

The day we visited Agamon Hefer we saw large flocks of black storks, a large bird, measuring between 95 and 100 cm in length, with a 145-to-155 cm wingspan, and weighing around 3 kg. It has long red legs, a long neck and a long, straight, pointed red beak. The black stork is a shy species. It is seen singly or in pairs, usually in marshy areas, rivers or inland waters. It feeds on amphibians, small fish and insects, generally wading slowly in shallow water stalking its prey. Like the pelicans, the storks were migrating between Europe and Africa.

Continuing on the circular trail around the lake, we spotted egrets, herons, a kingfisher diving for fish, and other birds and mammals that inhabit the lake. Agamon Hefer is an amazing place for bird lovers. Next time I must remember to take the binoculars!

* This post has been shared on Sharon's Souvenir's, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Pictorial Tuesday, Wednesday around the World, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, Little Things Thursday, Friday Foto Friends, All Seasons, The Keeping It Real Link Up and Wild Bird Wednesday.