Hulah Valley and CRANES!!

For eons, the valley that  runs below the Golan Heights  to Lake Kinneret was a swampy lake in its own right, and there are all the usual ghostly folk-tales  (although with a Middle Eastern tweak to them).  It was an ecologically critical and rich environment that served as a funnel and way-station for the huge migrations of songbirds, waterfowl, and raptors from Europe to Africa and back.  The Hulah was perfectly placed for them to rest, gorge, and resume the long journey refreshed.

It was also a sour malarial swamp, and it was an early effort of  Jewish settlers both before and after the War of Independence to drain the swamp and turn the Hulah into Israel’s agricultural heartland.  The photo at the top of the blog is looking down on the Hulah Valley from the Golan, so you can see the pioneers had success. 

Fortunately for us, the birds, and the world, in the early 1950’s a small group of wacko-environmentalist-Zionists  campaigned furiously to preserve some of the wetlands; maybe to make them go away, they were given a chunk of swamp. Soon the impact on hemispheric migration was apparent to more people, and the Hulah Reserve park and Lake Agmon were established.  Negotiations with local farmers in recent years to protect the grain-eating birds from harm in exchange for helping protect the crops resulted in one of Israel’s most marvelous experiences: the fall migration in the Hulah reserves.

While all manner of birds stop over here, it’s the migration of the European Cranes that has the biggest appeal, and having experienced it, I can see why.  The other afternoon around 3:30, I went to Lake Agmon, just up the road from the Reserve. The entrance is free apart from a mandatory 3 shekel donation (80 cents) to the Crane program. You can rent bikes, binoculars, and pedal or electric cars, or grab your feet as I did, and head out on the 9 km of wide, well-maintained paths.

The best time is around sunset, I was told, so I walked 20 minutes into the reserve with camera at the ready.  There were many  dozens of people:  young soldiers on bikes and in pedal cars, classes of schoolkids, old folks and families, although very few were on foot. A couple obviously professional photographers, as well, and one guy had the longest telephoto I have ever seen.  There is an outstanding bilingual park guide  we met last year who was taking a group of people around on bikes this time in Hebrew;  if you can get his attention or latch on to an English language group, he is truly amazing. You’ll know him the minute you see him, believe me.

I ended up spending an hour-plus taking countless photos, sprawled in the grass and crouching under trees, and had an absolute blast.  I gave them a 50 NIS extra donation when I left, which  floored the woman staffing the counter, but for the sheer fun I had,  and a most worthy cause, it was a good deal. 

So I give you: Cranes.

The first arrivals

Cranes cross from the Golan; Mt. Hermon as backdrop

As dusk falls, the numbers arriving pick up steadily

that's my beloved Golan Heights in the background

If you’re in Israel in late October to mid-November, you really ought to experience the Hulah migrations. It’s too cool.