
	World Birding British Birding Miscellany & Fun Birdnews Travel Library Bird Families Ornithology Sight & Sounds Equipment/Supplies

birding...

Lebanon

Dessert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti ŠNigel Blake http://www.nigelblake.co.uk

You will notice that there is no introduction to this section yet.

I would like to fill this gap with an introduction from a local birder [or someone who is a frequent visitor] for every on of the geographical pages. The many thousands of birders now regularly using these pages prefer to read something written by someone who can see the place from an insider's point of view. They know the best spots, not just the ones that first time overseas visitors usually visit or that are on the normal birding trip itineraries.

Each introduction carries the e-mail address of the contributor so that birders can get in touch with them if, for example, they are planning a trip [unless the contributor is unable to do this].

Please get in touch if you feel you can contribute an introduction to this page - you don't have to be an expert; I'm not!

top sites

Aammiq Marshes Lebanon

The Aammiq Marshes lie in the Beka`a Valley in the centre of the country to the east of the capital, Beirut. This swamp is the largest and most important wetland area between Turkey and Israel and despite hunting and habitat loss remains the most important site for wetland birds in Lebanon. Early in the year the marshes can flood to nearly 300ha with meltwater from the mountains but by autumn they may be completely dry. Conservation programmes carried out in the marshes in recent years have involved returning some of the land loss to agriculture back into marshland. Surrounding the wetland are areas of rough grazing, cultivated land, drainage ditches, and an avenue of trees, all adding to the diversity of habitats in the area. On the nearby mountain slopes, small wooded areas and rocky shrubland give an even greater variety of habitats and species. Behind the nearby village of Aammiq is a woodland where Scops Owl and Syrian Woodpecker can be found. In spring and summer, shrubby hillsides are home to Great Spotted Cuckoo, various buntings, wheatears, warblers and shrikes, and rocky gorges host Rock Nuthatch and perhaps still Eagle Owl...

Palm Islands Natural Preserve

The Palm islands park is a unique and integrated natural marine basin in the eastern Mediterranean that was declared as a reserve in 1993. Its surface area is about 5 Km2. This maritime park lies 11 kms north-west off the shores of el-Mina in Tripoli. These flat rocky islands include the Palm (or Rabbit) island, Sanani island, and Ramkine (or Fanar) island. The islands are chosen as nesting sites by 10 species of migrant birds, including: Little Ringed Plover, Common Tern, Sand Martin, Little Crested Tern, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black-Winged Stilt, etc. The islands has 24 recorded species of winter-visiting fowl, including: Manx & Cory`s Shearwater, Peregrine, Little Stint, Redshank, Marsh Hawk, White-Tailed Eagle, etc.. Visitors include: Ruff, Snowy plover, White-Winged Black Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Tern, Osprey, Ruddy Turnstone, Sociable Plover, Sanderling, Gull-Billed Tern, Pied Avocet, etc..

numbers

Number of bird species:369

useful reading

Birds of Lebanon and the Jordan Area

by Vere Benson 8 colour plates. B/w drwgs, map, 218pp. 1970.

useful information

Proact

Coordinator: none (why not apply?) see http://www.proact-campaigns.net/coordinators
Members: None yet!
Join us at http://www.proact-campaigns.net/team

Society for the Protection of Nature and Natural Resources in Lebanon

Resources in Lebanon Address: Awad Bldg, 6th Floor, Abdel Aziz Street, P.O.Box: 11-5665, Beirut, Lebanon Email: spnlorg@cyberia.net.lb
Society for the Protection of Nature and Natural Resources in Lebanon (SPNL) is the BirdLife Partner

clubs

BirdLife Lebanon

http://www.birdlifemed.org/Contries/lebanon/lebanon.html
So far, 134 species have been recorded breeding in Lebanon. Only 110 breed regularly, the rest being either occasional or former breeders. Of the 110 regular breeders, 56 are exclusively residents (i.e. their populations remain within Lebanon) such as Sparrow, Palm Dove, Yellow-legged Gull, Graceful Warbler, Bulbul, Chukar, Long-legged Buzzard. 54 are exclusively summer breeders (i.e. winter elsewhere but breed in Lebanon) such as Turtle Dove, Pallid Swift, Swallow, Red-backed Shrike, White Wagtail.

reserves

Aammiq Wetland

http://en.arocha.org/lbaammiq/index.html
The Aammiq Wetland is the most significant remaining freshwater wetland in Lebanon, a remnant of much more extensive marshes and lakes that once existed in the Bekaa Valley. It has been designated an Important Bird Area in the Middle East (Birdlife International, 1994) and is included in the Directory of Wetlands in the Middle East (IUCN, 1995). The Aammiq Wetland lies on one of the most important bird migration routes in the world, and over 250 species of bird have been recorded in the area, including the globally vulnerable Great Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga, Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca, and Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni. Records of globally near-threatened bird species in the area include Great Snipe Gallinago media, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus...

Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve

http://www.shoufcedar.org
Noura Jumblatt has been awarded the Forest for Kyoto Prize by the Italian Environment Ministry for her extensive ecological efforts in the Chouf. The prize, named after the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and improvement, entitles Jumblatt to select an area in Lebanon where the Italian government will plant a new forest...

Jabal Al-Rihane Biosphere Reserve

http://www.jabalrihane.org
A geographically a continuation of another Biosphere in Lebanon called 'Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve'...

List of Wetlands of International Importance

http://www.ramsar.org
Lebanon presently has 4 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a surface area of 1075? hectares...

Palm Islands Natural Preserve - Tripoli

http://tripoli-city.org/palm.html
The Palm islands park is a unique and integrated natural marine basin in the eastern Mediterranean that was declared as a reserve in 1993. Its surface area is about 5 Km2 (1.4 x 1.08 nautical miles). This maritime park lies 6 nautical miles (11 Km) north-west off the shores of el-Mina in Tripoli (Latitudes: 34d 29m - 34d 30m 30s N and Longtitudes 35d 44m 30s - 35d 47m E). These flat rocky islands include the Palm (or Rabbit) island, Sanani island, and Ramkine (or Fanar) island...

Protected areas of Lebanon

http://csrd.lau.edu.lb/Publications/StudentReports/Protected%20Areas%20of%20Lebanon.htm
Written records dating back 5000 years indicate that forests covered most of Lebanon. Today less than 7% of the country is forested, and what remains of its flora and fauna are under threat. To reverse this trend, the Lebanese government is developing a system of protected areas that link nature conservation with sustainable human development. A project has been conducted by a co-operation between the ministries of Environment and Agriculture with other national and international organizations...

Protected Areas of Lebanon

http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/Bio_cou_422.pdf
pdf with a lot of info on sites, problems etc...

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you cant find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page give them a try!

tour operators

Ancient World Travel

http://www.ancientworldtours.com/leb.htm
Just one day in a six day itinaerary - but the only one I can find... Day 4: [Eco-tourism/bird watching, trekking] (Akkar region) At Qatlabeh, we stretch our legs to prepare for a moderate hike to Aakkar el Atiqa heights, between pine trees and typical Mediterranean environment. A pleasant afternoon drive to Tachea village, gives us the chance to encounter the locals and their ways of living in this remote area of the country, with stops to prepare the evening meal, before we continue our trek to the heights of Fneideq, and its unique European oak tree forest, next to nesting area of migrating birds...

Birds & Animals of Lebanon

http://csrd.lau.edu.lb/Publications/StudentReports/Birds%20&%20Animals%20of%20Lebanon.htm
Predatory birds, of which there are 44 in Lebanon, are considered as first rate indicators because they are at the head of the food chain. Examining the list of birds in Lebanon, we note a fall in the numbers of large predatory birds. Among the ones observed, six ought to nest in Lebanon because the country is situated within their nesting zones. Today, these species do no more than pass through the Lebanese territory twice a year...

Breeding Birds in Lebanon

http://www.osme.org/sand192/lebanon.html
The geographical area covered by Lebanon is ornithologically little known. The present work follows a hiatus during the mid-1970s to early 1990s, when factors associated with political instability resulted in extremely limited observer activity. This paper is based on observations between February 1995July 1996 when data was collected (by GR-J) for the National Council for Scientific Research of Lebanon. During the fieldwork, new information on breeding bird distribution and new breeding species were discovered.

Hunting in Lebanon

http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/360/363/363.7/fareed/lebenv48.html
For over three years, hunting has been totally banned in Lebanon. The ban came after a prolonged struggle between the government on one side, and the hunters, gun shops (especially in Shtoura), and gunshot manufacturers on the other side. It finally took effect in January 1995. By August 1995, when I visited Lebanon, the difference was already noticeable in both the peaceful countryside and the chattering of large numbers of birds.

Soaring Birds Seminar in Lebanon

http://en.arocha.org/birds/index11.html
Lebanon is on one of the world`s major bird migration routes and many millions of birds fly northwards over it in spring and back southwards in autumn. The largest of these migrants are soaring birds, such as eagles, hawks and storks, and many of them have a threatened status at national or international level. With the growing international awareness of Lebanon`s importance for migrating birds has come an urgent need to find what birds pass where so that conservation measures can be put in place...