Dov Leibowitz, a birdwatcher exploring Be’er Sheva River Park, spotted a unique and tiny bird he’d never seen before. He identified it as a bearded reedling, one of the rarest and most sought-after birds among Israeli birdwatchers, last seen in the country in 1995.
The bearded reedling is a songbird that thrives in wetland habitats. It’s named for the distinctive long black "mustache" that males grow on both sides of their beaks. To date, bearded reedlings have been documented in Israel only 12 times, nearly all during the 1980s.
The last recorded sighting was in 1995 in the Hula Valley, observed by Eyal Shochat, who now manages KKL-JNF’s birdwatching center at Be’er Sheva River Park. Many bird enthusiasts flocked to see the rare bird over the weekend and the number of visitors is expected to grow in the coming week.
Meidad Goren, director of the Ramat Negev Birding Center for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Society for the Protection of Nature, arrived at the site to document the rare bird.
Goren explained that the bearded reedling is the sole species in its family, the Panuridae. It measures about 16 cm (6.3 in) in length and is named for the male’s distinctive facial markings. It’s also characterized by an elegant, long tail.
"When I received the call from Dov Leibowitz, I was observing a Peregrine falcon as part of a falcon monitoring project and couldn’t believe it," Goren recounted. "I left the falcon and rushed to Be’er Sheva, where I was thrilled to spot the bird, take photos and update fellow birdwatchers.”
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Bearded reedling spotted in Israel
(Photo: Meidad Goren, Society for the Protection of Nature)
“While I’ve seen this beautiful bird several times in Europe, witnessing it here in the Negev is an entirely different experience. I managed to forget the events around us for an hour. It’s a small beacon of light," he added.
"Nine years ago, during the development work KKL-JNF carried out to establish Be’er Sheva River Park, we proposed setting up the birdwatching center on the eastern side of the park’s lake,” said KKL-JNF’s chief ornithologist Yaron Cherka.
“Since then, we’ve also been working to create and develop a suitable habitat for birds in the area. Construction of the birdwatching center is nearing completion and we hope to officially open it in the coming year,” he added.
"It’s unclear why the bearded reedling has been absent from Israel for so many years," Goren noted. "We can speculate that the nesting areas of the individuals previously spotted here were damaged, leading to a population decline or that suitable habitats in Israel were destroyed.”
“Alternatively, it might simply be that we’ve missed it due to its elusive nature and preference for staying hidden in reeds, which complicates things further. The Be’er Sheva River Park is one of the best sites in Israel for observing migratory birds and much of its design was aimed at providing a suitable home for a wide variety of avians," he explained.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel added that the bearded reedling has a wide habitat range, spanning from Western Europe to East Asia. It thrives in reed thickets within wetland areas, feeding on aphids and reed seeds.
While the species is generally sedentary and doesn’t migrate long distances, certain years see population surges leading to the establishment of new colonies in different locations.
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