The bird population in israel has changed in the last few decades. Common native species populations are in decline and invasive species are on the rise.
Israel is home to many bird species and is a migration destination of many other birds. At one point in the past 30 years, escaped pet parakeets and mynas formed large colonies in the wild. Both species are aggressive and managed to push out many of the native birds of Israel.
I was surprised to find a long green feather on the ground; clearly from a tail of a parakeet I wish that I had taken a photo of the feather because ever since then I’ve been trying to capture these high-flying birds with no real success. I could hear and see them zoom by the 9th floor balcony, I spotted them on tops of far-away trees, or flying high up in the sky, but I couldn’t take a decent photo.
This is the downside of travelling light since I only had my phone to take photos with.
There are several different parakeets ruling the skies of Israel, the photo below is of the ring-necked parakeet.
Photo credit: Doron Hoffman, Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel)
Despite it’s bad reputation, I can’t help but admire its beauty.
I stalked the parakeets for a while and was finally able to find a few of them low enough to the ground. Here are a few semi-passable photos.
I can’t even start describing how surreal it is to walk outside surrounded by shrieking parakeets! All day. Every day.
Mynas on the other hand, tend to be closer to the ground, although less photogenic. 
Although many native bird species suffered from this hostile takeover, the hoopoe, the national bird of Israel, is still around. I was able to take a video of this beautiful bird.
You can find more info and some real photos here about the hoopoe. Have you heard of the hoopoe before? Have you ever seen one?
I recall being very surprised to see a lot of Australian gum trees planted in Israel in the 1970’s. I wonder if that sort of introduced habitat changed the environment for native birds/
Gum, or eucalyptus trees, were introduced in the 1800s as a way to drain the extensive swamp systems in Israel and in an attempt to eradicate malaria. These drained swamps ended up in some cases as agricultural fields. One of the reasons for the loss of native birds is loss of habitat as many agricultural fields and orchards turn into new developments, roads, and parking lots. So…in a roundabout way, you may be right 😊
An interesting bird. I’ve only seen pictures of them. The parakeets are familiar from the pet stores. You must be seeing many things that are different from here. I hope things are going well. Take care
Thank you! Things are going well as expected. Yes, things are very different here, not just from Canada, but also from what I remember growing up!
I love birds but I would think listening to all those parakeets all day would make you feel like you were in a huge pet store.
Haha, it didn’t. I felt as if I am in a jungle in a very tropical country, which was kind of nice 😊
It’s amazing how adaptable those parakeets are. I still find it surreal to hear them shrieking in every part of London!
On a particularly hot day, I walked around Nonsuch Park in South London, formely the site of one of Henry VIII’s palaces. The heat and soundtrack of parakeets made me feel like I was in Australia!
They are beautiful birds. It’s a shame they are so invasive at the expense of native species, though.
Are they all over London as well? I think that they will take over the world next!
I have never heard of nor seen a hooboe. Thank you for sharing that bit of video. Certainly a shame that there is an imbalance where birds are concerned. The more aggressive species have taken over due to some change in the environment evidently.
The hoopoe is a cool bird, and I am glad it’s still around!
Terrific story as always – didn’t know any of this!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Had no idea these types of birds were “out-and-about,” especially the parakeets which I only associated with pet stores. Have never heard of the hoopoe until now. Thanks for sharing this.
You are most welcome, and thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Very cool! I didn’t know that parakeets were a nuisance but would love to see these birds in person. The Myna is spectacular!
They are cool to watch in person even though they are a nuisance!
Now, I’m curious about the reputation of ring-necked parakeets, since I don’t what that is. The funny thing about that is I’m the son of an ornithologist who studied birds his entire life.
Hmm. This happened yesterday. I must be some kind of egotist because I miss seeing my name (Pete Springer) when I post. I notice several other posters are also “anonymous.” I hope this isn’t some new Word Press scheme to encourage us to buy their upgraded version. 😉
Yeah, I’m not sure what’s going on with this anonymous thing…the reputation is that they are aggressive and invasive, nothing else sinister 😊
That hoopoe is so pretty, I’ve never seen one before.
They are very common in Israel, but I don’t think I ever heard the name outside of the country.
The last few years I have seen birds here in Arkansas that I have never seen here before. I wonder if Climate change has anything to do with the birds migrating to different areas of the globe.
There is definitely a huge climate change impact on bird populations and demographics across the globe!
I wouldn’t be surprised if crows are also having an effect on native species worldwide. They are present in every country I’ve ever visited and I’ve even witnessed one pecking off the head of a bird and carrying away its head while another carried off the rest of the bird’s body. And it wasn’t a tiny bird—it was about the same size as the crows.
Oh, wow, that must have been a sight! There are definitely crows here as well.
I would indeed find it surreal being surrounded by shrieking parakeets as we’re often used to seeing them in cages over in this part of the world. Very fascinating!
I’m glad you found it interesting!
it’s hard for me to think of parakeets as being aggressive! and the hoopoe is striking in that it so different from the birds I am used to seeing.
Yeah, I never thought of them as aggressive. I have to admit that I still like them and like watching them!
I made sure to watch the August 17 clip because that is my late mother’s birthday. She would’ve liked it, as did I.
I’m so glad you liked it 🥰
I admire your persistence to photograph the parakeets. They are beautiful, but it’s a shame they are pushing out the native birds. Have there been any efforts to control their population?
P.S. It’s Linda from Wandering Canadians. Not sure why my comment was posted as “Anonymous”.
Great photos with your phone. Love the Hoopoe! We will have to travel out of North America someday just to see these birds!
Thanks! Yeah, so many places and new things to see…
Why am I not surprised you’d decide to learn about birds while you are in Israel. When I was there, all I did is get a stray dog to follow us around. Fascinating post. Thanks so much. Take care, Muriel
It looks like they got their act together on the stray dogs, but there are tons of stray cats, and tons of feeding stations for the stray cats. I hope all is well!
These are a wonderful site you saw these parakeets.
It was very interesting to see!
Like!
I am so liking that you like it, but kind of pissed at WordPress…why is this happening?