IL008
Jezre'el, Harod and Bet She'an valleys


Country/territory: Israel

IBA criteria met: A1, A4i, A4iii, A4iv, B1i, B1iv, B2, B3 (1994)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 40,000 ha

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel

Site description (1994 baseline)
A valley system stretching north-west from Bet She'an in eastern Israel across most of the width of the country to Kiryat Tiv'on. The area is largely agricultural (orchards, wheat, legumes, cotton), with many fish-ponds and reservoirs.

Key biodiversity
An important area for waterbirds throughout the year; see boxes for key species. The fields of the Jezre'el valley supported a wintering population of up to 1,700 Grus grus during the 1980s, though this had dropped to 500 by 1991/92. Other wintering species include Circus aeruginosus (65), Aquila clanga (19) and Larus ichthyaetus (150).

Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.

Acknowledgements
Data-sheet compiled by S. Blitzblau, reviewed by R. Frumkin.

Attributes
Raptors MOU - IBA listed under Table 3 of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Jezre'el, Harod and Bet She'an valleys. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/jezreel-harod-and-bet-shean-valleys-iba-israel on 19/03/2024.