Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
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.
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.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
There are small Nature Reserves within the site, but they do not have any special ornithological importance, and there are no other measures being taken to conserve the region. Human disturbance and agricultural intensification constitute threats to the birds using the area.
Data-sheet compiled by S. Blitzblau, reviewed by R. Frumkin.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Jezre'el, Harod and Bet She'an valleys (Israel). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/jezreel-harod-and-bet-shean-valleys-iba-israel on 22/12/2024.
