The Barbary Falcons Israeli Youth Team

It’s 8 am and during a tiring gym class a big shadow comes over the court. I stop running and look to the sky and see an amazing Barbary Falcon flying to the desert.

Sound strange, right? That is the reality of two group members, who study at the environmental school in Midreshet Ben Gurion. Our third team member studies in Ness-Ziona, a slightly less interesting place.

We are a youth group and this is our third time in the race, and we want to talk to you about a serious subject…

These days birds face a lot of threats:  Wind Turbines, power lines and particularly hunting which we would like to talk about. Every year over  25,000,000 birds die due to illegal killings! More than 50,000 of these are Quails. These small ground fowl are considered a delicacy.

We ask you to donate to our team. The money we will raise will go to help protecting the Common Quail, which it’s not so common any longer in Croatia and Serbia.

Let’s unite together for this lovely bird which only flies away in the last second before we tread on it in the field. The Quail is not the prettiest or the smartest bird, but still it makes us smile every time we get a chance to see one.

Let’s protect the Common Quail!!

Last year we really enjoyed the race, and we saw plenty of birds, but this year we want to find even more birds, and more importantly we want to raise more money to stop the illegal hunting.

Let’s protect the birds for the next generations!

Meet the Team:

Lior Dor

Age: 17 years old

Address: Ness-Ziona, Israel

Favorite Bird: Merlin

Equipment: Canon 70D, Nikon Monarch 7, 10×42

I began birding when I was eight years old after participating in a Birds’ Ringing. In a short time I continued birding and I still enjoy doing that today.

Gal Marinov

Age: 16 years old

Address: Herzliya, Israel

Favorite Bird: Desert Finch

Equipment: Canon 7D Mark ii with Sigma 150-600, Nikon Monarch 7, 10×42

I always like to be in the nature and watch the wildlife, but  after a visit to the  Hula Valley with all the Birds of Prey, Ducks, Herons, Warders, Song Birds and of course the Cranes I became a birder. After this trip I bought my first binoculars, and since then I can’t stop looking for birds.

Itamar Donitza

Age: 16 years old

Address: Kfar Saba, Israel

Favorite bird: Secretary Bird

Equipped: nikon D7100+tamron 150-600

Nikon monarch 5 8×42

My first birding experience was a trip with one of the group members: Gal Marinov

We went to Maagan Michael and the trip highlight was a single Oystercatcher, it is the only Oystercatcher I ever saw.