Category Archives: Flora and fauna

My Israel ישראל שלי

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A Series of Children’s videos

Due to insufficient demand for the My Israel virtual tours for kids, I have taken the decision to release some of the videos as a series of short shows aimed at kids from pre-school to first grade on my ScoutIsrael Youtube Channel.

These videos will be a light-hearted video ‘trip’ to see something that kids’ will find fun. We start the first video with a Jerusalem nature reserve called “Gazelle Valley”! We learn about the family groups in which Gazelles live in. We also learn about Moorhens. Here is the video:

It was great fun making this video as it was all filmed on a number of days out with my family.

I am focusing on my videos because of the temporary stop in worldwide tourism due to the COVID-19 crisis. Please support my channel and my podcasts by clicking on either the Ko-Fi button or Patreon button.

Family Tour – Judean Foothills

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A hands on educational experience for all the family

Tel Socho also known as “Lupine Hill”

The “Shfeila” or Judean Foothills is the area between the Jerusalem Hills and the Coastal Plain. It has been the battlefield of Judea for more than 2000 years. The soft chalk hills crowned with grassy meadows are a perfect home for many plants and animals. Join me on a fun family adventure, exploring the Foothills of Judea.

Itinerary:

  • Nature Walk in Tel Soho (pictured above). The first part of the David and Goliath Story. In the spring the best place to view flowering Lupines.
  • Dramatic Enactment of David and Goliath at Tel Azeikah.  Bringing the Bible and archaeology to life at a classic archaeological site.

 

Khirbet Midras Bar Kochba Caves

  • Crawl the Bar Kochba Caves.  A system of crawl caves where Judeans held out against the forces of Roman Emperor Hadrian.
  • Lunch in area

  • Underground Adventure at the Soreq Stalactite caves.
  • Animals and The Bible explore the nature in the Holy Land at the Biblical Museum of Natural History.

Continue reading →

Spotlight on Nature: Safari Map Update

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I’m getting ready for the spring migration and my new Suburban safari (Coming Soon!). So I’ve been checking out the area of Jerusalem around the ‘Old train Station’, Yemin Moshe and the Walls of the Old City. Today I saw some fantastic little birds: Graceful Prinias, Chiffchaffs, and what I think is a Masked Shrike. See the Map below for more information.

Watch this Space for more news.

Spotlight on Nature: Latest Safari Map Update

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I’ve been preparing for a new tour and part of this preparation has been mapping the wildlife in the southern suburbs of Jerusalem. My recent astounding sightings have been;

Graceful Prinia (bird)

Eurasian Jays

Kuhl’s Pipistrelle Bat

European Green Toad

Common Gazelle (!)

You can check regular updates on this map:

It was a wonderful experience seeing the gazelle at 5:30 am as the sun rose over the Jerusalem hills.  I’m going to be preparing this tour for the next few months, if your interested in booking me for a tour you can contact me here.

Spotlight on Nature: Urban Safari Map of Southern Jerusalem

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This is the map that I will be updating regularly as part of my ‘Suburban Safari’ project. I will record the animals that I have identified, there location and the date I identified them.  There is a key in the description section and hover your cursor over the markers on the map to see what has been identified so far.

There’s probably going to be a few kinks to iron out at first, but check back here regularly for new sightings.

Coming Soon: The Suburban Safari Tour!

Email me here for details

Spotlight on Nature: Bird Watching at the Goldstein Youth Village

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Tour Guide, Bird Specialist and Super Dad!

Tour Guide, Bird Specialist and Super Dad!

As part of a new set of tours that I am creating I recently lead some educational birding sessions at the JAIS Summer Camp.

We saw some fantastic birds, featuring the Syrian Woodpecker, the Palestine Sunbird and the Ring Necked Parakeet to name a few. Here’s the whole extended bird list:

Syrian Woodpecker

Palestine Sunbird

Ring Necked Parakeet

Spectacled Bulbul

Blackbird

Palm dove

Rock Dove (Pigeon)

Sparrow

Hooded crow

I was very impressed with the standard of observation from the campers who could spot birds with their bare eyes that I couldn’t see with my binoculars. The whole day just goes to show the fantastic variety of birds you can see in my backyard right here in Jerusalem.

I am currently working on some tours that will involve some of the more unknown parts of Jerusalem wildlife. Watch this space!

 

Spotlight on Nature: The Omer Bird Count

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Jews around the world are involved three thousand year old ritual called ‘the Counting of the Omer’.

The period between the second day of Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) is called the Omer. According to Scripture; this forty nine day period between the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the books of law, the Torah, on Mount Sinai was marked by a daily sacrifice of barley and the appointing of a daily ‘count’.

Now that there is no longer a Holy Temple in Jerusalem Jews around the world mark the day by counting which day it is every night, for instance 2 nights ago we counted ‘1 day of the Omer Count’, the day after we counted two and so on.

There are many different responses to how to make this relevant to daily life. Many people focus on a separate moral issue every day. Many people have a different spiritual theme every day (typically they follow the 49 kabbalistic permutations mentioned in the Jewish books of mysticism).

A novel response by Rabbi Bobby Silverman has been to assign a different bird of Israel to each day. The bird pictured above is a Turtle Dove, the kind commonly found in the Sinai Peninsular and in Israel.

For more information see

http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d76e2f3a6435dec0b480fa8fa&id=2361993a65&e=e6b12d2f52

Or follow my tweets on

WandererLearner

This word of Torah is devoted to the Health of Zlata bat Sima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This word of Torah is devoted to the health of Zlata bat Sima

 

 

Torah Portion and Spotlight on Nature: Yitro

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A Griffon Vulture at the Hai Bar Nature Reserve near Haifa

 

“I Lifted you up on the Wings of the Nesher and brought you to me.” (Exodus 19:4)

In this week’s Torah Portion we discuss Moses going up Mount Sinai where the Eternal tells Moses to tell the Jewish People their divine purpose; to be a holy nation. He tells Moses to tell the Jewish people that he carried them on the wings of a bird called, in Hebrew, the Nesher.

Why I have n’t translated ‘Nesher’

The King James Bible translates ‘Nesher’ as eagle. This is mostly based in a European tradition identifying the Eagle as ‘The King of Birds’, the Eagle was the symbol of the Roman Empire and the Russian Empire. There is some zoological evidence to suggest that members of the Eagle family carry their children, though generally birds do not do this. However this identification does not fit other Biblical requirements. For instance, the Nesher, according to Micah 1:16 is supposed to be bald. Eagles (except for the American Bald Eagle which is not native to Israel an is not technically bald) do not tend to be bald, Vultures are. Vultures in Ancient Near Eastern folk tradition were associated with kingship. Vultures are also far larger than Eagles and have a larger ability to ‘pick stuff up’. One species, the Lammergeier or ‘Lamb Carrier’ in German, was even rumoured to carry away children.

Symbolism

The Symbolism of the Nesher is that its large wings are supposed to symbolise the eternal protection of the Eternal, know in Hebrew as the Shechinah.

For a more extensive explanation I encourage you to read Rabbi Natan Slifkin’s article on the subject.

 

Torah Portion: Vayera ‘The Terebinths of Mamre’

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“God appeared to Abraham at the Terebinths of Mamre“

(Genesis 18:23)

What’s a Terebinth?

The word in Hebrew here is ‘Alon’ which refers to Oak rather than Terebinth, which is a different kind of tree. The Picture above is of a ‘Quercus Calliprinos’ or ‘Palestine Oak’, which can be seen all over Israel.

 

Focus on Nature / Weekly Torah Portion Bereshit

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Fig tree“…They realized they were naked and they sewed together a fig leaf and made clothes” (Genesis  / Bereshit 1:7)

The picture above is a fig tree, it is very common in Israel and has the merit of being the first species of tree mentioned by name in the Bible.