The Diving Duck program is continuing to thrive.
In the coming weeks and months we are planning on releasing more ducklings born at the Furgatch Marshland Aviary at the Zoo to the En Afek Nature Reserve.
The Reserve is located in the Akko valley, close to Kiryat Biyalik in Israel's north and preserves swampland and waterway sources the majority of which have been lost in Israel.
We are also eagerly anticipating the Nature Parks Authority report on the status of the population in Israel, due to be published in the coming weeks, summing up seven years of conservation activity.
Over the summer in the Deer Valley Reserve, close to the Zoo in Jerusalem, over thirty ducklings have been sighted during routine tracking sessions and hopefully this a good omen for the overall situation in Israel of this endangered species.
Have a great fall,
Rachael and the Conservation Team.
Spring brought with it lots of blessings for our Diving Duck project with evidence of new families and stability in the breeding core.
In the Deer Valley Nature Reserve in the heart of urban Jerusalem, at least two couple have been sighted, each with between three to eight ducklings each!
In the last location that ducks from the Zoo's breeding core were released, the Ein Afek Nature Reserve, park staff report that they are regularly seeing the ducks in and around the lake area.
This news is encouraging, showing that the project is proceeding well and we are beginning to see the return to the wild of this species in Israel.
Since the beginning of the project, over 100 ducks have been released.
Thank you for being a part of this project!
Have a great summer.
Rachael and the Avian Team
Hello Diving Duck Supporters!
As we await the new breeding season for our diving ducks (due to begin sometime in April or May of 2019), we would like to share with you the differences between our male and female diving ducks – you may have noticed some of these from photographs we have shared.
The breeding male is a rich, dark chestnut on the head, breast and flanks with contrasting pure white undertail coverts. In flight the white belly and underwing patch are visible. The females are duller and browner than the males. The male has a yellow eye and the females have a dark eye.
As habitats, these ducks prefer quite shallow fresh waterbodies with rich submerged and floating vegetation with dense stands of emergent vegetation on the margins. Sometimes they will also use saline or brackish pools or wetlands. On passage and wintering they will also frequent coastal waters, inland seas and large, open lagoons.
We hope to be able to update you with more exciting news in our next report.
With best wishes and thanks for your continued support,
Nicole and the Avian Team at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
Hello Diving Duck Supporters!
Since our last report, we have been awaiting the start of the next breeding season for our diving ducks. This is due to begin sometime in April or May of 2019. Once eggs are laid, they are collected by our staff (and are quite difficult to find as these birds make their nests in the thick undergrowth surrounding their water pond within our Marsh Aviary Exhibit) and brought to our incubation center to ensure best chances of hatching and survival.
Chicks are returned to the parents in the exhibit to be reared until their release into the wild at a future date. Some chicks are retained to supplement the breeding nucleus at the Zoo.
We hope to be able to update you with more exciting news in our next report.
With best wishes and thanks for your continued support,
Nicole and the Avian Team at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
Hello Diving Duck Supporters!
Since we last reported to you, we released 14 individuals in the Ein Afek Nature Reserve near Haifa. As you will see from the photographs, this was as exciting as always!
We hope to be able to obtain and fund GPS bird collars by next year, similar to those used to track released birds of prey. This will enable us to more accurately monitor the birds’ movements and distribution after their release.
Another 3 individuals are slated for release in the coming weeks – more on that in our next report.
With best wishes and thanks for your continued support,
Nicole and the Avian Team at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
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