Birdwatcher in Ashdod Finds an Owl Family Nesting on a Cliff

Guy Levian, deputy head of the Marine Unit at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, spotted a little owl, known in Hebrew as a burrowing owl or "kos choravot," while driving home after work near the Ashdod beach cliffs. Wanting to photograph the bird, he stopped and waited, then saw movement beside the male and realized there was a nesting site nearby.

"After a few minutes I saw movement near the male, then a female appeared beside him with four fledglings," Levian said. He added that he stayed still and kept his distance from the birds and the nest, using a long lens so he could document the family without disturbing them. "I got to see them eating, playing with each other, it is magic not everyone gets to see," he said.

The Nature and Parks Authority says the burrowing owl is a small nocturnal raptor found in rural and natural areas in Israel, but it is also active in daylight and at dusk. It often stands on fences, power poles, stone piles and abandoned buildings, which explains its Hebrew name. It has a squat body with brown, gray and white plumage, a broad head and large yellow eyes. When alarmed or curious, it makes quick bows and bobs its head up and down.

According to Dr. Dotan Rotem, an open-space ecologist at the authority, the bird is an efficient hunter that feeds mainly on large insects, small rodents, reptiles and even small songbirds. He said the species faces serious threats from pesticide-related secondary poisoning and habitat loss. The authority said summer is the late nesting season, when young birds leave the nest but still depend on their parents for food, and warned the public not to approach active nests or try to photograph them except from a safe distance.