מילים חדשות · 1

Every autumn, hundreds of millions of birds fly over Israel. The country is on one of the busiest bird routes in the world, between Europe and Africa. For many of these travellers, the Hula Valley in the north is the perfect place to rest. It has water, a warm winter and, best of all, plenty of food.

Among the most famous visitors are the cranes, tall grey birds with long legs. In the past, most cranes stopped in the valley for a few days and then continued south. Today, tens of thousands of them stay for the whole winter.

For the farmers of the valley, this created a serious problem. Cranes travel in large groups, and they do not stay politely at the lake. They walked into the fields and ate the seeds that farmers had just planted, especially peanuts and wheat. Some farmers lost a large part of their crops. They tried loud noises and lights to frighten the birds away, but the cranes simply moved to the next field.

In the end, the farmers, scientists and nature organizations found an unusual solution: feed the cranes. Every morning during the winter, a tractor drives into one area of the valley and spreads a huge amount of corn on the ground. The cranes learned quickly. Now most of them eat at this "restaurant" and leave the fields alone.

The plan costs a lot of money, and not everyone is happy about it. Some experts worry that free food encourages more cranes to stay in Israel instead of flying on to Africa. Nobody knows yet what this will mean for the birds in the long run.

Meanwhile, the cranes have become a tourist attraction. Thousands of visitors come each winter to watch them from quiet electric cars. Early in the morning, when the birds rise from the water together, the sky is full of wings, and the noise is something you never forget.

Every autumn, hundreds of millions of birds fly over Israel. The country is on one of the busiest bird routes in the world, between Europe and Africa. For many of these travellers, the Hula Valley in the north is the perfect place to rest. It has water, a warm winter and, best of all, plenty of food.

Among the most famous visitors are the cranes, tall grey birds with long legs. In the past, most cranes stopped in the valley for a few days and then continued south. Today, tens of thousands of them stay for the whole winter.

For the farmers of the valley, this created a serious problem. Cranes travel in large groups, and they do not stay politely at the lake. They walked into the fields and ate the seeds that farmers had just planted, especially peanuts and wheat. Some farmers lost a large part of their crops. They tried loud noises and lights to frighten the birds away, but the cranes simply moved to the next field.

In the end, the farmers, scientists and nature organizations found an unusual solution: feed the cranes. Every morning during the winter, a tractor drives into one area of the valley and spreads a huge amount of corn on the ground. The cranes learned quickly. Now most of them eat at this "restaurant" and leave the fields alone.

The plan costs a lot of money, and not everyone is happy about it. Some experts worry that free food encourages more cranes to stay in Israel instead of flying on to Africa. Nobody knows yet what this will mean for the birds in the long run.

Meanwhile, the cranes have become a tourist attraction. Thousands of visitors come each winter to watch them from quiet electric cars. Early in the morning, when the birds rise from the water together, the sky is full of wings, and the noise is something you never forget.

Every autumn, hundreds of millions of birds fly over Israel. The country is on one of the busiest bird routes in the world, between Europe and Africa. For many of these travellers, the Hula Valley in the north is the perfect place to rest. It has water, a warm winter and, best of all, plenty of food.

Among the most famous visitors are the cranes, tall grey birds with long legs. In the past, most cranes stopped in the valley for a few days and then continued south. Today, tens of thousands of them stay for the whole winter.

For the farmers of the valley, this created a serious problem. Cranes travel in large groups, and they do not stay politely at the lake. They walked into the fields and ate the seeds that farmers had just planted, especially peanuts and wheat. Some farmers lost a large part of their crops. They tried loud noises and lights to frighten the birds away, but the cranes simply moved to the next field.

In the end, the farmers, scientists and nature organizations found an unusual solution: feed the cranes. Every morning during the winter, a tractor drives into one area of the valley and spreads a huge amount of corn on the ground. The cranes learned quickly. Now most of them eat at this "restaurant" and leave the fields alone.

The plan costs a lot of money, and not everyone is happy about it. Some experts worry that free food encourages more cranes to stay in Israel instead of flying on to Africa. Nobody knows yet what this will mean for the birds in the long run.

Meanwhile, the cranes have become a tourist attraction. Thousands of visitors come each winter to watch them from quiet electric cars. Early in the morning, when the birds rise from the water together, the sky is full of wings, and the noise is something you never forget.