Bird's Highway

2 Dec 2010 - Bird migration is big in Israel. Per square kilometer, the country has one of the highest levels of bird traffic in the world. Every autumn, more than 500 million birds cross the Israeli air space, heading south for warmer weather in Africa. One person commented: "Politically Israel is a disaster, but for bird watching it is heaven." However, so many birds in a small airspace cause a major hazard for pilots, notably for the country's substantial air force. Tough pilots have fought many wars, but often their closest encounter with death was when a bird flew into their engine and they had to make an emergency landing or use the eject seat. An average migrating bird bird weighs about 6 kilos but at top speed it has the impact of an item of around 40 tonnes. The Israeli air force has responded with state of the art radar system, that can pick up migrating birds. Bird watchers can also call a hotline to warn for flocks of birds.