Rare hybrid stork seen in Israel for the first time
'If this is indeed a hybrid stork, it is only the second time in the world that such a hybrid has been observed, and the first time ever, in Israel'
For the first time in Israel, a mocha-colored hybrid between a black and white stork was recorded by birdwatchers in the Hulda reservoir in the Shephelah. The stork has only been spotted one other time in the world.
The sighting was documented by the director of the Israel Ornithology Center at the Society for the Protection of Nature, Dr. Yoav Perlman, who was on a tour of the Hulda Reservoir in the Shephelah with Piki Ish Shalom, an ornithologist and professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
"It is not possible to know for sure whether this is indeed the case without a DNA sample," Perlman said. "However, since the stork in the Hulda reservoir has already flown away, it is not possible to obtain a DNA sample from it. If this is indeed a hybrid stork, it is only the second time in the world that such a hybrid has been observed, and the first time ever, in Israel."
According to Perlman, the first published documentation of the hybrid bird was in 2023, when a black and a white stork were reported seen sharing a nest in southern Germany.
Though the stork they observed in the Hulda reservoir was similar to one of the two offspring of the German birds, Perlman concluded it was not the same one, as those were marked with special identification rings.
The director contacted international experts on the hybrid breed who confirmed that the individual spotted in the Hulda reservoir is most likely a hybrid between a black stork and a white stork.
The black stork, a large bird standing at over a meter tall, has a wingspan of almost two meters. It breeds in forests in Europe and Asia, migrating to Africa and South Asia for the winter. Hundreds and thousands passing through Israel stay throughout the winter, gravitating towards humid habitats.
Because of deforestation, its global population is declining in some areas, while in other areas it seems to be adapting to human activity.
In Israel, the fishponds that are undergoing restoration in partnership with the kibbutzim Ma'agan Michael and Kfar Ruppin have created good conditions for the stork and other species. These restorations are initiatives of the Israel Society for the Protection of Nature.
The Hulda Reservoir, where Israeli bird sighting was recorded, is a wetland sanctuary in the center of the country that is currently in danger of destruction to be covered with solar panels. This is part of the Israel Water Authority and the water corporation Mei Hari Yehuda's plan to renovate all 11 reservoirs in the Judean Lowlands.
"The Society for the Protection of Nature calls on the Water Authority, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Nature and Parks Authority to preserve the Hulda Reservoir in its current form, as the last remnant of wetland habitats that support such important biodiversity in the center of the country," said Perlman.