The Negev buzzard is an enormous and powerful bird of prey, indeed, the largest raptor in our region. With a wingspan approaching three meters and a weight of over ten kilograms, it is a truly formidable presence in the sky. This week, the bird was spotted by Lior Dor, an employee of the Nature and Parks Authority, at Ein Avdat National Park.
“It began like any ordinary day at work,” Dor recounted. “I was sitting by the spring, occasionally pointing out an eagle soaring overhead to hikers. Then, I glanced south toward the mouth of the stream and saw an enormous, dark eagle flying nearby. I quickly realized what I was witnessing: a Negev buzzard. Overcome with excitement, I ran after it, snapping photos and trying to find a signal to report the sighting. The rare buzzard remained in the area for nearly an hour, circling above with other eagles, sometimes swooping low overhead or landing heavily and majestically on the cliffs, before finally drifting off toward the desert.”
Dor urges the public to visit the Ein Avdat Nature Reserve and try their luck spotting the buzzard themselves. “I hope it stays in the region; it’s a bird of tremendous significance.”
Orly Gilad, Director of the Negev Mountain region at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, added: “Efforts to boost the population of captive-bred buzzards in Israel have faced significant challenges. Still, we remain hopeful that more buzzards will make their way here, and that, in time, they will once again become a natural and familiar part of the Negev landscape, as they were in the past. To support this goal, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is working to establish a breeding nucleus in cooperation with the Gulf countries, where buzzard populations remain strong.”
The Negev buzzard is distinguished by its dark brown plumage, pale underbelly, and bare gray head and neck. A scavenger by nature, it primarily feeds on carrion, using its powerful beak to strip the hide from large animals such as camels. However, it is also capable of preying on smaller animals, including rabbits and tortoises.
Typically solitary or found in pairs, the buzzard nests in acacia trees scattered across wide valleys and savannah landscapes. Its nest—a massive structure of branches and twigs—can reach up to one meter in height and span two to three meters in diameter. The species lays a single egg, and its nesting cycle is unusually lengthy, lasting nearly a full year.
Dr. Yoav Perlman, Director of the Ornithology Center at the Society for the Protection of Nature, explains:
“Due to uncontrolled shooting, the loss of food sources, and frequent disturbances at nesting sites, the Negev Buzzards have become extinct as a nesting species in Israel. Globally, the Negev Buzzard, a.k.a. Nubian Vulture, is classified as endangered, with an estimated population of around 8,000 individuals across Africa. In our region, the situation is even more dire—only about 500 individuals of the local subspecies remain, all confined to the Arabian Peninsula.
“The last recorded nesting in Israel occurred in 1989 in the Yotvata area in the Arava desert. Efforts to save the species began in the 1970s, including the establishment of feeding stations in two locations in the Arava—the HaTseva, and Eilat mountains. Simultaneously, a captive breeding nucleus was created at the Tel Aviv University Zoological Garden, based on chicks collected from nests in the Arava. Unfortunately, the attempt to breed the ibis in captivity was unsuccessful, and conservation efforts have dwindled in the years since.”
