6th October 2025
Last
Thursday, Yom Kippur (our Day of Atonement), was a truly horrendous occasion
for the Jewish Community of Manchester. The Synagogue that was targeted was
just a couple of hundred meters from the house that we had lived in happily for
30 years or so, before leaving the UK. We know the Rabbi of the Synagogue; we
knew one of the deceased, and we know one of the injured young men. We mourn
for those that died, and we pray that the injured victims should have a
complete and speedy recovery. And most of all, we pray that there should be no
more terrorism on the streets of Manchester, nor on the streets of Israel, nor
anywhere else in the world.
--
Not very far from where we live now are two mountains – Mount Arbel and
Mount Nitai. We like to hang out at one of the cliffs of Mount Arbel – but not
too close to the edge. From here we get a magnificent view over much of the northeast of Israel.
Words can’t adequately describe the beauty of the panorama, so I’ve attached a
short video clip that I hope will give you a feel for what we see – it was a
windy day, as you will hear.
We’re not the only ones who like to hang out near the cliff
edge. Raptors do too. Thermals, which are rising columns of warm air created
when the sun heats the ground unevenly, cause pockets of air to become less
dense and lift upward. This effect is especially strong over sun-heated
surfaces such as fields, rocky slopes, or sun-facing cliffs. As the warm air
rises, cooler surrounding air flows in to replace it, creating a continuous
cycle that birds and gliders can ride to gain altitude without using energy.
Raptors often head toward these sun-heated areas, including cliffs, to exploit this free energy supply.
Last week we saw scores of ‘kettles’ of large raptors soaring
effortlessly over the mountain. They were mostly European honey buzzards and
black kites, but I spotted a couple of short-toed snake eagles amongst them –
by the way, it’s the eagles that have short toes, not the snakes. And though
they were high above, I managed to photograph one of them.
Just as we were leaving to head home, in the distance we saw
a pair of Egyptian vultures circling over the cliff-top. One of the park rangers told
us that the vultures had recently hatched a chick in their nest halfway down
the cliff face. Once the chick was mature enough to cope with the disturbance,
the rangers rappelled down the cliff (rather them than me!) and attached a tracker to the chick.
It has now flown the nest, leaving its parents behind, and is residing in
Yemen, more than 1,300 miles from its birthplace.
Everyone admires the high-flying eagles that swoop from the
sky to carry off a young or small animal or bird. By contrast, vultures are
often looked down upon for scavenging and making a living from decaying
carcasses. Yet vultures perform a vital service: the strong acid in their
stomachs allows them to eat decaying meat that other animals couldn’t digest.
In doing so, they clean up the environment and help prevent the spread of
dangerous diseases.
Eagles, vultures, kites, buzzards, and other raptors fly by virtually past our windows – we’re truly blessed to be able to see
them all.
The photos here are:
- Three Egyptian vultures from a previous visit – black and white
underwings
- Short-toed
snake eagle with pale underbody – high in the sky
- A fourteen-inch rough-tail rock agama – rather crocodile-like – completely vertical, sunning itself on a stone memorial slab.
-2.jpg)