Fine feathered refugees from Saddam's Iraq make aliya

The Basra reed warbler suffered destruction during the Gulf War.

By SHARON UDASIN
Updated: SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 15:00
Basra reed warbler lands in Israel‏ (photo credit: KKL-JNF)
Basra reed warbler lands in Israel‏
(photo credit: KKL-JNF)
A testament to the fact that nature knows no borders, a rare, globally endangered bird from southern Iraq flew into Israel's Agamon Hula Park on Monday, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund chief ornithologist Yaron Charka reported on Monday.
The bird, the Basra reed warbler, is mostly found in the marshes near the Iraqi city of Basra, but suffered destruction during the Gulf War, according to KKL-JNF. Then president Saddam Hussein diverted water from marshes as an act of revenge against tribes in the area that backed the US military during the war.
Although signs of the species were discovered for the first time in the Hula Valley in 2006, the bird has not appeared in the area in recent years, the organization said.