Over the years, the conflict between humans and wild birds has changed, and is still changing. Birds that were problematic in the past are being replaced by other birds. For example, the Pygmy cormorant that you see on the lower left was once blamed for stealing little fish out of the fish ponds and was therefore hunted until it reached the brink of extinction. Today, thanks to the wildlife protection laws in Israel, its population is growing once again.

The barn owl eats rodents. In the past, owls were poisoned, like many other predatory birds, after they consumed poisoned rodents in fields throughout Israel. Today, due to the transition to biological pesticide methods, rodents are no longer poisoned and farmers build special boxes where owls can build their nests in the fields. A pair of owls preys on over 3,000 rodents per year, and in seasons with an abundance of food, it raises about 5 owlets.

In contrast with the cooperation forged with the owls, the European bee-eater in the center of the display is known to be an enemy to beekeepers, because its primary food is bees, which it eats near hives in the spring and summer months.

Today, it is prohibited to kill birds or mammals without special permission, and the Nature and Parks Authority works hard to find creative solutions and prevent the conflicts between wild animals and farmers.

Notice the old texts in the display, written by hand in ink with a pen nib on small boards. Since they were written in the seventies, ecological research has advanced, and some of the information on them is no longer accepted according to today’s approaches.