We are standing in front of the dark and mysterious corner of the nocturnal birds of prey. The barn owl, the wood owl, the Athene, and the Eurasian eagle owl. These are the most common nocturnal birds of prey in Israel. Most of them only go out to hunt at night, after resting during the daytime hours, and hiding using their camouflage colors.

Their very large eyes are adapted for night vision and located in the front of their face. The barn owl also has exceptional hearing that allows it to hunt even in total darkness, just by hearing the rodents running on the ground. All of the nocturnal birds of prey have special combs in the feathers of their wings that suppress the sound of their wings when they fly. They fly in total silence and surprise their prey.

Nocturnal birds of prey are at risk of extinction in Israel. The main reason for this is the shrinking of forest areas and destruction of their habitats. Today, they are forced to crowd in smaller areas and compete for every bit of food. An additional hazard is the consumption of rodents that have been poisoned by pesticides. Living near humans also poses additional risks to nocturnal birds of prey, such as power poles, barbed-wire fences, vehicles, and more. Even species that prefer to stay far from humans, such as the great grey owl, are forced to migrate to distant areas during periods of famine in order to eat.

And for the Harry Potter fans, we’ll add that the wood owl in front of us is a relative of Hedwig, the famous snowy owl.