Every year, at the beginning of spring, migratory swifts flock to the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the birds found the ancient site largely devoid of people, giving them free range to put on displays of balletic group flight above the plaza.

Each fall, the birds migrate to Africa, and ahead of spring, end their yearly journey at its northernmost point — Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem colony is likely one of the world’s oldest, said Amir Balaban, head of the urban division at Israel’s Society for the Protection of Nature

“They probably nested here already in the era of King Herod, 2,000 years ago,” Balaban said, according to Zman Yisrael, the Times of Israel’s sister site in Hebrew. “Usually at this time of year, when the worshipers arrive at sunrise, you can hear the worshipers’ voices from below and the calls of the swifts from above. It always gives me goosebumps.”

Human activity can be detrimental to the swifts when the wall complex is kept bright by artificial light around the clock.

The wall is home to some 90 pairs of nesters, the Temple Mount complex has several hundred, and the capital likely has tens of thousands.

Read the full article at Times of Israel

Related Articles:

How the Oscars got hijacked by Israel hate

Every year when the Oscars comes around, we prepare ourselves for headlines about who won big on the night, the fashion on display on the red carpet, and indeed talk of the...

“The numbers are not real” – new analysis blasts Hamas figures as FAKE

Graph with Hamas daily figures shows impossible straight line.There is lack of correlation between women and children casualties.Hamas's own figures show Israel is killing hardly any...

‘You should be ashamed of yourself for using Auschwitz to criticise Israel’

This year's Oscars was surrounded by controversy due to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. One of the winners on the night was The Zone of Interest, a film about the Holocaust...

Israel is at war with Hamas, not the Palestinian people

Israel has long sought peace with her neighbours. Unfortunately, you cannot make peace with a neighbour that wants to wipe you off the face of the earth. Hamas is one such neighbour, and as...

For Hamas, No Lives Matter

For years, anyone with a modicum of interest in understanding the Israel-Palestinian conflict recognized that Hamas had no care for the lives of innocent people on both sides of the...

Subscribe to start receiving FREE TORCH magazines from CUFI UK

Related Articles:

How the Oscars got hijacked by Israel hate

Every year when the Oscars comes around, we prepare ourselves for headlines about who won big on the night, the fashion on display on the red carpet, and indeed talk of the...

“The numbers are not real” – new analysis blasts Hamas figures as FAKE

Graph with Hamas daily figures shows impossible straight line.There is lack of correlation between women and children casualties.Hamas's own figures show Israel is killing hardly any...

‘You should be ashamed of yourself for using Auschwitz to criticise Israel’

This year's Oscars was surrounded by controversy due to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. One of the winners on the night was The Zone of Interest, a film about the Holocaust...

Israel is at war with Hamas, not the Palestinian people

Israel has long sought peace with her neighbours. Unfortunately, you cannot make peace with a neighbour that wants to wipe you off the face of the earth. Hamas is one such neighbour, and as...

For Hamas, No Lives Matter

For years, anyone with a modicum of interest in understanding the Israel-Palestinian conflict recognized that Hamas had no care for the lives of innocent people on both sides of the...

We call upon the UK Government to officially recognise Jerusalem is Israel's capital and move its embassy to Jerusalem.