Lebanon Ramsar wetland
Palm Islands Nature Reserve
45 bird species recorded; the most in February.
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
This month here
10 species in January.25 species in February.17 species in March.14 species in April.6 species in May.3 species in June.4 species in July.10 species in August.8 species in September.16 species in October.13 species in November.19 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
VU
NT
NT
NT
NTNTVUNTNTVUNT- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
45 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 45Speciesrecorded more than once
- 16Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 2ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 318Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 1Raptors
- 8Waders
- 7Gulls & seabirds
- 2Ducks & geese
- 5Herons, ibises & grebes
- 17Songbirds
- 5Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 45 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
Waders8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
- Greater Sand PloverCharadrius leschenaultii
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
Gulls & seabirds7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Slender-billed GullChroicocephalus genei
- Armenian GullLarus armenicus
- White-eyed GullIchthyaetus leucophthalmus
Ducks & geese2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
Herons, ibises & grebes5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- ShagPhalacrocorax aristotelis
- Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
Songbirds17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Graceful WarblerPrinia gracilis
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
- Crested larkGalerida cristata
- WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
- Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
- Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
- Yellow-vented BulbulPycnonotus xanthopygos
- Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus
- Ortolan buntingEmberiza hortulana
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
- Isabelline wheatearOenanthe isabellina
- Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
Other birds5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in February.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan17°/15°137 mm
- Feb17°/15°92 mm
- Mar18°/16°50 mm
- Apr20°/18°26 mm
- May23°/21°12 mm
- Jun25°/24°4 mm
- Jul27°/26°1 mm
- Aug28°/27°2 mm
- Sep27°/26°10 mm
- Oct26°/24°35 mm
- Nov22°/21°76 mm
- Dec19°/17°116 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Palm Islands Nature Reserve.
Islands in Lebanon
Palm Islands Nature Reserve is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Lebanon.
45 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 318 open records.
The most recorded are the Yellow-legged Gull, the Little Egret and the Great Cormorant.
5 species come for the summer, 11 for the winter and 0 only pass through.
2 are threatened worldwide, including Grey Plover and Curlew Sandpiper.
The most species are recorded in February.
Get there and watch
- الكشاف المسلم - فوج معاوية البحريcampsite · 5.8 km · 3 within 10 km
- Via Minaplace to stay · 5.4 km · 12 within 10 km
- Tripolinearest town · 9.2 km in a straight line
- Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 79 km in a straight lineCar hire at BEY airport (Beirut)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 3campsites within 10 kmالكشاف المسلم - فوج معاوية البحري, بيت اياد
- 12places to stay within 10 kmVia Mina, Hayek Hotel, Al zaylaa buildings and 9 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Palm Islands Nature Reserve.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas54 mountains within 25 kmJabal Tourbol · 15 kmQornet Saadallah · 20 kmQoubbet Nasr · 21 kmQornet Qortol · 24 kmDahr el Ouata · 24 kmDahret es Safra · 24 kmQilaa · 24 kmDahr ez Zaatar · 24 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Palm Islands Nature Reserve
Lebanon
- 41Birdyas Score
- 45Species
- 16Migrants
- 2Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q7128050) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 318 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
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Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit