The second international birdwatching festival in the Galilee and the Valleys is set for this fall in the Upper Galilee community of Kfar Blum. According to festival organizers, one of the aims of the program is to draw attention to the birdwatching possibilities in northern Israel, an area with great numbers of migrating and wintering birds. It is also hoped that the five-day long event will "increase the number of ecotourists to Israel." The site of the festival, the Hula Valley, is one of the main wintering and migratory sites of approximately 300 species of birds. The area, once one of the largest swamps in the Middle East, was dried out in the 1950's. In the southern part of the valley, a nature reserve was created to replicate the swamp and lake that had been there previously. Today most of the valley, some 30 square kilometers, is agricultural land. In 1992, an area of 1 square kilometer was flooded in the center of the valley. The combination of the flooded area and the surrounding agricultural fields has created a variety of habitats that have attracted many birds. Among the endangered species that can be found there are the Imperial Eagle, Spotted Eagle, Black Stork, Common Crane and Pygmy Cormorant. For more information on the gathering - slated for Nov. 20-25th - contact the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel at tourism@spni.org.il