Conference programme: January 15 Update

Conference committee

• Amnonn Hahn – Director, The Friends Of The Swifts Association (FOTS)
• Dan Alon – Director, Israel Ornithological Center (IOC), Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI)
• Edward Mayer – Swift Conservation, UK
• Dr. Nir Sapir – University of Haifa
• Dr. Mauro Ferri – Italy
• Sorrel Ritter – Conference coordinator, SPNI
• Prof. Yossi Leshem – SPNI, Tel Aviv University

papers

1.     Keynote speakers (26 mins + 4 mins questions)

2.     Lectures (17 mins + 3 mins questions)

3.     Posters (on display in poster area)

program outline

Sunday, March 11^th

16:00 – 19:00

Registration

19:30 – 21:30

Evening get together festive event at Ruth Daniel Residence

Monday, March 12^th

09:00 – 09:30

Greetings [not yet confirmed]:

Ron Huldai – Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa

Dr. Yossef Dreiznin – Director-General of the Ministry of Regional Cooperation

Maj. Gen. (Res.) Noam Tibon – Chairman of Tel Aviv Global

Iris Hann – CEO of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI)

Edward Mayer – Swift Conservation UK.

09:30 – 10:00

Christoph Meier – Migratory schedule of different Alpine Swifts 

10:00 – 10:30

Dick Newell – What do we know about Swift Nest Boxes?

10:30 – 11:00

Coffee break

11:00 – 11:20

Mark Smyth – A walk on the wild Side: Swift nesting in the natural landscape

11:20 – 11:40

Lynda Huxley – Swifts in Ireland

11:40 – 12:00

Ninon Ballerstadt – Swifts' sleeping behavior

12:00 – 12:20

Judith Wakelam – 15 years of rehabilitating Swifts in my home

12:20 – 12:40

Edward Mayer – A new Swift Column for the modern built environment

12:40 – 13:10

Peter Cush – An overview of Apus apus & Apus apus pekinensis

13:15 – 14:45

Lunch break

14:45 – 15:05

Mark Coreth – The Tree of Hope – A Swift Project 

15:05 – 15:25

Alexandru Stahl – Mauerseglerklinik Frankfurt: Mastering Swift rehabilitation

15:25 – 15:45

Marco Cucco – Citizen-Science: Swift Conservation in Italy

15:45 – 16:05

Thomas Starkmann – Common Swift nesting sites conservation in Vienna

16:05– 16:35

Coffee break

16:35 – 16:55

Katja Schmieder – Differences between European and American Swifts

16:55 – 17:15

Itai Bloch & Nir Sapir – Insights from ATLAS tracking of foraging Little swifts in the Hula Valley, Israel

17:15 – 18:15

Poster Session

18:30 – 19:30

Dinner

19:30 – 22:00

Guided tour of Jaffa's Old City

Tuesday, March 13^th

06:00

Early morning birding tour before breakfast [optional]

07:00 – 08:00

Breakfast

09:00 – 09:30

Yossi Leshem & Amnonn Hahn – A Swift Way to Peace

09:30 – 10:00

Chris Huxley – Some aspects of the breeding biology of the swifts of County Mayo, Ireland

10:00 – 10:20

Gen. (Ret.) Mansour Abu Rashid & Imad Atrash – Birding activities in Jordan and the Palestinian Authority

10:20 – 10:50

Coffee break

10:50 – 11:10

Elena Markitani – Swift projects in Cyprus

11:10 – 11:30

Lukas Viktora – Does it really work? A study in the Czech Republic 

11:30 – 11:50

Diane Yorgason-Quinn (presented on behalf of Larry Schwitters) – Audubon's “Vaux's Happening” Project

11:50 – 12:10

Parcharidou Effrosyni – Swift friendly buildings in Thessaloniki, Greece

12:10 – 12:30

Stefano Pesaro – A multi-facetted approach to Swift conservation in Italy

12:30 – 12:50

Lothar Schiffler – Airlines: Bird Tracks in the air

12:50 – 14:00

Lunch break

14:00 – 18:00

Swift tour in Tel Aviv to include: (1) Swift “Living Wall” at Catzenelzon School; (2) IDF Headquarters to learn about the Nature Defense Forces and their connection to Swifts and heritage sites; (3) Schiff House with online cameras in Common Swift nests

19:30

Free evening in Jaffa

Wednesday, March 14^th

06:00 – 23:00

Tour to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea:

• Jerusalem Bird Observatory – ringing station in the Israeli Parliament grounds
• Wadi Kelt (a gorge in the Judean Desert between Jerusalem and Jericho) to see three Swift species: Alpine, Little and Pallid Swifts
• Swifts Welcoming Ceremony at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem

Greetings [not yet confirmed]:

Mr. Reuven Rivlin – President of Israel

MK Tzachi Hanegbi – Minister of Regional Cooperation

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz – Rabbi of the Western Wall

Thursday, March 15^th

07:00 – 08:30

Breakfast

08:45 – 09:05

Gert de Yong – How to conduct a census of Swifts in a city like Amsterdam, The Netherlands

09:05 – 09:25

Mauro Ferri – Artificial Swift nests from Medieval period up to modern times

09:25 – 09:45

Kevin Prince – X-ray fluorescence study of Swifts' feathers

09:45 – 10:05

Francisco Javier Saez Frayssinet – The protection of Apus Apus in Segovia, Spain

10:05 – 10:45

Coffee break

10:45 – 13:00

Open discussion including voting for the 2020 International Conference location

13:00 –

Lunch and free afternoon & evening in Tel Aviv-Jaffa

March 16^th

Optional tour to see the Griffon Vultures in Mt. Carmel and Little Swifts nesting in the Hula Valley in north Israel as well as many more local and migrating birds [PRICE: €40 including bus and professional guide]

March 17^th-20^th

Optional 4-day tour (3 nights) from Tel Aviv via the Negev to Eilat to view the amazing bird migration as part of the Eilat 2018 International Spring Migration Festival; accommodation at Eilat's excellent Agamim hotel; price includes half board, bus, professional guides and participation in all the festival events [PRICE: €755 per person in double room / €1,065 per person in single room]

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