Birdwatching at Hima Hammana

Lebanon's first officially recognized birdwatching site, Hima Hammana, sits at a remarkable intersection of geography and nature. Positioned along Lebanon's "bird highway," the bottleneck between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the desert to the east, it is a hotspot for bird migration. A year's count recorded over 500,000 birds, including thousands of raptors across 25 different species.

Hammana is home to two dedicated birdwatching observatories: the SPNL Observatory, founded in 2018, and the ANAHITA Observatory, founded in 2020, together forming one of the most active bird monitoring hubs in the region. At both sites, Hammana wilderness lovers, SPNL, local guides as well as naturalists, and wildlife enthusiasts track and document spectacular seasonal movements, including the iconic honey buzzard migration that fills the sky each season.

The autumn migration begins at the end of August and continues through winter, followed by the spring migration and then the breeding season within the Hima, making Hammana a year-round birdwatching destination. Rare species such as the crested honey buzzard and the Egyptian vulture have been documented here, further cementing its status as an Important Bird & Biodiversity Area.