With only two days available for birding I decided to hire a guide to maximize my chances of seeing a decent variety of new bird species. Carmel suggested an itinerary that included the Beit Shean and Hula valleys, the Gilboa Mountains and the Golan heights.  It was a good suggestion. We did not spend much time driving and enjoyed a quite good diversity of habitats and bird species, with stunning views of European Roller, a calling Black Francolin and his mate, close-up views of several Long-billed Pipts, a cooperative Ferruginous Duck, numerous raptors, dozens of Black and White Storks, a nicely spotted Namaqua Dove and all three reed warbler species.  Carmel was an excellent guide – perceptive to my interests and very quick on the bird. A bonus to the trip was very good restaurant choices. I would look forward to birding with Carmel at a future visit and warmly recommend his guiding services.
Magnus Persmark, Oregon, USA

As I was planning a non-birding trip to  Jerusalem in late October 2011 with my wife, who likes birds but is not a bird watcher, it occurred to us that we might  be able to spend 2 days for birding if I can find a good bird-watching guide.
Searching internet I found Carmel Birding Tours web-page and send them an email asking propositions for a 2 days bird watching trip to Northern parts of Israel. The first positive surprise was that Carmel Zitronblat, the owner of  Carmel Birding Tours, replied my email very quickly and soon we were able to agree an all-inclusive 2 day birding trip to Beit Shean Valley and Agamon Hula area.

The 2 day trip on 24 and 25 of October 2011 was great. Carmel picked us from our hotel in Jerusalem early in the morning and after that we could just relax and enjoy birds and the sceneries. All the arrangements were excellent. And all inclusive meant really all inclusive - Carmel even paid my beer at the dinner.

The schedule was perfect for us. As I have said to Carmel that I am more interested in low pace birding in new environments than maximizing the number of species he could very well adapt to this.

As a conclusion. Based on my experience I can highly recommend Carmel Birding Tours for anyone who wants to concentrate on bird watching and leave driving and finding places to an experienced local guide.

Juha T. Tanttu, Pensastaskuntie, Finland.

Several years ago, my wife and I realized that if we really wanted to
see a lot of birds in just a few days at a place with which we were
unfamiliar, we needed to be with a professional birder who knew the
area. So when we were recently planning a trip to Israel, we looked up
Birding Pal on the internet and came up with Carmel Birding Tours. We
were pleased with the quick email answers and arranged for a couple of
days of birding. We enjoyed getting to know Carmel. He was always on
time, the food was very good, and when we had to adjust the schedule
because of weather, he was very flexible. In two days, we saw more
than a hundred species, most of them new to us. We want to encourage
Carmel all we can. He is a definite bonus to the birding and
conservation movement of Israel. We did not get to go to the Negev
because of the weather, but if we ever return to Israel, birding with
Carmel in that area will be top on the list.

Don and Marie Burgess