Ain Zebdeh is located at the eastern slopes of the Shouf Mountain, overlooking the Beqaa Valley. It is also under the main migration flyway for soaring & water birds, a bottleneck area situated in the middle of the Shouf Cedar Reserve, Ammiq wetlands, and Qaraoun Lake (All identified & approved IBAs), a resting & breeding site for a large number of threatened & endangered birds (Imperial Eagle, lesser Spotted, Shrikes, Buntings, Syrian Woodpecker) & others mammals (wolves, Striped Hyenas, porcupines, squirrels, badgers, Lynx & wild cat, etc..), & flora (mainly oak & pine Forests, medicinal and edible endemic plants), situated at the narrowest Lebanese territory between Mount Hermon & Mount Lebanon, which makes it one of our top priority sites for conservation & hima revival in Lebanon.
Below is a table for the identified trigger species for the Eastern slopes of Shouf Cedars the IBA , and the latest proposed hima site by SPNL
Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga) Migrant A1 Vulnerable
Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) Migrant A1 Vulnerable
Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) Migrants A1 Endangered
Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) Migrant A1 Endangered
Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) Migrant A1 Vulnerable
Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus) breeding A3 Least Concern
Sombre Tit (Parus lugubris) resident A3 Least Concern
Upcher’s Warbler (Hippolais languida) breeding A3 Least Concern
Olive-tree Warbler (Hippolais olivetorum) breeding A3 Least Concern
Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) breeding A3 Least Concern
Menetries’s Warbler (Sylvia mystacea) breeding A3 Least Concern
Spectacled Warbler (Sylvia conspicillata) breeding A3 Least Concern
Western Rock-nuthatch (Sitta neumayer) resident A3 Least Concern
Finsch’s Wheatear (Oenanthe finschii) breeding A3 Least Concern
Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) breeding A3 Least Concern
Syrian Serin (Serinus syriacus) breeding A1, A2, A3 Vulnerable
Cretzschmar’s Bunting (Emberiza caesia) breeding A3 Least Concern
Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala) breeding A3 Least Concern
