Some 90,000 cranes expected to pass through or winter at northern lake, joining flamingos, cormorants, pelicans, raptors and other bird species at popular tourist site

After last year's bird flu killed at least 8,000 gray cranes, the park is giving out less corn to control crowding; farmers now await compensation for expected damage to crops

Nature authorities closely monitoring wild birds, weighing whether to stop feeding cranes in northern Israel to prevent crowding, avoid risk of last year's mass infection

Up to 90,000 of these birds are expected to pass through Israel this season, of which 30,000 to 40,000 will stay until March

After disease spread to wild birds last year, the INPA says feeding programs that concentrated them were part of the problem, though unclear if new policy will also apply to cranes

Authorities expect to have to clear 25 to 30 tons of crane carcasses after H5N1 virus spread from northern moshav, where farmers failed to report poultry deaths on time

Habitat destruction, pesticides, hunting, invasive species, manmade obstacles such as wind turbines and high voltage power lines all take a toll, but reliable research lacking