Rosh Tzipor is different from most birdwatching centers in Israel in that its backdrop is not a mountain range (the Hula Valley Nature Reserve below the Golan Heights) or the sea (Ma’agan Michael Birding Center on Carmel Beach), but the skyscrapers of Tel Aviv.

“It’s really a green oasis in the urban desert and you only need a small piece of land to achieve this,” says Yaron Charka, head ornithologist of Keren Kayemeth L’Israel-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF). He hopes to see neighboring cities replicating the example.

Photo by Natalie Selvin