Lesser Kestrel

The Lesser Kestrel is a small bird of prey that in the past nested throughout the country, but its population shrank greatly due to habitat destruction – mainly the reduction of open spaces (to which the kestrels fly in order to search for food), insect pest control, and the blocking of tile roofs and changes in urban construction. In Jerusalem, they used to nest in the Morasha (Musrara) neighborhood in holes and gutters of the house roofs. As part of the importance of Jerusalem's urban nature, the zoo decided, together with organizations such as the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Society for the Protection of Nature, to promote the conservation of the species in several ways – an educational campaign regarding the importance of nesting in the city, the establishment of a Lesser Kestrel display that simulates the facade of a Jerusalem house in the Morasha neighborhood and in which there are breeding pairs of kestrels and the incubation of eggs and release into the wild of individuals.

Every year, injured individuals arrive to us who have undergone treatment at the Wildlife Hospital but cannot return to the wild for some reason. These individuals join the breeding core, and their offspring are released into the wild. The establishment of the breeding core and the establishment of the display, as well as the funding of studies on the nesting habits of the kestrels, contribute to the strengthening of the population.

At the zoo, a study was conducted on the nesting kestrel pairs in cooperation with Azrieli College.

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Photo: Shai Ben Ami