Rosh Tzipor Birdwatching Center – Visitor Guide
Rosh Tzipor Birdwatching Center inside Ganei Yehoshua Park in Tel Aviv offers several lookouts around an artificial pond. Moreover, you can hike in the park to the nearby Sheva Tahanot.
Map
Rosh Tzipor Birdwatching Center is located in Ganei Yehoshua Park (also known as Yarkon Park) near the meeting point of the Yarkon and Ayalon rivers.
Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit
Interactive map of the area:
Parking
There is a nearby parking lot inside the park. And the entrance to this parking is from Rokach 78, Ramat Gan. And you can also look for parking on Rokach Street in Ramat Gan.
Opening Hours
Sunday – Saturday: 07:00 – 19:00 (17:00 during winter).
Note: Rosh Tzipor Birdwatching Center is open seven days a week.
Entrance Fee
Free.
About
The new bird-watching center in Rosh Tzippor Forest is located in the Ganei Yehoshua park in the heart of Tel Aviv, at the junction of the Ayalon and Yarkon rivers, and covers 8 acres of trees, green areas, streams, and ponds. The park includes a variety of habitats that attract birds of different species. Site visitors can follow the birds without disturbing their rest through the discreet observation hides built there.
Source: KKL
And here is a short video by KKL telling the story of this place.
Yarkon Park
We started with a short walk in Yarkon Park. And inside the park, you can see different species of birds.
Note: if you wonder where the Yarkon River starts, see Yarkon National Park.
Rosh Tzipor Birdwatching Center
As you enter, you will see that the trail splits into two. And each way leads to a viewpoint.
And inside the viewpoints, you can find information about animals in this park.
And here are several photos:
Rosh Tzipor is not a prominent place. And you can walk across it in less than five minutes. And we probably spent an hour there. But unfortunately, we did not see many birds. Thus we decided to take a walk in Ganei Yehoshua. And the first bird that we saw was the hoopoe.
Hoopoe – Israel’s National Bird
In May 2008, in conjunction with the country’s 60th anniversary, the hoopoe was chosen as Israel’s national bird.
President Shimon Peres announced the Hoopoe as Israel’s new national bird. The Hoopoe won an election held by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, which concluded on Thursday after months of voting. 155,000 people participated in the nationwide election.
The Hoopoe (Photo: Israel Fichman)The road to choosing Israel’s national bird was long but entertaining. Last December, over 1,000 bird lovers participated in a seminar held at Tel Aviv University. They were asked to select 50 nominees for the title out of a long list of various candidates. That list was then narrowed down to the bulbul (Pycnonotidae), the red falcon, the goldfinch, the biblical vulture, the spur-winged plover, the honey-sucker, the warbler, the white-chested kingfisher, and the white barn owl.
The Hoopoe raked in 35% of the votes nationwide and won first place in Ynet’s election with 20% of the net-surfer vote. Peres commended the election and said that “today more than ever, we need green scenery, fresh air, and the beautiful, multi-colored birds that flock here.” He added that “ornithology is one of the main assets of our small country.” The president also remarked that 500 million birds pass through Israel’s skies annually. “For such a small country, that’s a world record,” he concluded.
Source: ynet
We headed to the nearby Palm viewpoint. From the top, you can see surrounding cities and Rosh Tzipor Forest.