Israelis and Palestinians are teaming up to preserve the lesser kestral, a threatened raptor which finds ideal nesting spots in the dark crannies of aging buildings in Jerusalem’s Old City. Today only about 400 pairs nest in Israel, down from about 2,000 in the 1970s. The birds find fewer old buildings each year and fewer open spaces where they can search for food. Dan Alon, head of the Israeli Ornithological Center, got in touch with Jericho conservationist Nader al-Khateeb through an organization set up as part of the Oslo peace accords, and the two have brought Israeli and Palestinian children together to build wooden birdhouses and set up video cameras so they can watch the birds over the Internet.
