Mon oct 8
Weather today was warm and muggy, overcast haze. Air felt quite still along most parts of our walk especially at the bottom of the valleys.
The winds did do an interesting switch today. They were very gentle north- easterly to south- easterly for most of the morning bringing in that dusty haze I'm sure. Not favourable for migration and bringing in a very fine dust that has made husband slightly hoarse and me sneeze!
Early afternoon switched back to westerlies veering northwesterly , and picked up from 6- 8,9 knots
(Along the valley road we almost always get a definite breeze funnelled down each of the valleys themselves, from the south along east valley along the greater part of the road, and from the north west along north valley at the first part of the road.This complicates the overall prevailing winds. )
4.30 p.m. ~25 degrees C, (Today's range:19-28 degrees C)
Humidity just 55% though felt more than yesterday, must have been warmth.
Gazelles: no show. Hyrax some high pitched alarm barks
shrike: calls in pumping station area
Nice Spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, hawking from a high twig of the dead eucalyptus at look-out corner. Perch, fly out, flitter about for airborne insects almost bat like, then return to its perch.
House sparrows: very active in cypress next door, small flock late afternoon. Also small groups taken to visiting our lawn lately, half dozen
Senegal doves: 1 near the buildings on the way down to valley road. They seem to have been keeping a low profile lately
Hooded crows: small number on windsurfer hill, apparently mock fighting , duals
Jackdaws: some calls, flock 30 plus on slopes by hizmeh
Jays: all over woods and fields as usual, Feral pigeons: several about,
Greenfinches: in thick pines over bunker as usual.
Blackbirds: several heard and seen throughout pine wood
Collared doves: 1 from bunker pines across field to north valley, broke out
Graceful warblers: some calls valley road area
Syrian woodpeckers: some calls
Bulbuls: calls valley road and gardens, first bird shortly before 5 a.m. melodious calls
Great tits: calls in pines just down from valley road
Tues Oct 9
Again that misty, slightly dusty mugginess.
temps 18-27 time of walk, ~24 degrees and falling, humidity ~75% wind west, but veering south west earlier in the day. low in the morning, rising to 7 knots and more as the afternoon progressed.
1 gazelle, without horns, again by the large tree and stone walls centre of gazelle field. She didn't seem to be there earlier but was there just about sunset. No others around.
Most amazing sight of the day was of a sparrowhawk chasing jays! Two jays and a brown (immature or brown morph) Eurasian sparrowhawk perched on a low tree close to where the central trail emerges from the pines to gazelle field. The sparrowhawk got up and started chasing a jay, twisting and showing off its manoeverability beautifully, flying low. Both jays took off toward look-out corner. The sparrowhawk continued to follow and harass the jays all the way up to the cypresses at the other end of the orchard. He's probably tired of so many loud omniverous jays on his territory and wants to teach them a lesson. He's not really bigger than they are but he's a much cleverer flyer. The jays didn't team up and go against him as far as we saw today. (Eurasian jay 32-35 cm bill to tail- just over a foot long, Sparrowhawk, 29-34 cm)
Spotted flycatcher top of eucalyptus in the euc grove.
Bee-eaters: Husband heard some about midday.
Hooded crows, Jackdaws: Calls from direction of windsurfer hill and other hillslopes to east, some flying over
Jays: Much activity, scavenging wood and fields
Greenfinches: some twittering and movement of small groups, 10 from thick bunker pines to look-out corner
Blackbirds: alarm 'chack' various parts of the pinewoods
Sunbirds: vocal, Graceful warblers: some calls, Syrian woodpeckers: some calls
Yellow vented Bulbuls: vocal in the garden and in the abandonned orchard. Melodious and harsh calls from a number of individuals both locations.
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