Brief Thursday report

Above, north gazelle field now, tall seeding milk thistles is a popular venue for flocks of greenfinches, noticed also feeding on them today.

Below, the most common thistle actually blooming now, active yellow florets, present in many places at watercourse level and hillslopes. (a closer pic with ants posted a few days ago)

Fennel also flowering in many places, some plants in gazelle field and elsewhere taller than I am.

Today we headed down shortcut to north watercourse dirt road and from there, east to gazelle field, then south along east watercourse dirtroad, across sapling field and back along valley road.
Hyraxes not noticed today.

Gazelle: Four noticed up at the tree line up the east slope from east watercourse dirt road, an adult buck interacting with a small group of at least one adult female and well grown young.

Bee-eaters: Flock of at least 30 in the Pistacio field and gazelle field area, probably more about, hard to count as groups were keeping low, some alighting on the dirt trail by the cistern and elsewhere and hawking low, and then taking off in melodious flight at eucalyptus canopy level. Always mesmerizing to watch in flight.

Turtle doves: Much cooing today in various places along north valley dirt road.

Blackbirds: Some alarm calls, both chak chak and tzreet. No song lately.

Collared doves: some active but relatively quiet today.

Eurasian Jays: active, some harsh caws in various parts of the woods.

Graceful warblers: Some calls. Great tits: some calls.

Jackdaws: Flock of at least 100 birds returning south to roost after foraging on hillsides, lower slopes to north. Hooded crows also up there working the ground, perhaps after grasshoppers and such, plenty of those to catch now!

House sparrows:chirping about houses as usual. Laughing doves: cooing, active about the street, ground foraging.

Stone curlews: calls in fields towards sunset. Sunbirds: short calls in the garden.

Syrian woodpeckers: vocal in the woods, some glimpsed.
White spectacled Bulbuls: garden and north watercourse acacias. Musical sounds from early morning, harsh calls late afternoon.

Today's range: 18-27 degrees C. (64.4 degrees F- 80.6 degrees F)
Time of walk: just before 7 p.m. , just over 24 degrees C (75.2) and falling,
Humidity: 55% and rising, wind: westerlies, 5-9 knots.

Brief Wednesday report.

Today at about 7 p.m. summer time we headed down central trail towards the east valley dirt road via the ruins, then up the shepherd's trail to the lower slopes of windsurfer hill to look out for gazelle. We spooked two, looked like mother and well grown young - they headed off right around the western slopes of the hill. There was a fresh cool breeze roughly from the south west and as I faced into it, saw these cumulus blowing up over the hill. Husband mentioned it actually drizzled this morning, rare for July. Otherwise warm and sunny.
Calls of stone curlews somewhere in the field.

After scanning the olive grove and hills around it we headed over and north to the dirt road that leads over windsurfer hill and down to the cistern area, pines on the left, mostly cypress on the right. Also noticed there a thorny burnet exposed at the base showing a short central thicker trunk, like a little tree.

Below, a salmon coloured lichen found on many of the rocks

Bee-eaters: calls of a flock active somewhere over the woods. Blackbirds: some alarm calls.

Collared doves, foraging on ground by bunker area.
Eurasian Jays: some active. Prince doing well, shows no fear of us at all, never really did, and now does not try to peck when hand in cage.

Graceful warblers: calls. Greenfinches: chaw and other calls in bunker area just after sunset

Hooded crows: some about, flying to roost, but quiet, low profile today.

House sparrows:about houses, also near Shadiker hyrax colony, small flock foraging at forest edge.

Laughing doves: active foraging in pairs by street, crumb corner, cooing in the garden.

Sunbirds: some calls in the morning. Syrian woodpeckers: calls betw eucalyptus grove and Pistacio orchard.

White spectacled Bulbuls: calls from garden from about 5.15 ish give or take.

A stroll along and by north watercourse dirt road.

Cute little discovery.. on a prickly leaved shrub out in the open near the north valley watercourse found this feather, iridescent on top half- unfortunately the pic doesn't show how much.. around sunset, but the hues gave it away as that of a male sunbird. I saved the feather

I returned to the green shrub which I thought might be another species of Eryngium and now am more sure given the form of the flowerhead buds, and spines about, some with two spines at the base just like the blue variety (which was Eryngium creticum). I don't find a match for this one though. Whole cluster head less than 1 cm across, this is magnified.

I was also determined to find the prickly shrub with the star shaped 'flowers' and found it with Akiva's help but it was not quite as I'd expected. It was clearly restharrow, Ononis, some of the pink pea like flowers were still blooming but it seems the star is left after the flower has finished.

This bug was scampering quickly on the sidewalk on our way out of the neighbourhood, running so fast the ground beneath is a blur. Looks like a beetle but is in fact a Heteropteran, (different order) no idea which.

First birds today: 5.05 a.m. Hooded crow caws.

5.09 a.m. bulbul from another garden, joined by 'our' bulbul at ~5.15 am

5.25 am musical calls from sunbird.. (song heard later.. early afternoon. )

house sparrows and laughing doves chimed in soon after.

Gazelle: No luck today. Hyrax: A couple scampering over the rocks for cover at Shadiker colony.

Bee-eaters: calls heard. I didn't notice any calls at 5.30 ish this morning.. that's a change.

Hobbies: Very nice views of one circling over north valley watercourse, close to where it emerges to open field. Also circled over the road, must get telephoto, great sight! We tried pics but didn't come out satisfactorily. A second bird emerged from trees to south and made a few passes, then flew south into pines and soon after heard shrill calls.

Blackbirds: Some alarm calls in the woods. No song last few days.

Collared doves: Some activity. Eurasian Jays: some calls.

Graceful warblers: some calls. Jackdaws: calls, then flock of 50 flew over A Ram and continued south.

Hooded crows: much cawing before and around dawn. House sparrows:about houses
Hoopoe: seen flying from bat cave area to pines by dirt road, husband noticed foraging on ground by rocks

Laughing doves: around buildings as usual. Stone curlews: need to confirm with husband.

Syrian woodpeckers: some calls.

Weather: today's range : 18.75-25 degrees Celsius. ( 65.75 - 77 degrees F)
Time of walk: ~7 p.m. 23 degrees C (73.4 degrees F), 12-16 kt, westerlies, humidity ~70%

Gazelle, Grackles and grasshoppers

Hillside trail linking lowest north eastern extremity of the neighbourhood with the north valley dirt road. This is area we saw nightjar last season. Tree up on left is Tree tobacco, in bloom.

Rectangular basin cut out of the stone, drainage lip and deeper rounded basin now overgrown but appears cut by man and may have been used as olive press or perhaps small threshing floor long ago. This on the hillside up from north valley watercourse not far up from bat cave.

Yet another grasshopper.. they are just everywhere amongst the chaff! I took a pic of yet another species on a thorny burnet, a long slim variety but pic not satisfactory, sadly. Shows the range about now, hard to know if numerous species or much individual variation in a few.

Below, a thistle type plant with ants visiting the florets. There is also quite a bit of new growth in the open amongst the rough remains of the spring. One appears to be another type of Eryngium but green, with no trace of bluish, but heads look similar though longer buds. I took a pic but want to get a clearer one. Another spiny shrub in gazelle field just down from the shaft bore small white star like flowers along its length. I took pics but very unsatisfactory and that I also want to repeat. In all, an assortment of new green is pushing up through the brown and gold, mostly thorny plants adapted to the harsher weather of summer. We checked on the snapdragon clump by the field east water course .. still a few last latest blooms on it.



Acacia seedpods bursting open showing pill like seeds, black, flattish and roughly rectangular in shape with rounded edges.

Gazelle: 5 grazing middle of hillslope just east of the pine hangar, all females and well grown young. Several piles of scat various places on the south facing hillslopes in small flattish areas around trees west of bat cave.

Reptiles: Lizard scampered into the depths of a thorny burnet, then I completely lost sight of it unfortunately.

Pair of Tristram's grackles seen foraging on the ground near the north valley watercourse.. as noticed before the female seems much more vocal with the whistle, (tuu-ee-oo!) she has the greyer head. First time I've seen them on the ground in the area away from the quarry.

Bee-eaters: calling throughout our walk, small flock high over north valley flying to and fro hawking aerial insects.

Hobbies: calls in trees near the shaft as it became dark.

Turtle doves: coos in pines on hillslopes across north valley.

Collared doves: coos, flight calls, foraging on the ground, active between trees.

Eurasian Jays: some calls, foraging on the ground, active between trees. One in an acacia was alarming a great tit calling alarm repeatedly, possibly was rearing another brood deep in there.

Feral pigeons: In flight overhead here and there

Graceful warblers: calls, active and vocal near valley road. Interestingly not so many greenfinches noticed in the pines of north valley, they tend to concentrate in the lowest altitude flattest part of pines and around look-out corner.

Jackdaws: flock calls heard, Hooded crows: calls heard, some seen over in flight.

House sparrows:calls heard around buildings as usual, as were Laughing doves & seen foraging on the ground:

Stone curlews: calls in the fields after sunset.

Sunbirds: brief tic tic calls in garden, Syrian woodpeckers: some calls.

White spectacled Bulbuls:calls in garden and north valley acacias.

Weather: 19-31 degrees C. ( 66.2- 87.8 degrees F)
Time of walk: ~6.45 p.m. ~27 degrees C ( 80.6 degrees F), humidity: ~40%, winds westerly 6-10 knots

Camouflage

Look at the superb camouflage of the grasshopper above.. the dorsal stripe looks just like a stalk of grass and head area exact colour of the earth. The one below looks obvious from this close but even if you just stand upright the stripes break up its outline so that it 'disappears' amongst ground debris.

Today we made a late start because of vet visit, already after 7.20 p.m. summer time when we headed around valley road, via central trail to towards the bunker ruins then, because jogger near cistern would have spooked wildlife before us, we turned left onto the north valley dirt road, took service road through the pines (where we first saw the fox today), crossed north valley watercourse and made our way east along a rough trail, transversing the north part of gazelle field to the watercourse at its eastern border.

Most vegetation here now dried out and finished, grass harsh and golden, seedheads, seedpods, burrs, prickles of all sorts, mole rat mounds, deep dense soil in this region now cracked by dry season but not hard, grasshoppers everywhere very camouflaged. One kind that caught my eye had vivid red/orange wings when jump/fluttering but these vanished to perfect camouflage when they land. We did, however, find and photograph a couple, seem to be different species from each other and comparing with pics of grasshoppers earlier in the season, different species from those too. Not easy to tell until you compare photographs because they often have some basic markings in common (outline breaking stripes across body) but amazing how much the details can vary.

Gazelle: None today Hyrax: Did not pass any colonies, but husband did notice one just below the school the other day, a part of the bank where seems to be a small colony, occasionally notice activity.

Fox in woods by service road, headed over towards bat cave, stood on flat rocks over there and gazed back at us before heading into the cypresses over there. light brown head paler around muzzle, darker patches on side.

Bee-eaters: Calls of flock just after 5.30 a.m this morning, flock active north west gazelle field around sunset
Turtle doves, collared doves: Some coos.

Eurasian Jays: activity between trees, foraging on ground in the woods.. Vet came today to give dog vaccination also checked out Prince and gave clean bill of health, yeah!

Graceful warblers: some calls, Great tits: some calls

Greenfinches: flocks on gazelle field again on the thistles.

Jackdaws: 5.48 a.m. heard from house somewhere to east.

Hooded crows: Heard cawing at least 15 mins before 5 a.m. and a few more times over next half hour or so

House sparrows:In the garden, chirping from ~5.20 a.m.

Laughing doves: In the garden, heard cooing from soon after 5.20 a.m.

Stone curlews: calls from fields as it began to draw dark, sounded like from field just east of Pistacio orchard.

Sunbirds: squeaky call heard in the garden ~5.20 a.m.

Syrian woodpeckers:

White spectacled Bulbuls: getting up a little later, 5.18 a.m. in the garden but another one farther off started at least five minutes earlier.

Range today: 22 -31 degrees C, time of walk: ~28 degrees C, ~32% humidity, wind W/NW 3-5 kt

Log catch up, foxes, bee-eaters et al

Another shot of the Helichrysum sanguineum for you.

W = wednesday T = thursday F = friday S = Saturday

Foxes: 3 on Sat morning by Akiva near shaft, (a covered deep well by north valley dirt road just west of service road), look out position over gazelle field and bat cave area) The foxes headed in three different directions, one up back into forest to south west, one towards bat cave, one other.. some barking as if contact bark after husband had alarmed them.. he had impression all were adults, all quite thin tails and all dark.

Gazelle: Also saturday morning by Akiva, adult male by service road through pines just east of shaft.

Hyrax: W one by Shadiker company, several including young near pumphouse, Sa: mother and kits on a rock down from valley road pointed out by neighbour Bracha, sentry closer on rock between Bracha theorized may be father.

Bee-eaters W 100 + seemed two distinct flocks flew over us on valley road towards neighbourhood, later over gazelle field. Heard friday and saturday morning at about 5.30 a.m. Small flock by cistern toward sunset saturday

Blackbirds: W, S active various parts of the woods foraging, alarm calls but not song

Collared doves: W some coos, S: coos in woods

Eurasian Jays: W, S active in various parts of the woods between trees, calls, pair foraging by cistern. Prince is starting to vocalize, husband says sounds like something between a sneeze and a hoarse bark.

Feral pigeons: W, S in flight over neighbourhood.
Jackdaws: Flock heard calling from towards A Ram, foraging on hillside by there? At least 50 flew over towards south/SE

Graceful warblers: W, S by valley road, also apparently a family foraging and vocal in a clump of fennel near pumphouse on Wed.

Greenfinches: W calls near look-out corner. S, flock foraging for thistle seed in gazelle field towards sunset
Hobby: Sat, rising on a thermal over look-out corner area.

Hooded crows: W very loose flock heading to east valley from north west shortly after we set out, calls T, F, S

House sparrows:W around buildings, also T, F, S

Laughing doves: W coos from dawn and around buildings, also T, F, S

Stone curlews: W, S calls north gazelle field

Sunbirds: W calls just after 5 a.m. garden, also T and F but absent S, not heard all day.
Syrian woodpeckers: S: calls in woods, some dispute near orchard, two ''hide and seek'' around tree trunk. We saw together this afternoon, husband said saw same just there this morning .
Tristram's grackle: some whistles heard
Turtle doves S: coos in woods.

White spectacled Bulbuls: W calls just before 5 a.m. garden, also T, F, S
Sparrowhawk W briefly at edge of Pistacio orchard/eucalyptus grove

Weather Wed: 23.6 degrees C (~74.5 degrees F) , humidity 71%, winds westerly 12.2 knots, range: 18-27 C, (~64.5-80.5 degrees F)

Friday morning: hooded crows heard before 5 a.m. bulbul 5.11 a.m. (later than usual) , sunbird 5.18 a.m. house sparrows, bee-eaters flock calls 5.30 a.m. laughing doves shortly after not sure what time.
Saturday morning similar but without the sunbird.

Weather Sat: - time of walk, just before 7 p.m. 27 degrees, (80.6 degrees F) humidity 45%, westerly 4-8 knots
22- just over 32 degrees C (71.6 - 89.6 ) , you have to love the mild and moderate weather we get in the hills!

Hillside wanderings

Today we took the short cut down to north valley dirt road and from there crossed the north valley watercourse and headed up the opposite slope to the flint stones and on to the hidden water course. On our way we saw a beautiful adult male gazelle heading from there towards the north valley woods. It stopped to gaze at us and I noticed it had quite long horns and a small patch of white on the crown of its head. (Perhaps that's Snowflake's dad!)
We crossed the north valley watercourse and headed along the hillside towards the service road, hearing the calls of wheatears on the hillside and the distant calls of a flock of bee-eaters way down in the cistern area.

Recent ground fire on north facing slopes of north valley between the short cut down and the service road we noticed, the ground was still smoking. They only damage leaves on the lowest branches of the pines but, we noticed, not the twigs as they sprout new the following year but eucalyptus leaves tend to be damaged up to half way up the tree. No eucs involved in this fire though, and so far fires not so bad as last year by this time.

Moon was rising over Hizmeh as we returned, like a nice round of Edam.

Plans to expand settlement of Adam (across bipass road to north east) would affect bachelor herd grazing area but various groups are fighting that. Plans include much of upper parts of the hill north and to some extent west of sage vale. A real downer of course though it may take years to execute if at all. I've seen earlier birdwatching grounds (particularly eastern hillslopes by Bayit Vegan) disappear like this, always sad. The apartment we live in now stands on land that was part of the forest 20 years ago.

Still, there is plenty room for the gazelle in the fields and woods even with that development and the gazelle herd that lives by Katamon thrives in a much smaller area. Of course I wonder about the effect on the population if the bachelor herd loses its upland grazing area, that and the effect of fires. Because of the fence they cannot migrate out of the area so will have to make do, but the fence must of course be altered to embrace the whole of Adam and land (they are not shy to come right to the edge of neighbourhood at night) so may actually expand grazing.. all that is still hypothetical and we will have to see.

A view across east valley, showing the new growth on the pines nearby and tall eucalyptus farther back, spires of cypress behind. Below, an ant enjoys dinner on a thistle head.

Below, a bee-eater in silhouette. Shape of the winds is reminiscent of the wings of a sea gull.

Hyrax: No hyrax activity noted around Shadiker colony but could be because the feral cat we saw had alarmed them underground

Lots of mole rat mounds all over the hillsides. Bats seen, south end of gazelle field and at the crossroads on central trail.

Bee-eaters: Flock heard early morning, also by cistern just after sunset as mentioned above.

Black eared wheatears: some calls on the hillside.

Hobbies: call after sunset from the pines just west of gazelle field.

Blackbirds: a little song, chack chak and tzeet alarm calls

Collared doves: coos, some activity

Eurasian Jays: calls, some activity in the woods. Prince knows he can soften bread by soaking it in the water bowl.. smart bird!

Feral pigeons: flying about over the neighbourhood.

Graceful warblers: calls by east road heard as we were going down the short cut

Hooded crows: loose flock returning from roughly north west shortly after we set out.

House sparrows:around the buildings and foraging for grass seed by valley road.

Laughing doves: coos in the early morning.

Stone curlews: Clear calls and nice sighting about sunset, bird arrived at grassy flat patch on hill slope to the north across hidden watercourse, joined by another bird flying from the south. A third bird called from a little farther to the west but that one we didn't see. I always enjoy seeing them in flight and on the ground since we usually only hear them. Nice views!

Sunbirds: From early morning, shortly after 5 a.m. in the garden.

Syrian woodpeckers: calls in the woods.

White spectacled Bulbuls: melodious calls in the garden just before 5 a.m. again and hoarse chacking calls heard as we descended towards north valley.

Weather: ~6.55 p.m. time of walk temp. 23.3 degrees C again, ( ~74 degrees F)
humidity 69% and rising, winds NW, 10.4 knots.
Today's range: just under 18 degrees C to ~27 degrees C. ( ~64 - 80.6 degrees F)