Third week of March

Heart podded hoary cress at rubble (where we usually see black redstart) Cardaria draba

Thurs 15 March:

Garden: sparrows, cooing and foraging laughing doves, sunbird calls, short melodious, calls of hooded crows

feral pigeons about, jackdaws over, calling.

cool, rain threatening, has rained on and off through most of last night, thank God!

Brief walk on valley road, ominous rain clouds scudding over from the west.. hyrax seen right under Lev Aryeh building amongst other places, three gazelle grazing in the sapling field, femles, well grown young, watched a chiffchaff forage in an acacia, also heard/saw jays, syrian woodpeckers, ring neck parakeets calling from eucs down by look out corner , jackdaws, great tits,(some song), graceful warblers and the usual patrolling hoodies.

chaffinch calls, 1 female on acacia, 1 white wagtail flying over neighbhourhood, confirming they're still about. Looked for swifts but saw none in sky.

19 March Mon

garden: house sparrows, laughing doves cooing and male following female on ground, strutting, great tit song in our or neighbouring garden. Bulbul melodious calls. Jackdaws, hooded crow calls. Feral pigeon flock on wing when we left house. No sunbird calls.

star clover noticed today, their flowers were pink and white but now they are morphing to the characteristic star seeds. Lots of pheasant's eye and chamomile on the hillside. Watched kestrel hover and dive for food on hillside colouring suggested female. Made at least one successful catch.. was on ground for some time feeding. Then flew up to perched on line. A second bird heard calling from direction of Hizmeh. Soon after pair seen flying over cistern to west.

Spotted nicely furred fox loping along towards the bat cave but vanished before he reached there.. we think perhaps into earth but view blocked at that point by a pine. Sparrowhawk flying from hill to woods over shaft area as seen many times before sunset. Several collared doves on line and in pines near cistern, not at all bothered by kestrel. Eurasian jays glimpsed but not vocal. A couple of swifts up hawking. Prinias calling. Blackbird alarm. No sign of any winterers today.

Gazelle: at least 5 up on skyline to north.. bachelor herd. Two females on hillside lower and farther to east. Chukar? Or hyraxes sounding like them, which sometimes they do, or similar to kestrels.

Weather quite mild, temp up.. sky white, visibility less than a mile.

Tues 20 March

sunbird and bulbul melodiously vocal in the garden as it became light. House sparrows, laughing dove coos heard later, and jackdaws from somewhere about the street.

Weather mild, clear skies, over 16 degrees C.

milk thistle is beginning to bloom now and collared doves are just starting to coo in lowest pine grove. Kestrel on the line over hillside to north, prob the same one we saw yesterday. At least 14 gazelle grazing there, some chases noticed, young males showing off to the females. Great tits, graceful warblers active and vocal. Several swifts on the wing over edges of neighbourhood. Chaffinch calling in acacia at head of trail down to dirt road. Akiva spotted a hirundine but was gone before we got more info for id. Hooded crows about , valley and neighbourhood. Feral pigeons over. Eurasian jays active here and there. Graceful warblers active and vocal various places.

Wed 21st March

mild, clear and sunny

Today went up north watercourse dirt road towards quarry in hope of seeing Tristram's starlings or little owl. No luck on those but did find some nice wildlife.

gazelle 4 on hillside up from north watercourse, 2 females together and a male following a female, hyraxes over on rubble to north of watercourse before quarry.. little owl area; kestrel crossed over from A Ram to neighbourhood, jays active foraging on ground in many places, some calls, blue rock thrush foraging on rocks in little owl area, black redstart perhaps also a female, at other end of same rubble hard to make out details. chukar partridges in many places.

of most note for plants: 1 blooming clump of Turban buttercups (Ranunculus asiaticus ..) side of road but attacked by caterpillars.

22 March

garden and area: house sparrows, cooing laughing doves, bulbul calls,

adult male gazelle in woods near central trail

pleasant walk: kestrel pair up on the hillside, on lines, power line posts and also flying about briefly, mobbing a large dark bird that had landed on a boulder at the top of the hill. Buteo also landed on top of cypress a little to west , by bat cave. Hoodie mobbed it briefly. Swifts high over tall buildings edge of neighbourhood at top, great spotted cuckoo heard, syrian woodpecker heard repeatedly near bat cave, perhaps concerned by the Buteo; cooing collared doves, great tits and Eurasian jays, graceful warblers active and vocal and, notably, Akiva heard and saw a pair of *turtle doves* in a park in the centre of town- cooing distinctly.. I wonder if these are early arrivals or overwintered?

small poppy species noted on way down trail, about half the size of corn poppy and without the blackcircle at petal base though there was a black margin at base.

Pistacia orchard now budding into leaf, hawthorns well leafed.. hope they bloom well this year for a change, greenfinches not noted yet, white broom, blooming, noted near pumphouse, hadn't seen one there before, and the one blooming on the lower bank down from north loop of valley road has spread considerably.

March 2nd week

small stand of wild tulips up wooded slopes from east watercourse dirt road, near 'tree line'

clary- Salvia horminum

thurs 8 March

Pleasant day ~17 degrees C give or take a degree most of afternoon, mostly clear, a little cumulus.

Crossed north watercourse and headed up hill. Still lots of asphodel, Roman squill and cyclamen, also more figwort, some orange pheasant's eye, patches of clary and now plenty of the small blue, blue purple mini iris with stippling and yellow at base and inside tubes of petals.

Garden: house sparrow, laughing doves, also about street, hooded crows. some Feral pigeons about, Akiva saw sunbird earlier .

Up on hill.. ahead of us, group of half a dozen gazelle. Larks up top of hill, one hovering a few metres up from ground calling repeatedly , perhaps simple song. No good views. Two stone curlew left slope, headed down to fields. Looked for eggs, was possibly suitable laying area, but no luck. Chukar partridge heard somewhere on the slopes. Great spotted cuckoo heard from down in the woods somewhere.

Also great tits, graceful warblers. No luck with stonechats.

Sat 10th March

stone curlews (from north field area) and european cuckoo (from pines near north east corner valley road) calling in dusk on our return.

a few gazelle 2 north ridge, 1 buck coming up from top of shepherd's trail, headed out over east field, lower windsurfer slopes, lots of chiffchaffs contact calls, great tit scolding calls, brief song, graceful warbler vocalizations, european jays activity but quiet, a pair of hoopoes flying north east of trees; black redstart on a dry stone wall east field, female stonechat also there.. no male stonechats seen or heard anywhere. collared dove group on line over confluence, brief blackbird song.

Akiva heard sunbird earlier. about street: house sparrows, laughing doves, bulbuls (active, vocal many places today) , hooded crows. Jackdaws not noted. Did not look out for swifts and none obvious.

Sunday 11 March

mild/warm

Around dawn melodious bulbul and sunbird calls heard.. laughing dove coos, chirrupping house sparrows and later, jackdaws, hooded crows, feral pigeons.

*wild tulips* growing in several locations on west slopes. The first location we found them a few years ago is now part of the construction I think but I was optimistic and determined to discover more sites. I did find a group of tulips just below the most north western tip of the roadworks. Making our way down the hillslope Akiva discovered a couple of isolated flowers and then a beautiful little stand just inside the 'tree-line'

Also lots of buttercups, butterfly orchid, mini irises, buckler mustard and others. Cistus vegetation noticed north west windsurfer hill slopes.

Also, gazelle, adult male , then three females and well grown young lower north slopes of windsurfer. Hyrax chitters and activity by pumphouse colony, swifts now beginning to scream and lots of activity from jays, great tits, blackbirds, syrian woodpecker, ring neck parakeet, graceful warbler, blackbirds. Stonechat out in field. Black redstart absent from rubble and dry stone wall,

Monday 12 March

cool/mild

some gazelle: adult male went from Pistacia area to small olive grove where grazed. Group of 3 females/well grown young crossed shepherd's trail and continued along treed hillslopes to sw. a few adult hyraxes out on rocks at Shadiker colony, lots of jay and Prinia activity esp. in lowest parts of woods, blackbird and great tit song, great spotted cuckoo calls around look out corner area, collared doves and then four *black kites* appeared over windsurfer hill almost hovering, circled around over east valley and flew right over us.. (cistern to top windsurfer trail) then went on their way back over east watercourse, look out corner area, upsetting the local hoodies. A couple of hoodies flew up in half hearted harassment but kites chased them back briefly and they desisted.

Is it a crossbill eruption year? Saw pair finches up in pine by, cistern to windsurfer trail, mostly obscured by foliage but were feeding in there, bill wiping noticed, distinctly forked tail, brief view of underside of one looked redder than I'd expect from a chaffinch (which I'd at first thought they were.. had heard call like chaffinch but a little softer.. but not as crossbill described in book though just a contact call.. they all have a range of several) .. didn't get any better views except clearly a pair.

Chamomile starting to bloom, lots of Carmel bee orchids and pink butterfly orchids about.

Wed. 14 March

garden and street: house sparrows, bulbuls quite vocal in various places, laughing dove coos, feral pigeons, hooded crows.

a dozen gazelle grazing lower hill slopes just east of bat cave, females and well grown young, 1 adult male in attendance. 4 more on slopes up from east watercourse dirt road, sub-adults all?. A few Buteos about, brief view of large bird of prey over east watercourse being harassed by a hoodie, got impression it as a black kite.

great spotted cuckoos active and vocal, singles flying about, and brief chiffchaff song in young pine grove by hoopoe corner. Eurasian jays quite active. Quite windy, making flight difficult for most birds.

Black redstarts, sunbirds, blackbirds, Syrian woodpeckers, stonechats, swifts, jackdaws not found.

March, First week

hyrax found on valley road: back foot. Back legs were quite short, similar to dimensions of guinea pig.

front paw

eye and mouth.. also noticed pink tissue coming out of nose.. in skull we noticed well developed nasal cavity.. probably a LOT of nasal sensory tissue.

hyrax ear

Thurs March 1st

brrr temps falling! mid afternoon temp about 5 degrees C, raining on and off last couple of days. Sleet this morning, snow in Amman. We did get a gap in the rain for a short walk on valley road for about half an hour before sunset. All watercourses flowing. I don't recall SEEING north and hidden watercourse flowing before.

Blackbird (in castor oil bush on bank) and great tit(down in pines) in song, whistle from a Tristram's starling flying up north watercourse, encountered a HEDGEHOG crossing the road before us while yet light.. he stood still as we approached, watching us with his beady eye and looking scared. I assured him we were mostly harmless. He didn't roll up, just waited till we moved on.

gardens: house sparrows, laughing doves about, brief calls of sunbird and bulbul. Hooded crows about street, roofs, flying over valley, some calls

snow friday morning, settled briefly. Rain on and off into Shabbat

Sat 3 Mar

Garden: laughing dove coos shortly before dawn, still dark. Later, hooded crows, then house sparrows. Later, ring neck parakeet calls. blackbird song.

afternoon walk: drizzle on and off. Linnets about, small flocks flying about, and 2 in linnet tree. Several chaffinches off valley road, tops of cypresses, calling.
Blackbirds, song in trees on valley road, woods.

Swifts over edge of neighbourhood, several. not calling. Large sparrowhawk flew up over windsurfer hill lower slopes towards Pisgat Zeev, not high above canopy level. Female? Another sparrowhawk some time later flew from north watercourse area to over edge of neighbourhood.

gazelle: buck near north watercourse, near bat cave, rubbing horns against sapling apparently. sounds of hyrax barks.

No jays or woodpeckers today. Chiffchaffs active though, calling, foraging, flying between trees. Graceful warbler call. Bulbul various calls. Jackdaw calls, more hooded crows. Feral pigeons about buildings, whirr of wings, prob collared dove, in pine down from north loop valley. Akiva caught brief snatch of Tristram starling call from somewhere east, we both heard chatter of great spotted cuckoo from trees near bat cave. stone curlew later, after dark.

Sun 4 March


Garden: house sparrows, laughing doves, bulbuls, blackbird. Hooded crows and jackdaws heard. Feral pigeons about, ring neck parakeet.. uncertain, did hear some psittacine calls. No sunbirds.

Buteo with wing 'windows' flying over from A Ram to over neighbourhood, relatively brief glimpse. Great spotted cuckoo calls in eucs by look out corner, stone curlew brief call from direction of hidden watercourse.

Half a dozen gazelle, 4 on far south east slopes of hill north of gazelle field, near the confluence. 1 individual near central trail, didn't see much detail but got impression a relatively young one. In Pistacia grove adult male watching us at edge near pines, he headed back and I think it was him we saw again near top of shepherd's trail when we turned off hill to head back down towards east watercourse.

East watercourse is flowing and work has been done at look out corner to make sure it drains properly into watercourse on gazelle field without flooding the field by the bunker rubble where there are now many saplings. A row of slabs on upstream side of central trail serve both to halt erosion and as stepping stones. We really appreciated these efforts!

LOTs of linnets in small groups twittering over, singing blackbirds various places including our or neighbouring garden, black redstart at bunker rubble, stonechat, female over towards small olive tree grove, chiffchaffs in pine canopies, Prinias loud vocalization here and there. Several swifts over edge of neighbourhood but not screaming. Eurasian jay in pine. No calls of Syrian woodpeckers today.

Mon 5 March

fox approaching cistern along track, black redstart on bunker rebar, stonechat on scrub near cistern pine; robins, some calls, one in tree by north watercourse over from where trail from north road comes down. linnets, none in linnet tree but small groups passing over before sunset. kestrel, flew from hill to north to over neighbourhood; sparrowhawk over open north watercourse; chiffchaffs calling in pine canopies; ring neck parakeet in tall trees behind look out corner, called and headed fast to neighbourhood.

Most interesting. big lone stork job circled over east valley for a while before coming down somewhere to NE of us as it grew dark. Immature black? Lost touch with rest of flock, unusual to see alone. Not snowy white enough for white stork but seemed pale under.. no red but that hard to tell in silhouette... as it came down bill definitely looked longer than that of crane. Got some pics but poor definition in available light.

Tues 6 March

garden earlier: house sparrows, laughing doves, various sunbird calls, farther off, jackdaws,
also about, feral pigeons, and hoodies about valley and neighbourhood as usual.

half a dozen gazelle, females, well grown young, grazing out in the open, north field, by twin pylons, beyond watercourse.
swifts, over, about tall buildings up in neighbourhood. Heard calls, then we saw kestrel flying across east watercourse high, to those buildings.

ring neck parakeet, trees behind look out corner again, black redstart, on rebar at bunker rubble same area; stonechat, scrub around cistern pine; chiffchaffs, pine canopies thin contact calls as usual; great tits much scolding in relatively young pines in hoopoe area at same time strident chiffchaff alarm calls so something was bothering them but didn't see what .Was a pair of Eurasian jays about. Strange squeaky song in bunker pines.. didn't see what but recalled odd jay song I'd witnessed years ago. Was at least one jay in the tree at the time so possible. bulbuls calls near Shadiker hyrax colony, graceful warblers, calls around forepart of gazelle field; linnets, twittering of small groups going over now and again; chaffinches, in young pines, Tristram's starling, calls somewhere not far from pumphouse. Hawk over from north, nonedescript brown with paler stippling, no noticeable id features such as wing or tail bars but looked smaller than regular Buteo, larger than usual Accipiter.

several different types of clover blooming now - small white flowers, smaller leaves than those of white clover.. like miniature of that. Also the dark purple 'spiny' variety.

Found roadkill hyrax on valley road, used opp. to photograph feet and ear.. will post in blog. Couple of adult hyraxes active in boulders of Shadiker colony.

Wed 7 March

Garden: male sunbird active in Bauhinia earlier, house sparrows, laughing doves.

5 linnets in the 'linnet tree' today, some twittering. Jackdaws and hooded crows about as usual. graceful warblers about, stonechat pair active low on trail from north valley road to north watercourse dirt road. Sparrowhawk flew over shaft to south. Black redstart not at rubble but probably spooked by people there just before us. Swifts aloft, still none screaming. Syrian woodpecker north watercourse area, collared dove on line, chiffchaffs in pine canopies as usual.

February second Half

above: Found by trail down from north corner valley road to north watercourse dirt road on 27th, have not noticed this before. Aethionema carneum - (pink) stonecress.. cabbage family.

photographed 20th Feb by north watercourse dirt road.


15 Feb

Gazelles: 9 east of bat cave, 2 more beyond Pistacia grove

Garden, street: House sparrows, laughing dove coos, hooded crows, jackdaws,
sunbird cape honeysuckle, single pure whistle 'pyoo!' repeated and tk tk
feral pigeons in covered part of building, none on roofs. ring neck parakeet call mid morning

Pair great spotted cuckoos end of Elias, Jay calls
2 hoopoes over look out corner area. Sparrowhawk over, group of 5 linnets twittering as they flew, also two in tree up from Shadiker colony (no hyraxes out today) , chiffchaffs in canopies.

By pumphouse while hoodies settling on tree tops high pitched pure metallic two tone call unfamiliar, high in cypresses but didn't see the bird. ''tzing- tzing

Thurs. 16 Feb

cape honeysuckle: sunbirds prob pair towards sunset, yellow vented bulbuls (quite vocal in gardens and near valley road), and (this afternoon noticed) chiffchaffs foraging in it. Several nests in there! Today also saw/heard lots of Great tit activity and song, several pairs along bank, claiming territories in and round acacia though their territories seemed to cross the road and include part of forest below. Graceful warblers calls. Syrian woodpecker call, Eurasian jays active in pines but quiet, in pairs, various finches while the parakeets and blackbirds kept a low profile. Finch on top of cypress up from pumphouse baffled me for a while.. chaffinch shape, conical pale bill but dark forehead, crown. On consultation of guide brambling most likely.

Hyraxes on the rocks up from pumphouse, several gazelle glimpsed over by windsurfer hill, saddle watercourse area. collared dove spooked from trees up bank, feral pigeon on rooftops, hooded crows, jackdaws about. Chaffinch call down from bank but didn't see, some twitters.. early greenfinch song? Some laughing dove coos earlier, house sparrows as usual on ground. If white wagtail, v brief call.

Sun 19 Feb

2 linnets in bare tree top of Shadiker hyrax colony (4 preening there yesterday), stonechat on scrub on way down from valley road to north watercourse.. another on scrub near north watercourse soon after it emerges into open.
Also, jays heard and glimpsed in pines up from north watercourse, chiffchaffs also heard and glimpsed there, syrian woodpecker call near look out corner, chukar partridge 2 near shaft area, .. and great spotted cuckoo flew into pines at look out corner and MUCH vocalization and a couple of pure tone calls, like ''hooot hooot' odd, almost sounded from something tech.

Great tit , some song and one calling and foraging in our willow.

At least 6 gazelle about, grazing, 3 bachelors in each other's company near north watercourse amongst the eucalyptus. Farther along near service road male following female and well grown young.

garden and street: much bulbul vocalization.. feral pigeons huddling in shelter, jackdaw activity, hooded crows, laughing doves foraging but relatively quiet, house sparrows as noisy as usual, no parakeets or sunbirds noticed.

East watercourse flowing over trail near look out corner, about 8 degrees, gusting breezes WNW, rain on and off, some thunder and hail, last couple of days but sky pretty clear, and some sun for our walk. last night down to about 3.5 degrees.

Monday 20th Feb

temp time of our walk around 8 degrees C , winds very light, sky full of altocumulus. As we arrived at north loop of valley road no linnets in that tree but arrived as we watched till 6, and saw/heard more over north watercourse.
3 gazelle , bachelors by north watercourse.. one with very impressive horns alone, two with somewhat smaller.
great tit song again, later, Eurasian jay glimpsed, syrian woodpecker heard, peeping of chiffchaffs heard. stonechat on top of sapling tube near open north watercourse. graceful warbler?
Hooded crows about all day but no jackdaws.. flock gone off foraging elsewhere. Feral pigeons flock in flight, house sparrows, laughing dove coos, ring neck parakeet visit, Simone Alexander mentioned they roost in palms in street corner adjacent to ours. yellow vented Bulbuls vocal but again sunbirds not heard, nor blackbirds.

Tuesday 21st Feb

garden: house sparrows, laughing dove coos, bulbul vocalizations and Akiva heard ring neck parakeet earlier. Did not see or hear any sunbirds and neither feral pigeons nor white wagtails out and about today.

Time of walk temp just over 12 degrees, sky clear, a couple of gazelle in the Pistacia grove,
First saw one, no visible horns, young one.. then adult male emerged from pines, walked down, young one passed it and it turned and followed.

hyrax scampering over boulders up from pumping station, rest keeping low profile in cool. 'indoors', Syrian woodpeckers seen and heard euc grove by cistern, Eurasian jays between trees and some calls, stonechats pair on scrub beyond cistern.. separated by a few yards but close enough to be pair in same territory, Prinias some calls heard from look out corner, jackdaws vocalizations throughout day, chiffchaffs vocalizations in pine canopies throughout walk, did not check linnet tree as loud firecrackers in that area probably spooked them.
Akiva likely glimpsed a black redstart at rubble but went for cover and we didn't see it again.
Akiva heard kestrel up by tall building up hill but didn't see take flight. LOts of hoodie activity behind pumping station esp. as light fell. Blackbirds and great tits quiet today.

lots and lots of white speedwell esp by east watercourse, spring groundsel, red anemone, roman squill, asphodel and also noticed wood sorrel (by start of valley road) and ramping fumitory (by east watercourse dirt road) starting to bloom.

Wed 22 Feb

in 'linnet tree' (bare tree at top of Shadiker hyrax colony) linnet in SONG, sweet to hear, a little later joined by another, a covey of chukars chuckling anxiously across the north valley and up to west, possibly disturbed by firecracker, calls of great spotted cuckoo at look out corner in the three pines, likely there's a hoodie nest in there, stonechat by north watercourse in open as before but diff. perch, chiffchaffs 1 seen in acacia on way down, others calling in pine canopies, great tits by trail down from valley road to north watercourse road, syrian woodpecker calls near look out corner, jackdaws, hoodies, (calls heard from house) collared doves, 2 on line over the waterway confluence, graceful warblers around gazelle field and a sparrowhawk flying north over gazelle field.
No sunbirds or blackbirds. Watched rubble for a while again but no black redstart. No jays.. seem fewer of them now.
Garden: lots of house sparrows, laughing doves foraging and in song, bulbul vocalisations, feral pigeons in flight. Later about 10.30 p.m. stone curlew from direction of hidden watercourse area.

23rd Feb

First swifts! At least 5 over tall building where kestrels noticed, flying to and fro, first one, then noticed two then several more appeared.. (Akiva heard sound earlier passing by there, thought maybe already chicks? That type of noise, did get some views, perching on tv aerial sticking out from top corner, also one flew over us quite high towards Hizmah.

Syrian woodpecker calls, great tit various calls and some song, graceful warbler song, hawfinch, scrap that 'brambling' of a few days ago, same tree tall cypress pumphouse hyrax colony, same appearance better view.. apparent dark nape silhouette contrast, then it flew down to pines betw. saplings and pumphouse.

some chukar like hyrax barking , prob because some small boys in area. collared dove on line over east watercourse

garden and street: house sparrows, jackdaws, hooded crows, laughing doves, bulbuls.

buckler's mustard in flower, no seed pods yet, various geraniums including round leafed, got pic. looked for green orchid, found carmel bee orchid down from valley road just north of central trail.
Still no blackbirds or sunbirds seen or heard.

25 th Feb 2012

Garden: house sparrows, laughing dove (coos) , ring neck parakeet (early morning) , yellow vented bulbul vocalizations,
sunbird (in cape honeysuckle but quiet)
Street: feral pigeons, jackdaws, hooded crows.

forest: many chiffchaff vocalisations, blackbird song several locations including especially interesting songster at castor oil trees,

Most notable.. flying north over north watercourse, calling, V shape formation, common cranes, 18/19 , same time european cuckoo called twice in trees just west of bat cave. More European cuckoo calls somewhere in east watercourse at dusk. Syrian woodpecker calls.

great tit song, stonechat in scrub near cistern pine, black redstart on rebar at rubble,

kestrel in tall buildings top of hill, a few swifts flying over.

greenfinch & linnet twitters? No jays or chukars or gazelle. Hyrax heard pumphouse colony.

26th Feb sunny, mild, scattered cloud of various types.

In and around garden: house sparrows, laughing doves foraging and cooing, blackbird song, graceful warbler calls, bulbul calls. Jackdaws and hooded crows farther off. Feral pigeon to roof. no sunbird

Woods,hill: lark calls up on hill to north, also kestrel call, answered by some other towards neighbourhood.. this one was flying back southish from direction of the olive vale. stone curlew calls towards dusk.

group of (Akiva counted 11) adult male gazelle up from butterfly saddle, headed across hidden watercourse and up to ridge this side of olive vale. Great spotted cuckoo call to our west.

stonechat on our way down from valley road to north watercourse dirt road, chiffchaffs in trees, many calls, some great tit calls, occasional syrian woodpecker, again, notable lack of Eurasian jays.

Many cyclamen out on hillslopes across north watercourse as well as roman squill, purple cress, shepherd's purse, red anemone and other small and colourful jobs.

27th Feb

Garden: house sparrows , ring neck parakeets about when sun up, later, laughing doves, hooded crows, bulbuls. No sunbirds. No jackdaws noticed today either.

stonechat in scrub by north watercourse, black redstart at bunker rubble. Syrian woodpeckers heard. Lots of chiffchaff vocalizations, collared doves in pines, not cooing yet but when they go from tree to tree the whirr of their wings easily heard.

From vocalizations heard in young pine near service road , clear calls of graceful warbler, many scolding churrs of great tit.. interaction or both alarmed over same thing? I don't think graceful warbler would want to nest up there. More graceful warbler calls towards watercourse, great tits moved to another pine across dirt road. European cuckoo heard a couple of times.

At least 6 adult male gazelle just beyond bat cave, together, grazing peacefully and moving on.

Looked for orchids, particularly Ophrys lutea in woods between shaft and valley road.. succeeded and photographed.. also found lots more Egyptian alkanet, flowering deadnettle, red pheasants eye (also found a larger orange pheasant's eye yesterday on other side of north watercourse) and the borage which looks like tiny monkwort, I forget the name, quite plentiful, and some flowering Bongardia. Most pleased about pink flower, tiny florets, by trail.. head of page.. totally unfamiliar. Must find!

28th Feb

cool, blowy afternoon, dust in the sky, too much so for the swifts to fly today but were finches about, chaffinches, linnets, (1 linnet in linnet tree, female chaffinch in acacia nearby, as well as a chiffchaff and a bulbul and possibly other stuff, flock of finches in flight to and fro over neighbourhood)

also including stonechats, female on sapling tube near north watercourse, male on scrub near cistern pine, Eurasian jays couple of places in pines but quiet, a sparrowhawk flew over from neighbourhood to bat cave area.. as it flew over acacia something in there called two very thin high pitched notes but don't know which bird.. clearly a hawk alarm. Pair of great spotted cuckoos in pines behind look-out corner.. heard grating call, quite low, then one after other flew out. , chiffchaffs some contact calls, great tits scolds but no song or clear notes and a singing blackbird mid east watercourse. Hyrax barking,

a group of 11 gazelle, females and well grown young this time amongst small cypress by north watercourse, and some aggression/skittishness amongst the females, almost head butting and bouncing about.

pink butterfly orchid (species #3) of the season found and a new vetch, like Palestine vetch but with markings, fine stripes.

29th Feb

walk rained out. Heard from here, house sparrows, laughing doves, yellow vented bulbuls, sunbird visited Bauhinia this morning, calling, first time I've heard them so vocally active in days.. calls of jackdaws and hooded crows.

February first half

View Larger Map

satellite map of Mir forest (Neve Yaakov forest) and surrounded fields (bounded to north and east by security wall and fence, to south and west by Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yaakov.

1st Feb.

cold!

did get some birds between rainfalls about 40 mins starting about 4.30 ish, valley road to bridge. garden: house sparrows, heard hooded crows , jackdaws and collared dove and ring neck parakeets. sunbird calls cape honeysuckle, feral pigeon on solar boiler.

Collared dove near pumping station flying into tree, syrian woodpecker calls, great tit (some song) calls near Shadiker hyrax colony, Prinia calls, blackbird alarm, bulbul various calls from north watercourse area , white wagtails over, eurasian jay in cypresses by valley road, other finches and warblers in pine tree canopies barely glimpsed but for one lone linnet (?) (striated with hint of pink but no other details) calling repeatedly and plaintively on top of pine as if to say ''where'd they all go??'' .white wagtails over, calls, activity warblers, finches pine canopies not IDd. Temp between 6 & 7 degrees, some sleet earlier, rain most of last day , some hail.

2nd Feb.

this afternoon: pleasant walk, cool/mild, sunny with cumulus. Sapling field blooming with much spring groundsel, a small orange composite and lilac/violet coloured Roman storksbill. Birds included chukar partridge, a pair of kestrels, bulbuls, jays, linnets, white wagtail and such, several gazelle about including a buck chasing a female on shepherd's trail, and barks of hyraxes. First monkwort blooming. May post some pics a bit later.

4th Feb

dense flowered fumitory seen flowering again for first time this season today! Also, various wild geraniums and more asphodel, red anemone and spring groundsel. birds included kestrels, chukar partridge, Prinias, black redstart, stonechat, ring neck parakeets, sunbird, yellow vented bulbul, collared and laughing doves.. also gazelle, male chasing female.

5th Feb

lovely walk .. found first Roman squill and Malcolmia of the season, a small herd of gazelle in NE field, some grazing, some friskily romping around, in head butting mood, Syrian woodpeckers, chukar partridge, stonechat, Prinias and a blackbird singing in the pines as dusk deepened & Venus shone in the western sky.

6th Feb

We got glimpse of a sparrowhawk by look out corner, also stonechat on our way down.. we got a pic of it, not great but recognizable.. may post later.. calls of syrian woodpecker, Prinia, yellow vented bulbul, chukar partridges and a sunbird in the cape honeysuckle on our way out. 9 gazelle grazing in north east field/lower hillslopes, also a little running about and play/sparring .

Tues 7 feb

found some white broom blooming today! Mandrakes also beginning to flower. Overcast, temps down today from 15 ish yesterday to about 7, 8 winds cold enough to make earaches and most sensible birds had sought cover.. not a single feral pigeon visible on any rooftop and most common birds silent and out of sight but white wagtails flying in small groups to roost till sunset. Sunbird in cape honeysuckle on the way out, stone curlew heard once at dusk way over beyond forest, and bachelor herd, group of 12 adult male gazelle seen grazing just across north watercourse. Earlier in and about garden: lots of house sparrows, jackdaws and hoodies on rooftops, squawks of ring neck parakeets,

Wed 8 Feb

garden: lots of house sparrows coming down as usual for chicken feed, calls of ring neck parakeets but still not seen coming down into garden, melodious bulbul calls, jackdaws, hooded crows, white wagtail calls from street, feral pigeon on top of building, laughing dove coos and foraging on ground.. again no sunbird

Just under 10 degrees C at about 4,30 p.m. winds light WSW, humidity 49%.. adult male gazelle top of the shepherd's trail looking down at us, dusk bark of hyrax up bank from gazelle road, black redstart bunker rubble, on diagonal blocks and rebar, stonechat over near bat cave, , kestrel hunting from line over hilliside, Syrian woodpeckers look out corner, Eurasian jay in pine by north watercourse trail, Prinia calls, great tit call. Chukar calls heard over north watercourse, blackbird alarm calls in east pines. Great tit calls by north watercourse.

Thurs 9 Feb

Garden, from house earlier.. house sparrows, ring neck parakeet, melodious bulbul calls, jackdaws, hooded crow & feral pigeon on roof, white wagtails.

4.20 p.m. temp just under 9 degrees, very light south westerly winds & about 60% humidity.

Found 11 female and well grown young gazelle grazing by north watercourse.. male and female stonechat nearby, black redstart near cistern on the rubble again.. at least one comes there every winter for last few years.. could be same individual.. also several collared doves on line near confluence , a blackbird in song near east watercouse competing with all the sunset muezzins and sunbird in the cape honeysuckle by our entrance.

Friday 10 Feb

Garden: sunbird and graceful warbler in cape honeysuckle pair seen foraging over me, blackbird in song in gardens towards sunset. Jackdaws, house sparrows, laughing doves and Hooded crows. Briefly, ring neck parakeet, white wagtail. Stone curlews somewhere in east field near windsurfer hill later, after dark.

Saturday 11 Feb

Garden: sunbird in cape honeysuckle heard briefly. Early afternoon two hoodies harassing apparently sparrowhawk circling high above road, striped tail, not sure. Another raptor circling over road a bit farther south but couldn't make out enough detail if kestrel or sparrowhawk.

Watched hoodie on roof.. alternated three note call, higher and purer attention grabbing note and lower more croaky notes.. appeared to have some nesting material it would pick up and put down again.. advertising?

Jackdaws, feral pigeons, hooded crows, house sparrows on roofs. Bulbuls heard a number of times, ring neck parakeet briefly. laughing doves foraging in garden and coos. Some blackbird song next door garden, other side from last night.

Valley: Heard white breasted kingfisher, flying up and down east valley watercourse towards sunset.. have not heard it in months so good to hear it again!

Also: 3 gazelle near almond row, adult male gazelle heading from lower east field into Pistacia orchard area, two others Akiva glimpsed. 1 adult hyrax by Shadiker colony near trail, foraging.

Sunday 12 Feb

blackbird singing in gardens this morning about nineish, bulbul calls, sunbird in cape honeysuckle, the usual laughing doves, house sparrows, feral pigeons, hooded crows, jackdaws, white wagtails about, ring neck parakeets squawking by mid afternoon. In the woods, Syrian woodpecker calls, Eurasian jays, Prinias and other small insectivorous jobs deep in the pine canopies, collared dove on a line, glimpse of sparrowhawk.

The lobed purple flowers of deadnettle have begun to bloom by the roadside.

No gazelle or hyrax found today. No black redstart at rubble.

Temps around 14 degrees C, winds still.

Monday 13th Feb

A few gazelle grazing by north watercourse, blackbird song, (next door's garden and by east watercourse) chiffchaffs foraging in acacias and pines, syrian woodpecker calls and stone curlew brief call on the way back as caught by Akiva.. usual birdy gang in the garden and street: bulbuls calling earlier, sunbird brief in cape honeysuckle, laughing doves cooing and foraging, ring neck parakeets by mid afternoon. House sparrows, feral pigeons on roof, jackdaws, hooded crows, brief graceful warbler call.

Temps just over 15 after 4, high altitude mixed clouds as yesterday, mostly sunny, light westerlies.

Tuesday 14th Feb

garden: house sparrows foraging, laughing doves also, and cooing. Jackdaws, hooded crows, ring neck parakeet, bulbuls about street, sunbirds in entrance as usual, not sure if white wagtails, not so obvious today.

By 4.30 p.m overcast but mild/warm, over 15 degrees C. great tits, chiffchaffs vocal, blackbird singing near pumping station, sparrowhawk up slopes windsurfer somewhere, syrian woodpeckers heard, graceful warblers briefly, great tit various calls by north watercourse trail including some song end of Shadiker. Black redstart absent from rubble nor stonechats seen or heard. Left already?

bachelor herd gazelle on hill ridge to north, at least 7.

shepherd's purse blooming last few days, lots of red anemone and spring groundsel, Roman squill, now also noticing thorny burnet flowering. Polygonum, wild mustard by roadside.

January 2012

A number of these tiny snails found on north facing hillslope up from north watercourse dirtroad, near some flowering Gagea.

1 of the two first flowering cyclamen found, unusally light coloured.

Almond blossom buds low on the largest almond tree in the valley.

clouds over Adam, to NE. on jan 4th


Wed. 4 Jan

Increase in laughing dove and bulbul vocalizations in last few days. Much house sparrow vocalization, jackdaws, feral pigeons and hooded crows about, calling occasionally, ring neck parakeets heard at least once a day visiting gardens noisily.

Afternoon in walk.. clear skies, just under 12 degrees C.
Gazelle 5, one near path from north corner valley road down to north watercourse dirt road. Another four near the north watercourse, eucalyptus grove.

Chiffchaff contact calls in pine canopies, male stonechat top of bush by dry stone wall betw cistern to windsurfer hill dirt road and olive grove. Black redstart nice view male dry stone wall forepart of gazelle field a few days back. Occasional Tristram's starling call last few days.

Wed 5 Jan,

drop in temp. about 8 degrees and dark clouds coming in from west.
gazelle 19: 1 buck in pines near bat cave across north watercourse, another at least 8 females and well grown young just beyond small cypress in open by north watercourse, a little to east of bat cave, lower slopes windsurfer hill, crossing dirtroad up hill ahead of us, 7. Three more grazing in sapling field near pumping station , headed into pines across east watercourse.

calls of Jays as we descended to north watercourse dirt road. jackdaws, hoodies about, syrian woodpecker call, graceful warbler call.. as we came back up valley road, saw hoodie make a lunge at some bird in the air, which then flew up'stream' towards pumping station.. sparrowhawk. White wagtail calls, flying over.

garden: house sparrows, laughing doves.

Sat 7 Jan

calls hyraxes slopes by pumphouse station

Sunday 8 Jan

today: birds included: sunbird in song, laughing doves, yellow vented bulbuls, jackdaws, hooded crows, syrian woodpeckers, Prinias, sparrowhawk, chiffchaffs, chaffinches.

Gazelles: 11+ 3 adult males near north watercourse dirt road, in various places and group of females and well grown young grazing just beyond the almond tree row.

Mon 9 Jan

Heard from this chair through the window so far today: white wagtails, sunbird, jackdaws, hooded crows, ring necked parakeets, cooing laughing dove, and of course, house sparrows.
On north slope.. lots of cyclamen foliage but no blooms yet, asphodel foliage getting higher, many mounds of mole rats, quite a few with holes, a couple like small volcanoes, one with two neat very small holes at top, as if punched through by front paws.. ventilation? Blackbirds heard in song in two locations.

Asphodels found blooming mid week near east watercourse! A few savyon.. spring groundsel Senecio vernalis, blooming edges of sapling field.

midweek: black redstart at pomegranate tree, another on a boulder, edge of east field.

Thurs 12 Jan

2 adult male gazelle, 1 by north watercourse, other on slopes up from east watercourse dirt road near bridge, black redstarts 1 on pomegranate tree by cistern, one on boulder, edge of east field, sparrowhawks, syrian woodpecker in euc grove, chiffchaffs, stonechats, graceful warblers, white wagtails.

~8 degrees C, winds very still.

rains on and off end of week.

Sat 14 Jan

gazelle 4: at least two subadult gazelle up shepherd's trail from east watercourse dirt road. 1 long horned adult male near east watercourse just north of sapling field.. could have been the alpha male from windsurfer hill herd. Another adult male some way farther north in woods.

blackbird in song again near central trail, also near cyclamen banks, by north watercourse. Hooded crows, jackdaws, graceful warblers, chiffchaff contact calls.

Garden: house sparrows, calls of ring neck parakeet. Some sunbird song

Sun 15th Jan

Fresh mandrake foliage found this afternoon. Cyclamens haven't bloomed yet but watched a few gazelle graze by north watercourse, by a young pine grove while chiffchaffs, chaffinches, graceful warblers, bulbuls, hoodies called in the trees. Also white wagtails flying over & jackdaws.

Mon 16th Jan

cool, sunny, clear skies, 4 gazelle, 3 subadults where watercourses meet, 1 adult male in east watercourse near look out corner, sparrowhawk over service road, hoodie brief harry, bulbuls edge neighbhourhood, covey of chukars just down from valley road, chiffchaffs pine canopies, laughing doves edge of neighbourhood, collared doves 9 up on lines edge north field by road.

Sat 21st Jan

Partly clouded, mostly cumulus, cool/mild

no gazelle about but did get great views of a large brown falcon preening and in flight, perched on cypress by bat cave, right after chasing some other raptor.. (sparrowhawk?) , after some preening and looking about, took off, circling briefly over north watercourse in open , then headed south east. After some examination of guidebook pics Akiva agrees might be Saker, (relatively rare winterer but suitable habitat)

Rich earth brown back, , signif darker larger than kestrel, quite dark head, suggestion of falcon markings on head, darker outer primaries in flight, tail darkish esp last third, no clear bars.

as well as sparrowhawk, Eurasian jay, stonechats, chiffchaffs, jackdaws, hoodies, white wagtails, Prinias and stone curlew calling repeatedly on our way back. Feral pigeon on roof, cooing laughing dove in garden earlier, white wagtail calls, lots of house sparrows.

24th Jan.

Found first blooming cyclamen near north watercourse dirt road, 2 almost white blooms. Also lots of Gagea now. (Damascus gagea?) None of others blooming yet but noticed underside of leaves almost as purple as bougainvillea.

some blackbird song and alarm call, whistle of wings of relocating collared doves in pines near cistern, black redstart on rebar there, , Eurasian jay calls, chiffchaffs and Stonechats on foliage clumps in field? distant.,

At sunset watched a group of 7 mountain gazelle running to and fro far north field, so fleet and frisky, a little mock sparring and chasing, some bounding, looked like they were running about just doing it for the pure delight of it. At least one adult male, couldn't make out others, distance and light but didn't look like bachelor group.

5 hyraxes shadiker colony, grown, on boulder facing out from centre.

Sunday 29 Jan

weather, cool, clear skies

In and about garden earlier: house sparrows, yellow vented bulbul, laughing doves on ground and cooing, calls of ring neck parakeet and yellow vented bulbuls. Feral pigeons on water boiler on roof. sunbirds heard and spotted in cape honeysuckle a number of times over the last week.

nice walk, Several gazelle, two by north watercourse like this one, a few more buck up on the hill, two sparring. Also some sparrowhawks about (they winter here), calls of chiffchaff, chaffinch, Syrian woodpeckers and a black redstart on the rubble near the cistern.

Monday 30th Jan

rained pretty much all day. Heard from house so far.. house sparrows, hooded crows, yellow vented bulbuls, ring neck parakeet, jackdaws, laughing doves, sunbirds

Tuesday 31st Jan

So far today (early afternoon) through the window: house sparrows, laughing doves, yellow vented bulbuls, ring neck parakeets and jackdaws.. we're still putting down sunflower seeds to try to tempt the parakeets to land .. on the ground or the chicken coop.. but havn't caught them at it yet. Doesn't help that two of the feral cats were hanging out on top of the coop.

we missed the 'sparrowhawk flyover' (one always flies over about the same place on the north trail around sunset) but did see a few gazelle, black redstart on the rubble, hoodies, feral pigeons, peeping probable chiffchaffs in the pine canopies and wild red amenones and white speedwell starting to bloom.

December

lots of mole rat activity lately, notably this, north watercourse dirt road as it approaches look-out corner. 15 Dec.

House centipede, Scutigera

Thursday 1 December

4.30 p.m. to sunset:

2 white wagtails on tv antenna on Elias calling single high notes, adult male gazelle up from north watercourse trail, stonechats calling from various locations by north watercourse. Hooded crows returning singly from forage, feral pigeon flying between Shadiker roofs, House sparrows in gardens.

Sunday 4th December

Ah lovely invigorating walk back through the cool forest dusk , a waxing moon, Jupiter and Venus shining in the sky. Pretty quiet walk.. stonechats, Syrian woodpeckers, chiffchaffs, (latter, glimpsed foraging in pine canopy but no good views.. lots of contact calls) hoodies, (gathering in eucalyptus canopies near look out corner at dusk) jackdaw some calls, collared dove (left euc canopy, possibly because of hoodies, and headed across fore part of gazelle field to younger pines) , white wagtails (a couple on Elias near their favourite tree). Laughing doves and sparrows in the garden after the chicken chow.

No black redstart at rubble, no gazelle seen in usual places unless too dim to see by then.

Shabbat similar but glimpse of probable sparrowhawk over north watercourse area, and graceful warbler heard.

Monday 5th December

Just under 16 degrees C just after 4 p.m. hooded crows returning home from forage, a couple of sparrowhawk sightings, one from bat cave trees to eucs by north watercourse, then across the dirt road towards owl glade as we have seen many times about sunset, other seen flying over Pistacia orchard a short while later.. could have been same bird or another. 5 gazelle, females and well grown young, grazing on the hillside to NE, stonechat calls in field near look-out corner. Contact calls probably chiffchaffs, brief chaffinch call probably.

Tuesday 6th December

Clear skies again. Garden: laughing doves, house sparrows, sunbird calling in cape honeysuckle. Street: hoodies, jackdaws. Akiva heard Tristram's starling fly over. Woods: graceful warbler, Syrian woodpecker.

Gazelle . at least 8 today: Buck gazelle with esp. long horns euc. grove by north watercourse, Gazelle heading into Pistacias, the usual buck there. Then, as we approached the bridge on east watercourse dirt course group of at least half a dozen gazelle crossed dirt road from pumphouse end of sapling field and headed up hill.. good grazing there now. Lots of winter crocus on the shepherd's trail. No stonechats seen or heard on field today but sparrowhawk seen flying from low east field to woods.

Wednesday 7 Dec.

We found several Dianthus, in singles, by north watercourse dirt road. Most Varthemia gone to seed but I did find a flower still. Ragwort, Inula, some still flowering, some in seed. Polygonum still flowering esp. below Lev Aryeh.

At the quarry a black redstart was using a 30 m high hopper for flycatcher like tactics and Tristram's starlings were using a derelict building as home base, whistles echoing inside. We heard a kestrel, saw hyraxes amongst the rubble .. also Syrian woodpecker on tree up slope, Prinias, calls, a covey of chukars, at least 10 in file, some calls, (third way up opp. slope north watercourse) and a blackbird calling alarm in the advancing dusk below end shadiker, in pines.

plus house sparrows, (street, gardens) white wagtails, (flying over to roost) chaffinches,(calling in pines by north watercourse, and glimpsed) sunbird,(calling in cape honeysuckle, contact calls) jays, (calling in pines) jackdaws and hoodies, calls and glimpsed.

Thursday 8th December

Cold front coming in from the west late afternoon, splatters of raindrops on walk.

gardens: house sparrows, jackdaw calls. Akiva heard Tristram's starling heading over, higher.

gazelle: At least 5 bachelor males grazing near north watercourse just west of bat cave, at least 10 females and well grown young with one adult male not far east of bat cave, lower slopes.

white wagtails seen and heard flying over , building top level or higher, calling, heading to roost.

Hoodies about in singles.

Sunday/Monday 12 Dec.

up from east watercourse dirt road, treed slopes windsurfer, alarm calls, sounded like 2 European robins, two locations about 100 feet apart. A few gazelle, chaffinch call, then seen on top of cypress though white bar on wing looked very like that of hawfinch, still, chaffinch head. Do they hybridize?

House centipede on wall in house, one of Scutigera, prob. S. coleoptrata.

Tues. 13 Dec

4 gazelle: 2 adult males in pines up from north watercourse dirt road, betw. their and owl glade. Male and female in Pistacia orchard, two grazing by coral gum, gazelle field, female and young or two well grown young.

hoodies about, haven't seen jackdaws last few days, flock moved off to better foraging grounds probably. street: house sparrows, feral pigeons. Sparrowhawk fly over shortly after sunset bat cave to owl glade area, as seen in past numerous times. No stonechats or black redstarts.

Wed 14th Dec

Overcast but mild. Watched a chiffchaff forage all over an acacia, calling every now and again while a European robin bobbed silently in the middle, so I waited a while to get a good view of the latter. (first actual sighting this season though several calls heard) . Later, more chiffchaff calls in various parts of the pinewoods, an alarmed robin down by the east watercourse just upstream from look-out corner, probably territorial, prob. a second robin vying for territory there, hoodies, Prinia, sparrowhawk's usual sunset flyover.

Thur 15 Dec.

From house: afternoon, numerous white wagtail calls, some jackdaw calls, so they're back from whatever foraging excursion took up the first half of the week, house sparrows of course. Ring neck parakeet calls.

Hoodies about. On walk, other side north watercourse adult male modest horns followed, a few metres behind by one with impressive horns. Syrian woodpecker calls numerous. As we walked up dirt road to windsurfer, cypresses on our right, high pitched call 'teee teee teee' I thought maybe goldcrest? Haven't found matching call. Suitable habitat though they are relatively rare winterers. Chiffchaff calls. On the way back along valley road dusk.. 'chick chick' calls of robins, two individuals from the sound of it.

Sat 17 Dec.

From house: day: heard, for first time in a while, laughing doves cooing.. also house sparrows, calls of ring neck parakeet and jackdaws. Akiva heard sunbird/s. In valley: Syrian woodpeckers, 2 adult male gazelle, one up on ridge to north(east), another in pines near owl glade, sparrowhawk, heading from direction of hidden watercourse to pines, over north dirt road, again over Pistacias a little later. Blackbird heard chakking near pumphouse, farther south. Stone curlew from direction of hidden watercourse. Chiffchaff contact calls.

greenfinch SONG briefly midday.

Thur 22nd Dec

Today walked up to butterfly saddle betw. north watercourse and hidden watercourse, at least 9 adult male gazelle in the area, between east watercourse and ridge to NE. Two with best horns sparring for a few mins in pines betw. just down and east of butterfly area..

relatively quiet lately. Robin very brief view in cypress on slopes near gazelle today, silhouette but Akiva also heard the call. Also in last few days glimpses of Sparrowhawks, Syrian woodpeckers active and vocal, jackdaws, hoodies. In gardens: house sparrows, brief visits by ring neck parakeets pretty much every day over this week, some bulbul calls but not very much in evidence. sunbirds heard esp. in cape honeysuckle.

That castor oil plant now has multiple spikes and a few inches taller than I am!

Sat 24th Dec.

After several days of mild temps , 15 degrees C and over.. winds in afternoon , clouds coming in from west about sunset, rain in dark continuing into small hours thank God!

On treed hillslope up from east watercourse dirt road, a little south of shepherd's trail, a group of gazelle in file along contour trail to south, females and well grown young. Out on east field crossing dirt road up windsurfer hill.. 6 gazelle trailed by adult male. Has that (east field/windsurfer hill) herd split then into two distinct groups? Will be watching.

Chaffinch heard, seen close to pumphouse, top of cypress. Hoodies about, one mobbing a kestrel flying over west slopes of windsurfer hill.. which they probably see as their airspace. Chiffchaffs heard. From house, house sparrows, a greenfinch twitter early afternoon, ring neck parakeet later.

Sun 25th Dec

drizzling .. valley road.. small chat like bird hopping on ground on valley road.. as we approached flew up into acacia... and perched quite out in open middle upper branches, good view .. grey head, dull orange red underparts, dark back, general jizz robin/chat, I'd say first winter male common redstart.. first common redstart I've found in our area but probably not first here, just most prob. keep themselves better hidden.

Mon 26th Dec.

Sunny, sky pale blue, house sparrows chirrupping, ring neck parakeets by a little earlier.. Just over 10 degres C at start of walk, shortly after 4 p.m now. Feral pigeon flock over Shadiker.

3 bachelor gazelle grazing near north watercourse, an adult male by Pistacias and a group of 5 well grown young/females in field just beyond, threading their way between thorny burnet and ragwort gone to seed, jumping onto and along dry stone walls..

hooded crows over area and about, feral cats hunting amongst the hyrax rocks, latter keeping a low profile,

white wagtails were calling as small flocks of them passed over to roost, calls of bulbul and Prinia. (earlier part of report and pic below this on my profile page), Slim shining crescent of the New moon of Tevet in the western sky on our return.

Tuesday 27th Dec.

11 gazelle in east field 1 well grown young which ran into lower east field as we came through Pistacia grove.. then the rest grazing near fence, between the olive grove and NE foot of windsurfer hill, adult male off by himself closer to the hill, chaffinch call, chiffchaff contact calls, white wagtails calls as they flew over, graceful warbler near large almond, bulbuls in neighbourhood, hoodies, jackdaws and a group of some melodious brown jobs in east field, larks I think but didn't get good views but probably crested.

Wednesday, Thursday 28th, 29th Dec.

Gazelle active , a number of bucks by north watercourse, several in the new pine grove by the service road for a change. Other gazelle in east field, four young ones head of shepherd's trail. Two adult male gazelle seen sparring betw. butterfly saddle and bat cave but don't recall exactly which day. 19 altogether seen one day.

Pick-up in bulbul calls and laughing dove coos heard in last few days in gardens. More ring neck parakeet calls.

Saturday 31st Dec

Most extraordinary, as walking along east watercourse dirt road saw raptor weaving fast betw trees below canopy level, falcon, dark grey, darker head, from what we saw matches peregrine falcon best!

When we reached top of shepherd's trail Akiva saw brown bird take off from ground and fly with abrupt turn and out of sight.. from what info we could gather fit snipe, which I've seen on Jerusalem hills on winter on other occasions. Unfortunately both above views very brief for better confirmation.

gazelle and hyrax not seen though hoofprints of course, but did hear syrian woodpeckers and blackbirds, and probably chiffchaff contact calls.

Found blooming Golden drop by wall at edge of neighbourhood.. don't think we've seen them so early before but sheltered location.