12, 13th June

Pomegranate flower and developing fruit (taken same day.. about a week ago)
Now wasp season is gettng underway! Wasps' nest in foliage in park I took July '99


June 12 max 25 falling to 15, 17 .. 100% after dark and throughout the night. falling to about 40% mid afternoon (typical humidity patterns these day) 8 knots, peaking ~ 18 knots around 7 pm. WSW

No time to go to valley today. An hour or so before sunset we walked to upper neighbourhood (not much on the walk, wind kept much stuff down) I sat and waited for son's transport in the upper neighbourhood which covers a hilltop, typical Israeli suburb, flat roof 3 storey apartment buildings surrounded by gardens and well grown trees. Still quite a few common swifts several : Active overhead till dark. House sparrows and senegal doves: activity as usual. Hooded crows: " kwah kwah kwah". One perched in branches right over my head and called kurak kurak kurak! ! I need to collect a 'glossary' of their different calls.. they're quite extensive. Maybe that one meant 'human below with black tube thing!!' Who knows;). Jackdaws: still none. Eurasian Jays: active around many large gardens in upper neighbourhood. Feral pigeons: on and betw buildings

Greenfinches: didn't hear upper neighbourhood Blackbirds: one on television antenna singing at 7.55 pm.Sunbirds: calling various gardens. They do very well in human gardens all over.. and strings of gardens have practically acted as their arteries helping to spread them all over suburbs everywhere.

Syrian woodpeckers: female on trees outside buildings. Calls. Yellow-vented Bulbuls (btw, also known as white spectacled bulbuls): active in gardens especially dusk

Great tits: some calls

June 13 ~5.30 p.m. to just after 7 p.m. Valley.. valley road> sapling field> creek trail> orchard> gazelle field look-out> central forest trail> home.

22.8 degrees C (72 degrees C), 4.3 knots northerly, 70% humidity and rising.

The black- eared wheatear family. Bob, Mrs Bob, Other Bob & Bob Junior. Today we had four different individuals in view at once!.. all foraging by the saplings, either on the ground or on top of the plastic tubes in which the saplings are growing. (Quite a few leaves visible over the level of the top of the tubes.. the young trees are coming along nicely. )

Bob as usual the most conspicuous of the family because of his contrasting plumage. We were also pleased to see 'Other Bob' , (previously called Bob Jr, but I don't want to get him confused with Bob's juniors of this year ) the spring plumage male that I'm thinking is a first year male, possibly Bob's son from last year. Then (finally) Mrs Bob appeared on the scene foraging just like Bob. Nice to see her. Then, finally an immature bird. There are probably other immature birds around but as I have said these are countershaded and camouflaged and we can't know without colour banding them which and how many immatures we're talking about altogether. Still, we're going to keep our eyes open to see if we can get a count. We'd like to know just exactly how successful Bob and Mrs Bob have been this year.

Turtle doves: plenty cooing. House sparrows, Senegal doves, Feral pigeons, greenfinches: activity as usual. Hooded crows.. a few hanging out on the ground up on the hill. I heard some song up there, and caught a glimpse of adot in the sky hovering over the hill, but sadly brief I'm sure is a lark. Some blackbird song. Chukars quiet but one spotted sitting still on a rock in north valley.. they're amazingly camouflaged for such large chicken sized birds.. obvious in the open but their vivid black, red and white flank bars and countershading blends amazingly well in the terrain when standing still. Only spotted it because I was scanning. Collared doves: Three in pomegranate tree near cistern later joined a fourth by cistern.

Bee-eaters:) : At least two hawking over the grove immediately to the north of the orchard. I know I'm partial to them but they are gorgeous and sound lovely too. husband said they were 'twurbling' which is a good way of putting it.
Hoopoes: several around- on the sapling field, approach to the ruined bunker and near the cistern.

Stone curlews: heard from direction of gazelle field and north valley north edge.

Sunbirds: quiet today

Graceful warblers: busy, noisy and singing.

Syrian woodpeckers: busy noisy, alarm calls especially in the grove next to the orchard.

Great tits: Calls and activity from the orchard and edges of gazelle field.

Gazelle field was as usual busy with activity of house sparrows, Eurasian Jays, Collared doves and the occasional hooded crow. No gazelles today alas.

Jackdaws: Still no sign.