Surfin' Hoodies June 11th

"Bob" the black- eared wheatear, lichen on limestone and an aromatic bushy shrub found all over the hill, fragrance like oregano.. from shape of flowers definitely mint family but this pic doesn't show that.
All pics taken with our casio digital

Today we went out a little after 5 p.m. to- after 7 p.m. humidity 70% and rising, just under 22 degrees C and falling, wind WNW vearing SW at just under 8 knots

For a change we took a hike up the hill to the east of the valley just a few hundred feet above level of valley floor and a nice little work- out up old goat trails over limestone covered with lichens and winding between springy cushions of wonderfully aromatic plants with purple blooms.. fragrance of rich oregano. Lovely and invigorating. I'd hoped for larks but possibly the wind kept them down. We did find a group of Hooded Crows apparently having a lark

I'd seen them from down below but now we were amongst them. I had already come to the conclusion they were just playing but watching them now, a group of about twenty five of them over the western slopes of the hill, we realized they were wind surfing! They were picking up the gusts of wind as they arrived at the hill and then riding on them. There was no survival purpose at all.. they were simply having fun! It was all very Alfred Hitchcockish esp when they started wheeling aobut over our heads cawing. Maybe we'd messed up their game by introducing unpredictable turbulence, or we just alarmed them a little. I had often wondered if crows had learned that black tubes carried by humans are trouble. They're smart birds and could have learned to associate black tubes with guns and I was carrying my binoculars as usual. For a couple of minutes they were cawing and wheeling around above us seeming agitated and annoyed, though too scared to approach closer.. then when they saw we were no real threat they went back to their wind surfing.

1 gazelle female over near the trees as usual on gazelle field.

Turtle doves: cooing in the woods at several locations

At the saplings field near the pump station: Black-eared wheatear 'Bob' busy foraging and active, (not loud but carrying 'chk- tsu' calls and a 4th individual still and silent sat on a rock not far into the field. At first I thought it might be Mrs Bob but clear when the male visited that it was a well grown juvenile, belly nearly white, camouflage russet/grey on top and a hint of yellow flesh at bill corner. As soon as the male landed it begged for food and was fed. Seemed a bit more developed than the juvenile we'd noticed on saturday though much better view this time, hubby had fun getting pics of him, because he went into his 'let's distract tall scarey looking human' act.

:

House sparrows, Senegal doves, Eurasian Jays, Feral pigeons, Greenfinches, Blackbirds, Collared doves, Graceful warblers, Syrian woodpeckers, Bulbuls, Great tits, stone curlews, activity and behaviour pretty much as previous few weeks.

Chukars, quiet.

Jackdaws: still apparently on vacation

Bee-eaters.. about 7 p.m. back! About half a dozen, hard to know exactly, hunting low over trees over orchard and trees to north of orchard and right by us at the gazelle field look out. As usual we heard before we saw

It was really hard to tear myself away today but we had to get back if we're going to be responsible parents. It was so sweet at that corner of gazelle field, wood and orchard with greenfinches singing, bee-eaters hunting, dancing in the air above us, turtle doves purring and views of gazelle field and the cistern.. .. I could easily have stay there till dark. Ahhhh! not only charming but so promising! Another day....