10th, 11th July, Gazelles, stone curlews

10th July: 6 pm 28 C falling, 25% rising, 10.4 kt WNW,

Gazelle 1 - usual place nr pylon and trees nw corner of north field

Turtle doves: much cooing

Bee-eaters: flock two dozen east end of north valley

Hoopoes: burnt glade just west of creek foraging on ground

Falcon.. over north end east field, wheeling, gliding quite high and right over us.. hard to make out colouring due to reflection, silhouette and sun shining through but suggested hobby

Stone curlews: calls then three seen flying in formation a few dozen feet above slopes just south of Adam, flew together east over road, wheeled back and settled on rocky slopes.

House sparrows: around buildings; Senegal doves: some cooing

Hooded crows: some calling, a few individuals around valley, often use tops of buildings edge of valley as lookouts

Jackdaws: flock on sides of hill to east, further south than before, several dozen, calls

Jays: many, vocal, foraging all over forest, some on fields

Feral pigeons: three foraging on valley road, over in singles, small groups as usual

Greenfinches: some twittering in trees, less singing than usual

Blackbirds: song from several territories in woods

Collared doves: perching on high line, active around fields, flight calls, coos

Sunbirds: bauhinia, one in centre forest tops pine and cypress centre east valley woods

Graceful warblers: some calls

Syrian woodpeckers: plenty calls and some seen in woods

Bulbuls: quite vocal.. in bauhinia 5 am..and calls from garden early afternoon

Great tits: calls young pine grove on the way to the bunker

July 11 about an hour starting 6.15 p.m. ish

28.2 degrees C falling, 6 kt NW falling, humidity 24% falling (relatively unusual, usually rising this time of day)

Gazelles 3

On approach down the central trail to the bunker, scanned the area in advance with binocs to see if wheatears etc there and noticed a pair of gazelle grazing right by the bunker! They matched the group of three we'd noticed before in the east field, (I'm calling them Prongless, Prongs and little Prongs) no doubt moved down out of that area because of a large herd of goats. We were careful not to spook them but we were slightly upwind.. still, they weren't anxious, they looked in our direction but grazed and moved unhurriedly in the direction of the cistern. One stood by the cistern and looked in, poor thing, most water has evaporated and the rancid remainder was about three feet down and out of reach. Little Prongs made his way to the creek bed running through the gazelle field by himself and grazed around, sometimes dipping down out of sight. He's quite well grown but his horns were teensy.. hence the name. Prongs has a longer pair, but thin, not like an adult buck. Prongs and Prongless made their way further north at a very gentle pace, stopping to graze by the pomegranate trees.

Turtle doves: many coos. Bee-eaters: small flock hunting east end of north valley woods. Hoopoe, foraging on trail near cistern

House sparrows: houses and street. Senegal doves: street and gardens, Hooded crows: apparently same three hanging out on valley road as yesterday, other activity as usual. Jackdaws: flock not seen today, Jays: busy on field

Feral pigeons: as usual, Greenfinches: Nice 'canary chorus' toward dusk.. good to hear they're all still in good song.

Blackbirds: some song

Collared doves: some activity though down, coos

Stone curlews: some calls

Sunbirds: In Bauhinia as usual

Graceful warblers: some calls and song

Syrian woodpeckers: very vocal in forest and busy foraging on pine trees, several seen