July 26, 29th Warm weather walks,

July 26th 6-7 plus.. 31.9, 40% W wind 10.4 kt - Heat wave days.. midday last few days was in mid thirties degrees C. It's still a few degrees below temperatures at low altitudes.. at this latitude (about the same as Los Angeles) it's pleasant to be 800 metres elevation. One has to be very careful of heat exhaustion and dehydration at this time of year in these climates

Gazelles - 5: 1 (possibly 2) near trees usual area, 4 more ranged along side of hill
hyrax didn't go by cypress slum today. Dogs, reptiles none noticed

We left clean water, seed and chickfood by the cistern but nothing came to it while we were there.

Bee-eaters: 40 or so swarming over 50 ft high over gazelle fore field and orchard, shifting from place to place, probably following flying insect concentrations
Wheatears: several juveniles on thistles and rebars around the bunker ruins

House sparrows, Senegal doves, Feral pigeons: around street, buildings
Hooded crows, Jackdaws: flock of over 70 over in gazelle grazing area picking at ground. After some time the crow flocks, almost merged, flew over us to south, jackdaws vocal, hoodies silent
Jays: many scattered busy foraging in woods and field, quite vocal
Feral pigeons: buildings and over as usual
Greenfinches: small flocks in cypresses, eucalyptus and weeds between bunker and cistern
Collared doves: many active, vocal, coos around pomegranate trees, cistern area but none actually visited cistern
Stone curlews: some calls to north
Graceful warblers: some vocal
Syrian woodpeckers: busy foraging and vocal in all parts of woods
Bulbuls: vocal in garden

Great spotted cuckoos, turtle doves, blackbirds, hoopoes, great tits, sunbirds, chukars, blackbirds silent or absent

July 29th

sunbird and bulbul first birds heard today in the Bauhinia tree not long after 5 a.m.

6-7 p.m.ish 25.9 degrees C and falling, humidity 81% and rising, wind WSW 10.2 kt and falling -

The air had a strange quality today, sky almost white with moisture though easily penetrated by the falling sun. The moist warm wind was quite pleasant. Headed off east from trail path to the porcupine den though I don't know if it still used, I'm sure something could make use of the vegetable peels we left. We headed up 'windsurfer hill' and then down to the north to approach the cistern between the orchard and the eucalyptus grove.

Gazelle, 1 running across our path from the east field down to the orchard
hyraxes- plenty young and adult active around 'cypress slum', scampering across the road to their dens on the forest side of the road
dogs and reptiles - none noticed

Bee-eaters: 20 or so flyhunting over the pine forest where the trees of north valley merge with those of east valley
House sparrows: calls from garden and street
Senegal doves: active along street
Hooded crows: several individuals and small groups on and around 'Windsurfer' hill
Jackdaws: flock of about 70 foraging on the ground on northern slopes of windsurfer hill. We walked towards them so they'd move on and we could check the ground to see what they were eating. There was very little goat dung there but there was an abundance of tiny berries of the Heath like little bushes that grow all over the hill. There didn't appear to be anything else edible there to attract them so much.
Jays: Plenty active, vocal and foraging
Feral pigeons: active around buildings, on street and flying in small groups and pairs over the valley as usual
Syrian woodpeckers, active, quite a few calls heard

Wheatears, Great spotted cuckoos, turtle doves, Hoopoes, blackbirds, chukars, collared doves, stone curlews, great tits silent or absent, partly due to the oppressive weather I'm sure and also the growing number of picnickers using the woods and cistern area at this time of year cause some birds to keep a slightly lower profile.
Greenfinches: none seen or heard though we weren't there quite late enough for canary chorus, still we would have normally heard many social calls and some twittering. Nothing.