July 8th : 25 degrees C and falling, wind: 6 kt -10kt WNW, 53% humidity and rising. walk from 6 pm -7pm

shoe tip.. sole of my old tennis shoe came loose along way.. fixed it temporarily with soft resin oozing out of pine trees, held sole in place till I got home.

Gazelles, feral dogs, reptiles no show

hyrax some activity

Turtle doves: some cooing

Bee-eaters: at least a dozen spread out all over gazelle field, orchard and grove

Hoopoes 3, pair path nr cistern, by grove

House sparrows: as usual.. activity on gazelle field dropped substantially

Senegal doves: some cooing

Hooded crows: calls, singles, pairs

Eurasian Jays: many active in forest and field foraging, some quite vocal

Feral pigeons: overhead, singles, pairs, small flocks as usual

Greenfinches: twittering and back to taking thistleseed from around bunker again

Blackbirds: some song usual territories and foraging

Collared doves: pair near cistern,about, cooing,

Stone curlews: nice loud clear calls north edge north valley

Sunbirds: call orchard, some song, much calling on and off throughout day in Bauhinia

Syrian woodpeckers: several seen, heard around forest

Bulbuls: calls, quite vocal today

Graceful warblers, great tits, chukars, ,jackdaws, wheatears, cuckoos none noticed

27.3 degrees C, 12.2 NW, 33% 6 p.m. -7 p.m.

Gazelles - Four today :) .. three ranged out in the north field not far from the trees and pylon there.. the fourth coming down from the east field, by the small stand of olive trees by the fence and then on down behind the pine grove and on into the north east meadow of the gazelle field, had thin horns.. lovely bounding leaping run.

hyrax - some activity on west slopes by valley road

Turtle doves: coos

Bee-eaters: calls and hunting over gazelle field, east end of north valley, eucalyptus grove

Black-eared Wheatear: Immature (Bill jr?) perched in orchard, growing well, getting nice peach flush on his pale underparts.

House sparrows: Round houses, none noticed in gazelle field today. I'm hearing parents feed chicks now in Bauhinia at 7.30 p.m.

Senegal doves: coos, active, (one in Bauhinia now cooing 7.45 p.m. ed)

Hooded crows: calls, active around valley mostly as singles

Jackdaws: Nice flock low slopes of hill to east, betw 50-100 individuals. Some vocalisations and flights, mostly sitting low.

Jays: Active over fields as usual

Feral pigeons: several flying over in singles, small groups

Greenfinches: twittering song in trees cistern area

Blackbirds: some song

Collared doves: relatively quiet today.

Sunbirds: It's 7.30 p.m and 'his sapphireness' the male is in Bauhinia, vocalising just a foot from my window. He was there at dawn again as usual.

Syrian woodpeckers: Busy foraging here and there, orchard and on a pomegranate tree trunk near the cistern

Chukars, graceful warblers, stone curlews, great tits, hoopoes not noticed: