New Year observations, first rain!

This is a pic of a young sunbird on flowers of cape honeysuckle, taken by Ruthie Schueler.
Though this pic would appear in life earlier in the summer, since we've been hearing them a lot lately and in song it seemed timely to share it with you now.

Sunday evening report

Rain: first of the season. Brief showers several times over the last few days!

Gazelle: Three seen on valley road at dusk today, one was crossing from the bank. We don't usually see them this close to the buildings but since when we do it is often between sunset and midnight it is probably a regular thing.

Bee-eaters: Friday afternoon: calls heard from the house several times late afternoon. Husband saw flock of 20 or so from the garden.
Sunbird: Last few days squeak calls of sunbird heard in Bauhinia tree, song various times of the afternoon.
Laughing dove: cooing in the garden this morning.
White spectacled bulbuls : melodious calls in the garden various times last few days.
House sparrows: chirps as usual, Feral pigeons about.

Great tit activity up today: calling in the pines and other trees off valley road and other places.
Jackdaw: plenty calls, groups flying about, general activity esp. lower slopes of Hizmeh hill, (where there happened to be herd of goats and sheep at the time.
Hooded crow: seen and heard about as usual.
Hobby: high squeaky call heard up from Pistacio orchard
Shrike, probably masked, calling somewhere in the Pistacio orchard at sunset but playing hide and seek, couldn't find it!
Syrian woodpeckers and Eurasian jay heard and glimpsed about the woods as usual. Blackbird alarm calls heard.
High circling big brown job alone, prob a long legged buzzard but too high to get any detail.

Geckoes heard from the buildings several times over the last few days.

Weather: 17.75-22.25 degrees C (~64 -72 degrees F)
humidity 62.5-97%+ winds: W/WSW 4-14 kt