small golden jobs

These small golden yellow flowers, each just about 1 cm across, were growing next to east watercourse dirt road not far from the bridge. This is a new one for me, unfamiliar. Above, zoom of flowers, below, flowers with stems and small leaves. I.D. coming when I have it.

Other flowers still blooming now: caper, the low yellow legume by dirt road, horsetail polygonum and some desert mullein- that's about it in the middle of the dry season so I was delighted to find something unfamiliar managing to flower.


This photo just doesn't quite capture the interesting cloud formation over the neighbourhood, as seen from the slopes of windsurfer hill at about sunset. The whole cloud seemed to be shaped like a broad funnel splaying finely outwards and upwards.


Tuesday 22nd June

gazelle: 7 : A group grazing other side of north watercourse in the open, 5 females and well grown young and an adult male. The 7th was a young individual, emerged from east watercourse, strolled past look out corner, headed to Pistacio grove, then changed its mind and headed out over gazelle field through the sapling poles toward the north west.. the direction of the grazing group, though they were out of sight.. would have been downwind


Bee-eaters: calls heard
turtle doves: some coos
Hobbies: interaction at least two individuals top of cypresses near look out corner, calls and seen wheeling around over watercourse. Later one seen flying from east valley towards woods by shaft followed by more calls.

Blackbirds: song, various parts of the pine woods

Eurasian jays : active mainly gazelle field, cistern area .
Stone curlews, active and vocal before sunset today, we watched one land north west gazelle field, close to bat cave. Watched another in flight from east field towards cistern, prob beyond.

Greenfinches: Twitters and calls around look out corner
Syrian woodpeckers: calls in trees along east valley dirt road

Graceful warblers : some calls.

Hooded crows. active, vocal on and off throughout day.
White spectacled bulbuls : early morning before 5 a.m in the garden

Laughing doves :street and gardens, coos
House sparrows : garden, vocal all day

Escaped cockatiel heard again, this time in woods by east valley watercourse.

Wednesday 23rd June.

gazelle: 5 At least. Mid gazelle field amongst saplings.. adult male at some distance from a group of females and well grown young.. only 4 of those seen at once but they were going in and out of the mid water channel and I suspect there were 5 or more.

Bee-eaters: not heard on walk but heard from the house shortly after we got back shortly after 7 p.m.
turtle doves: coos
Hobbies: No hobbies but kestrel seen hovering over north gazelle field, over hillslopes, then headed over to Hizmeh
Wheatear: probably black eared, juvenile on sapling tube near large almond tree, occasionally hopping down to ground. Indicates they have been breeding in the watercourse area this season.. good!
Hoopoes: pair over north west of gazelle field near north east corner of pines, one using tube , other foraging on the ground, the two between both, then flew off to pines. They appear amusingly indecisive as they fly, in this case one appearing to be about to alight in an acacia, then flying around it, then changing direction again and flying up into higher pine branches.

Blackbirds: song in pines near pumping station

Eurasian jays : active mainly gazelle field again using sapling tubes .
Stone curlews, brief call .

Greenfinches: some calls and twitters in pines
Syrian woodpeckers: some calls

Graceful warblers : active and vocal around look-out corner area

Hooded crows. active, vocal on and off throughout day.
White spectacled bulbuls : calls near pumping station

Laughing doves :street and gardens, coos
House sparrows : garden, vocal all day

Much work done in woods just south of pumping station, older poor condition trees felled and loaded onto truck to be taken away for wood burning stoves and such allowing the saplings in that area to grow unimpeded. I hope they were careful in taking away the worst adults and will care for the saplings in their place.

Thursday 24th June

gazelle: 2 north gazelle field about where the ploughed area meets wild grass.
Bee-eaters: heard overhead and some seen esp by Pistacio orchard
turtle doves: some coos by valley road , from trees on bank? As we returned to neighbourhood.
Hobbies: calls heard
Wheatear: probably black eared, juvenile on sapling tube near large almond tree, occasionally hopping down to ground. Indicates they have been breeding in the watercourse area this season.. good!
Hoopoes: 3 1 by north watercourse dirt road turn off, a second in Eucalyptus orchard leading to east field, from a euc to the ground, up and down again a third end of valley road flew up into pine.
What accounts for all the hoopoe sightings we've had in the last week or so and their absence through most of the spring? Low profile during breeding season? Shortage of nesting sights in the area?
Blackbirds: some song middle of woods.

Eurasian jays : active and vocal various parts of woods and fields

Greenfinches: some calls and twitters in pines
Syrian woodpeckers: some calls

Graceful warblers : active and vocal along north watercourse dirt road near service road turn-off

Hooded crows: some about, quiet this time of year, perhaps because moulting, as we've seen in wings of some and feathers on the ground.
Collared doves: Some coos and flight calls, or seen flying over gazelle field most days this week
Laughing doves :street and gardens, coos
House sparrows : garden, vocal all day, also flock on path by Shadiker hyrax colony.