Early Kislev, week round-up brief reports

Sunday 7 November, Rosh Chodesh Kislev

Gazelle: 1 ploughed area, female

Hyrax: chittering alarm calls pumphouse colony

White wagtail: heard frequently during the day over the street, group of a dozen plus seen flying over Shadiker.
none of other winter visitors seen or heard

Feral pigeons: on and over buildings

Graceful warblers: calls, also heard from house so in garden or nearby garden

Great tits: some calls

Jackdaws: calls, about

Hooded crows: about, heading to roost

Hoopoe: 1 seen flying to end of Shadiker

House sparrows:about buildings and gardens, chattering, settling to roost

Laughing doves: on ground in garden foraging after food we put out for guinea pigs

Sunbirds: active and vocal, song in Bauhinia over hottest hours of the day

White spectacled Bulbuls: 1 seen around buildings, Shadiker

Tuesday 9th Nov

Gazelle: 1 crossing look out area as we approached from central trail.. young adult male from horns. Lots of tracks and some dung on the way from shaft to bat cave along recent man made trail (dirt buggy?)

Fox: repeated barks from direction of small olive grove, glimpse of dark individual running in tight arc over there.

No good sights or sounds of winter visitors in last couple days, has been quiet, clear skies, mild weather

Blackbirds: some alarm calls dusk east watercourse

Feral pigeons: about buildings, roofs as usual

Graceful warblers: some calls

Hooded crows: flying over towards dusk to roost, straggling loose flocks and individuals, relatively quiet
Jackdaws: calls on and off throughout day and yesterday.
Sunbirds: active, vocal in cape honeysuckle, singing in Bauhinia

Wednesday 10th Nov

Gazelle: tracks esp at Pistacia orchard

Hyrax: did not pass colony

Fox: usual greyish individual around the cistern, crossing to and fro, sniffing for food, then some barks from towards fence, pine grove,

Black redstart: Might have been, on bunker rubble saw shape, moving head, distance but no bobbing or flights.
Stonechat: calls from just beyond Pistacia grove

White wagtail:calls throughout day on and off heard from house.

Blackbirds: alarm calls about dusk.

Eurasian sparrowhawk: wheeling over look-out corner towards sunset

Hooded crows: heading to roost
Jackdaws: calls various times during day
Sunbirds: calls in pines by bunker rubble

Syrian woodpeckers: one on eucalyptus by us while we looked for black redstart
White spectacled Bulbuls: calls in garden midday

Thursday 11 Nov.

again, clear skies, mild, much pollen in the air probably mostly Inula.

Gazelle: 2, first up slope by east watercourse dirt road, tree line, short thin horns, other grazing near cistern pine.

small winter birds, no show but for white wagtails, heard frequently through the day.

Blackbirds: some alarm calls at dusk in woods, Eurasian Jays: some calls. jackdaws, calls several times through day. Syrian woodpeckers, some calls in woods,

laughing doves, foraging on ground in garden. sunbirds: active, melodious calling in cape honeysuckle, White spectacled Bulbuls:some calls in gardens

Saturday 13th Nov

Weather, a little cooler but still mild 17-27 degrees C, various altitude clouds passing over since thursday afternoon but no rain.

Gazelle: None in any of the usual places, Hyrax: did not pass colonies

Interesting softbill noticed on line near ramp down from back of building to valley road past acacia. Took off numerous times hawking for flies and landing again. Pale underside, pale brown, perhaps reddish tints on top, no streaking noticed, if anything, nightingale like jizz, not right for a spotted flycatcher, don't know if they'd hawk in open like that and so near houses, didn't see for long and light not favourable, and hardly saw wings and back.

Blackbirds: seen, heard around dusk alarm calls. Eurasian Jays: calls heard in pines,

Eurasian sparrowhawk: flew over flood garbage area (north watercourse dirt road) about dusk, from north gazelle field towards woods to south. Notable because we've seen this flyover there at this time numerous times in last seasons.

Black redstart, still none. Chaffinch: none noticed,

Chiffchaff: contact calls heard in pines, Stonechat: possible, by north watercourse, White wagtail:calls heard

Great tits: calls in woods near valley road.

Greenfinches: some twittering calls,

Hooded crows: heading overhead to roost, some calls

House sparrows:twittering heard from house in trees, Graceful warblers: heard from house, in or near garden.

Jackdaws:some calls heard

Laughing doves: about house, on ground

Sunbirds: calls and twittering heard in garden trees.

White spectacled Bulbuls: calls heard in garden, also active by valley road.