Week starting Sun 14 November

Sunday 14 Nov.

Temps: mild, 18-28 degrees C, clear skies, low winds, SE, low humidity. 12-35 sharavi

Gazelle: 2 East field, grazing between trees and olive grove, not far from dirt road down from hill
Fox: on central trail ahead of us, headed towards east watercourse, looks like the individual we usually see in that area.

Bats: over valley road, have been seen almost every evening last few weeks.

Black redstart: still no sign

Chiffchaff: contact calls in pines. Other forest winter birds not noticed but for White wagtail: calls throughout the day

Blackbirds: calls, Eurasian Jays: calls, Hooded crows, over, heading to roost, jackdaws calls

House sparrows: calls in garden trees, Sunbirds: activity in Bauhinia, at least two, chase. White spectacled Bulbuls: calls
Monday 15th November

Gazelle: 2 in pinewoods woods by owl glade, mother and well grown young. Then adult male seen grazing in gazelle field amongst the saplings, near centre watercourse.

Foxes: heard barking hoarsely and repeatedly north west of gazelle field/direction of bat cave. Mating season?

Feral cat: 1 hunting by rocks, cypress slum hyrax colony, possibly hoping for chance of hyrax kit.

Chiffchaff: contact calls
White wagtails:calls heard from house

Greenfinches: calls

Hooded crows: heading over to roost
Sunbirds: singing in Bauhinia again before 10 a.m. calls in the 3 pines by bunker rubble

Syrian woodpeckers: calls

White spectacled Bulbuls: social hoarse calls, settling down to roost, from bank.

Tuesday 16 Nov

Gazelle: 1 grazing way down north east gazelle field, too far to see gender

Hyrax: Akiva saw on his way down, photographed.

Fox: 1 through barbed wire betw pine grove and fence, down from olive grove, stopped and sat on haunches, watched us, moved on a few paces, haunches again, then lay down on ground, watching us.. feeling too self conscious to hunt?

Black redstart: looked for at rubble and gazelle field, still none . No other winterers but for white wagtails, frequent calls through day over street, and heading over late afternoon to roosts.

Lark like bird but no crest noted, dark stripe through eye, paler supercilium, coarsely striated upper parts, pale under, squatting low on boulder lower north slopes windsurfer hill.

Blackbirds: alarm calls sunset

Collared doves: 1 in flight, no calls

Eurasian Jays: calls

Eurasian sparrowhawk:1 over central trail heading south.

Greenfinches: calls

Hooded crows: numbers on top of windsurfer hill.

Jackdaws: some flying over towards neighbourhood and calling

Sunbirds: calls and song in Bauhinia from mid morning

Syrian woodpeckers: calls in woods.

Thursday 18 Nov

Weather similar, clear skies, dry, south easterlies, warm, just under 16 degrees C to just over 26 degrees C

Gazelle: adult male. Yesterday adult male and another individual seen, perhaps a third, a little earlier by cistern but didn't see where it went.

Hyrax: some activity last two days.

Feral dogs: 2 on north watercourse trail heading for shaft

Feral cats: 1 near hidden watercourse.

Bats: dusk, over valley road

Black redstart: no sign, nor other winterers but white wagtails frequently heard both days.

Blackbirds: alarm calls about dusk

Eurasian Jays: calls

Eurasian sparrowhawk:1 passed over look out area both days approaching sunset, today a little later and closer to eucs, glimpsed again as we walked up east watercourse dirt road. Also heard from direction of shaft yesterday

Hooded crows: calls, flying over

Jackdaws: calls and flock moving at sunset towards PZ?

Laughing doves: ground, garden

White spectacled Bulbuls: calls garden

Sunbirds: calls in garden

Syrian woodpeckers: calls

Tristram's starlings: calls yesterday over windsurfer to south

Sat 20th November

16-26 degrees C , winds E/SE/S and light. Much dust and pollen in the air

Gazelle: none seen anywhere in north or east fields in hour before sunset

Hyrax: activity around cypress slum and pumphouse colonies

White wagtail: calls heard. No other winterers noticed.

Blackbirds: alarm calls heard various parts of pine woods shortly after sunset

Jackdaws: calls heard various times of the day

Eurasian sparrowhawk: seen flying over east pinewoods, large individual, grey.

Graceful warblers: calls

Hooded crows: heading over to roost.

Laughing doves: coos heard about gardens and buildings late afternoon, haven't heard much lately

*Stone curlews: calls heard at dusk, first in a while

Sunbirds: song heard in Bauhinia, calls various parts of garden.

Eurasian Jays: calls

White spectacled Bulbuls: calls

A rather sorry looking hyrax noticed by Akiva, some way north of cypress slum colony, perhaps an exile unless there is still a small colony in that area by the school.

Several of these noticed in ploughed area beyond the almond row, roughly 'furred' leaves, largest examples whole rosette over 1 metre diameter .