Tits chiming, and gazelles eat nuts?

No gazelle show for some days and now we suspect we know the reason why. Nuts! The gazelle weren't going after the grazing under those trees, (rather sparse in itself) but after fallen sweet almonds! We checked under their favourite tree and though we found a few hoof tracks in the soft earth, particularly on the way into the water channel in the foreground, they could have been days old. Not a single nut was left and no more in the tree. The scraggly tree to the right of the largest tree is a hawthorn or some close relative but we think all the other three are almonds. I hope this won't mean they'll desert gazelle field for the rest of the winter but we'll just have to look harder for them!

Meanwhile: Black redstart at the bunker ruins on wednesday, just calls since then. Graceful warbler in gazelle field, Jays, Blackbirds, Syrian woodpeckers, white spectacled bulbuls in the woods. Jackdaws and hooded crows up on the hill and around and the usual house sparrows and bulbuls heard in the garden. Ticking of a robin down by the dry stream. Night singing insects were already chiming before 5 p.m. in gazelle field.

Now, friday midday, I can hear a graceful warbler in the garden, (they pretty much take the ecological niche of wrens in the U.K.) and not long ago heard the chiming of at least two great tits in full song again. I don't remember them singing at this time of year last year but this is the point and value of keeping this log, to keep a record of behaviour from year to year so we can compare the years. The Bauhinia is still in full leaf which is beautiful but obscures visibility!

Nov 30 -12-21 degrees C

Gazelle! It's Friday, just after 3 p.m. (18.2 degrees C, humidity just 29% and rising, winds easterly and very light)

We saw adult male in the pinewoods a little north of central trail just strolling along.

Black redstart was at the bunker ruins, chaffinches calling in the pines there, Jays, Jackdaws, Hooded crows, Syrian woodpeckers about and great tits about. Heard nice blackbird song on the way back, in the trees on the north end of the bank between the neighbourhood and valley road.

No fewer than 7 pairs of Senegal doves at our end of the street. They congregate near the corner store and 'breadcrumb corner' across the road from the store.

Unseasonal song

26th Nov: Range 9-16. Wind veered to easterlies about 7 a.m. which blew gently all day.

27th Nov: Range 12-19 ~ 4 p.m. 16 degrees C, humidity 30% and climbing, easterlies and south easterlies all day, up to 5 kt in the morning, no more than 2kt in afternoon.

Plenty hyrax activity along valley road.

Most notable on Monday were several Great tits Parus major in full enthusiastic song! One in the garden for some time midday, and another two in lively in song dual apparently at the east edge of the neighbourhood at the top of the bank sloping down to valley road. They took their singing to the top of the building and were really chiming at one another from post and roof rail.

Great tits basically pick two or three clear strident notes and repeat them a bunch of times, simple recognizable theme, many variations. One of them had a note choice I'd never heard before, more complex and varied in style than your average great tit song which threw me at first because I thought it might be something else until I saw him. Could be a young male just experimenting but if so, he already had it down!

There are plenty acacia trees and other foliage on that bank, much loved by bulbuls, graceful warblers, tits, other small birds and hyrax. We also noticed a wild mouse foraging on the bank in the late afternoon light, which then popped into a hole there. He popped out for another brief excursion and then became shy and decided to stay 'indoors' a while to our disappointment.

Today (Tues) we heard plenty great tit calls in the pines but no repeat of yesterday's performance though the garden great tit did sing for a few minutes about midday.

Toward dusk, though, we did hear some tentative blackbird song over in the north east end of north valley, again, could have been a young male just trying out his voice. Plenty blackbird settling down 'chack chacks' as usual.

Apart from the songsters, Nice male stonechat on that bank today, further south toward the pumping station, calling repeatedly, black redstart same general area yesterday. Redstart calls along the creek path today but bird was elusive. Absent from bunker but I think we just got there too late and he'd already gone to roost.

At least 150 crows up on windsurfer hill today, assorted jackdaws and hooded crows. Jays seemed to have settled down lately, not as noisy as they were not so long ago but still seen here and there changing trees. Occasional Syrian woodpecker calls.

Yesterday falcon headed over west from windsurfer hill, and up the hill to the west.. based on the direction - toward the tall buildings in the neighbourhood - we guess it was probably one of the local kestrels.

Today we saw a sparrowhawk fly over the orchard from the south and land in a tall eucalyptus, probably settling to roost as the light was fading fast by then and the little 'cell phone' crickets were already out and chiming.

Crocuses

Friday: (about 3 p.m, sunny) By the saplings field, several chiffchaffs foraging in a pine by the north edge of the field. These are called alvit 'horef in modern Hebrew. Alvit = leaf warbler, from the Hebrew aleh, leaf, and 'horef = winter since these pretty yellowish insect eaters like to overwinter here. I noticed one black redstart on a rock in the open part of the field and activity of at least two other birds not far away, likely another couple of redstarts. Nice male Stonechat up the slope in the scrub to the west side of valley road.

The weekend felt considerably cooler and damper.

Today: (Saturday) Range 8-16 degrees C, ~4 p.m. 13.5 degrees C, Humidity 55%, wind ENE, still to barely 1.5 knots. Lovely high altitude mackerel cloud formations.

Coo of feral pigeon heard, at least 5 pairs of Senegal doves and a hooded crow where breadcrumbs are put out by our road.

Hooded crow and jackdaws up on windsurfer hill.

We headed north along the trail past the cistern and came across a number of delicate lightpurple crocuses just blooming out in the open, they looked quite recently emerge from the softy rusty coloured soil. Checking a guide later at home I narrowed it down to two likely species. We hope to return with a camera tomorrow. These crocuses bloom here from October to December.

Today.. a Tristram's grackle flew over us to the east as we walked down valley road. Blackbirds and bulbuls calling as we came back in the dusk along central trail.

Hyrax alarm calls heard.

Kingfisher

White Breasted Kingfisher (copyright Ruth Schueler)

Thursday:

Everything changes after a good rain. The air along the creek path was heavy with eucalyptus oil aroma, the earth was soft and sticky, the stream had already stopped flowing but had many little pools along its length and qualified as 'The damp creek' rather than 'the dry creek' . Redstarts called throughout the woods and small bands of finches roved the canopies though visible only in silhouette and flight.

From the house, Senegal doves could be heard cooing softly, bulbuls and sunbirds also quite vocal though latter not singing today.

Evidence of the force of last night's water was found where the stream intersects central path on the way to look-out corner. The scrap metal merchants had left a fridge, temporarily we hope, when they loaded up that abandonned vehicle. I assume there was not enough room on their truck for both. Some kids ( I assume) had shoved the fridge down the bank onto the stream bed and now it was lodged about 40 feet downstream! The current must have caught on the door and shoved it along last night. Now it's more accessible to the scrap metal guys again but if they don't come back for it soon it will be well on its way to Wadi Qelt! I couldn't help seeing the humour in it:

"this is the fridge's five year mission, to boldly go down to Jericho to cool the Jordan valley"

In addition, a huge bite of earth had been taken out of the side of the bank in one place. Perhaps kids hadn't pushed it down after all, perhaps the erosion had caused it to tumble down in the previous rain.

First thing we heard walking along the valley road toward the pumping station was a harsh repeating call that I first thought might be a ring necked parakeet until it flew up into clear view on a post. "What?!" It was a white breasted kingfisher! Halcyon smyrnensis and the first I've ever seen in the valley. I have seen them in other locations around Israel, a wild one was haunting the crocodile habitat at the Ramat Gan zoo, they were regulars on the kibbutz I lived at near Tel Aviv for a year and a half about 25 years ago, one of the first birds Keti Levi showed me. I have also seen them across Jerusalem perched in the trees by the little lake at the Wohl Rose Gardens near the Knesset. This is the first time I've ever seen one in our neighbourhood so I was very pleased. Frogs and toads are on the move because of the rains and these would attract these magnificent birds, almost a foot in length.

We admired him for a few minutes, each time taking high vantage points, very convenient for viewing, till he finally flew off out of view to the south.

No gazelle today but we did their find hoof marks in the softened ground on the path right by the orchard.

We also heard blackbird, graceful warbler, Syrian woodpecker.

Minor earthquakes

Forget to write up Tuesday's sightings last night, I must have been tired! Happily well rested now.

(20th Nov) range 11-15 degrees C, 13.2 degrees C at about 4 p.m. wore sweater but still felt a little cool, didn't bother with a jacket because I didn't believe rain was imminent. Cumulus filled half the sky and seemed mildly threatening, tossing down a few drops, but didn't rain in earnest till about 8 p.m. 3rd rain this fall. Humidity at time of walk, 68%, wind 5kt and westerly.

A couple of minor earthquakes today (Tues) but so small I didn't perceive them consciously, though they had been on my mind, one of those 'we must be overdue for an earthquake' thoughts that probably meant I had perceived them subconsciously. That has happened to me every time I've 'missed' an earthquake. I do clearly remember perceiving a couple of them some years back - one made my closet doors rattle a bit and another I remember thinking that some huge truck must be unloading a very large number of boulders down the road, that's how it sounded.

We're in an earthquake zone since we're so close to the great rift valley system which starts in Syria and forks south like lightning all the way down to the Olduvai gorge. Usually not a problem if the buildings are close to the bedrock (as most are in Jerusalem) but disastrous if buildings are built on accumulated Tel rubble, then everything shakes down as has happened Tzfat (Safed) in 1837 and to a lesser extent in the Nablus area in 1927.
We expect earthquakes every few years though usually just 2-6 on the Richter scale.

From indoors through my window heard house sparrows, bulbuls, senegal dove, a sunbird in full song in the Bauhinia and playing peekaboo amongst the leaves.. (the tree is still fully green ) Managed to get a glimpse of malachite iridescence from time to time.

Two hornless gazelle in the pinewoods, a few score yards north of the central trail, 'Snowcap' , the one with the white forehead and another one. They were there again and still together on our way back though they'd moved a few hundred yards in their wanderings.

Some hyrax calls. Many redstart calls in the woods though tantalizingly hidden by the foliage. At one point we were hearing them from both sides of the path and husband said "there are at least two here unless one of them just 'orbed'..." . "You've been watching too much 'Charmed' !" I joked. Black redstart not seen by bunker ruins today. The usual jay activity, graceful warbler calls. Watched a white wagtail, looked like one of this year's birds from its markings, foraging on the ground just off to the side of our street before we descended to valley road.

A nice size hawk flew from the east and settled somewhere in the north valley woods, brownish and barred, longish tail, looked too big for sparrowhawk. Goshawk is possible though not common.

A couple of times heard what sounded like European robin alarm calls but no sightings. Some greenfinch twitters, blackbird pre-dusk fuss as usual,

Sunday and more easterlies

Range, 14-22 degrees C,

About 4 p.m. 18.4 degrees C, humidity 54%, wind 4.3 kt SE

Mostly clear, scattered high altitude clouds. More overcast at about 10 p.m.

~ 70 crows seen flying from Hizmeh hill to windsurfer hill. Later, shortly before sunset ~90 jackdaws joined them from the west. Hooded crows up there. hard to tell how many.

House sparrows in the garden as well as a 'tzeet' from a blackbird somewhere. Earlier heard tic tic, sounded like European robin but somewhat muffled. Sunbirds and bulbuls about. White wagtail heard from the street.

Along Valley road.. plenty hyrax activity. Couple of feral dogs by a path winding up the hill west, near the pumping station, barked at us but they were just resting on the ground. Feral pigeons and Senegal doves active. Great tits vocal in the pines as well as Eurasian jays and some Syrian woodpeckers. Sparrowhawk call to south, then saw it winging quite low over rooftops of Pisgat Ze'ev neighbourhood though it didn't put up the feral pigeons perched in some numbers on the rooftops up there. They probably felt too large game to be threatened.

Small finches about, calls, sounded like chaffinches but got no clear sightings. Other small passerines up there but didn't manage to find them in falling light and all the foliage, and hubby was eager to get to look-out corner for the gazelles so we didn't tarry. Frustrating though because I've been hearing a few unfamiliar calls in the woods lately. Some whistles I believe to be European redstarts but there are others. Blackbirds heard clearly though. Black redstart on the bunker ruins as usual. No sight or call of stonechats today.

Beautiful full grown hornless gazelle I take to be female standing at the edge of north valley forest. Seemed she was contemplating coming out to the favourite grazing spot, or perhaps had just come from there. Presently she turned and headed back into the shade of the pines. No others seen today.

Thurs to Sat

Thurs:

Range: 15-22 degrees C, ~ 4 p.m. 19.9 degrees C. Humidity 41%, wind westerly 8.7 kt.

Gazelles: no show, but pair on Sat , see ahead.

hyrax: plenty activity around cypress slum, numbers various ages scampering over the road from there to dens on east side of road.

No really young darker young pups though some relatively small, a few months old already.

White wagtails: Heard in the street

Redstarts:1 flew from field by saplings into the pines. calls

Black redstart on bunker ruins.

Stonechats: Calls in gazelle field.

House sparrows: Gardens as usual, Feral pigeons: roof rail of buildings.

Hooded crows: Flock up on windsurfer hill, windsurfing, later joined by jackdaws, at least 80 birds total.

Eurasian Jays: Several seen in the pinewoods, relatively quiet

Greenfinches: Some twitters in pines near look-out corner

Blackbirds: alarm calls in the woods, Great tits: calls in pine woods.

Harsh quickly repetitive call down near dry creek bridge. Sounded familiar but couldn't quite place it...

checked a link, http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/listentonature/soundshab/woodland.html

Nice sound collection. Rose ringed parakeet aka Ring necked parakeet, Psittacula krameri. We had several sightings along dry creek trail eucalyptus last year, no positive this year but this call matches.

Husband heard Tristram's grackle whistle up in higher part of neighbourhood.

Friday Nov 16. 15-22 degrees C, 2.30 p.m. 20.8 degrees C, humidity 48%, wind very low, NNW

Gazelles: no show

reptiles: agama lizard sunning on the bunker ruins.

White wagtails: calls (and on sat)

Redstarts: one flew up from field by saplings into pines

Black redstart at the bunker ruins, stump by pomegranate tree, branch of pine behind the cistern. Didn't see two at one time so couldn't verify not same individual moving around.

Stonechats: nice view of male on scrub by dry stone wall toward west end of gazelle field.

House sparrows, Bulbuls: gardens, Senegal doves: around buildings

Hooded crows: calls and around windsurfer hill

Eurasian Jays: several foraging around woods and fields.

Feral pigeons: building roof rails

Greenfinches: twittering in pines by bunker ruins

Sunbirds: one calling and singing in the Bauhinia in the garden.

Syrian woodpeckers: calls, Great tits: calls woods, around look-out corner.

Saturday Nov 17 Range 15-23 degrees C, ~21 degrees at ~4 pm.

Wind veered from easterlies to westerly shortly after 4 p.m. and humidity soared from about 25% to 80% within the hour.

Wind speed increased from very light to 6 kt then 8kt at the same time as temperatures began to fall. Change is usually not that dramatic.

It was charming to see adult buck gazelle and an apparently fully grown hornless adult grazing peaceably at the sweet spot in gazelle fields, the largest single tree by the dry stone walls, both beautifully marked. She may be his alpha queen. The buck stood at attention from time to time - doing sentry duty apparently. He seems more cautious than the others, perhaps because he spends more time off on his own. After some time he walked off but the other stayed.

At least 100 crows visible up on windsurfer hill, both hooded crows and jackdaws, more hoodies on the ground. I'd estimate at least double that in the area.

Clear Tristram's Grackle whistles just beyond eucalyptus grove, to east and north, at least two individuals from directions heard, but none sighted.

Black redstart by the bunker ruins again, calling and flicking. Possible Stone curlew call.. not sure. haven't heard them in a while and this sounded a little different.

Chaffinch call.