2023-05

30th May 2023

Fifteen years ago, when, funnily enough, I was fifteen years younger, on a very hot August day (about 40 C) I walked at Yehudia and was almost defeated by the hike. I walked down a steep ravine, with Naomi (our daughter), into a gorge, to see a spectacular waterfall. The descent was quite tough but so far, so good. The problem started with the upward climb, which was just as steep. For Naomi, the climb was as easy as could be, but I struggled to the point that I thought I was having a heart attack. Thank goodness I got back in one piece but determined not to repeat the madness. Walks like that are best left for mountain goats.

Earlier this week, on a warm humid day (about 33 C) Miriam and I became mountain goats and did the walk – and completed it, without feeling at all ill. So, we’re fifteen years older but have become acclimatised to the hot weather.

For all our efforts we were rewarded with beautiful views and seeing a freshwater crab, a black mud-dauber wasp (with bright yellow legs and other parts) and loads and loads of glaucous star thistles.

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28th May 2023

Cricket season is now under way in the UK, and I’ve been seeing crickets here too. And grasshoppers - but thank goodness not locusts. A couple of years ago, we had a plague of crickets – they were everywhere, including in our apartment – it wasn’t very pleasant. Crickets, grasshoppers and locusts are similar in many respects but there are differences. Crickets have long antennae; grasshoppers have short antennae. Locusts and grasshoppers are very similar, but locusts swarm and grasshoppers don’t.

Here are a couple of photos of grasshoppers from recent visits to Mount Arbel.

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25th May 2023

As you can see from these photos, we really do have wonderful views from our apartment. From our balcony we see the lakes and mountain – these photos are of sunrise looking towards the East across the lake, and also looking Northeast, the lake and snow-capped Mount Hermon in the spring. From our kitchen window we see the residential areas of upper Tiberias and the Switzerland Forest.

In this photo essay in the Times of Israel I discuss the nature that we see at the lake and at the Switzerland Forest on our frequent walks:

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/photo-essay-nature-of-tiberias/

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23rd May 2023

I’m not one who really likes getting wet, aside from in the shower, so despite living so close to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), I’m yet to get closer to it than the dry shoreline. Early yesterday morning I saw these little critters at the edge of the water, and for sure now I shan’t be taking a dip. I couldn’t fancy meeting all those claws under water. I watched them walk sideways, which they do because they have stiff jointed legs, and it seems that having such legs it’s easier to walk sideways than forwards. So, if you wake up in the morning feeling a little stiff in your joints, try walking sideways.

This particular crab is the Potamon potamius, also known as the Levantine freshwater crab. It’s not actually classified as critically endangered but is ‘near threatened’, so hopefully their predators will take that into consideration before feasting on them. Potamon sounds a bit like pokemon, which apparently is derived from the words pocket monsters. Can’t say, I’d like a potamon monster in my pockets. But actually, Potamon comes from the from Greek word potamos, river (hippopotamus is a river ‘horse’), as does potamius.

Next time I see a Potamon potamius I shall probably think of it as pocket hippo!

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21st May 2023

While walking in the Switzerland Forest a few weeks ago, Miriam and I saw a bright yellow chameleon, disappearing into the undergrowth. I’m afraid I couldn’t photograph it – so these photographs are from previous encounters.

Chameleons really are fascinating little creatures and their most interesting feature, of course, is their ability to change colour. Chameleons are lizards, but unlike most other small lizards we see, the chameleon moves very slowly – it moves as if it has all the time in the world, and indeed, makes the tortoise look like a hare. Not only does it lack speed but it also lacks a defence arsenal – it doesn’t have sharp teeth or claws or a hard shell to fend off predators. Its best chance of survival is to appear unthreatening or better still to appear as though it’s not there at all.

If you think the chameleon’s ability to change colour is so that it can blend into its surroundings by camouflaging itself, you’re thinking the way I thought; and, I suspect, like most people think. But that’s not the case. The chameleon’s colour change is usually associated with mood swings. Just as we will turn white if we’re frightened out of our wits or red if we’re embarrassed or are inflamed, so too the chameleon’s colour can indicate how it is feeling. If it is happily walking along in the sun, enjoying life to the full, it will be a bright green colour; if it’s frightened, its complexion turns a dark shade; if it’s feeling aggressive or angry it might be reddish; and if it has a bout of depression it could be brownish. It doesn’t hide its emotions well, it wears its heart on its sleeve – what you see is what you get.

How chameleons change colour and how they do it so quickly is beyond the scope of this short post but there are other characteristics that are worth noting. Their swaying gait is an attempt to appear unaggressive and though not wide-eyed, so to speak, their eyes enable them a 360-degree field of view, which of course, isn’t bettered, by any other creature. They can even focus their eyes independently in different directions. Their ability to see what is behind as well as what is in front, as can any experienced schoolteacher, is useful for both defensive and offensive purposes. And its hugely long tongue, about one and half times its body length, enables it to capture its prey, primarily insects, without moving far at all. The chameleon may not have weapons with which to defend itself but when stalked by a bird or snake it uses its intelligence to appear aggressive and strong and opens its mouth wide to threaten its predator.

Unlike the chameleon, most of us can’t see what is behind us, and not having such a long tongue we may have to get off the couch to hunt down our next meal but there is one way we can emulate the chameleon. If we’re feeling a little off-colour, we should think of a million chameleons, and hopefully we’ll regain our colour as quickly as can a vermilion chameleon.

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18th May 2023

A couple of weeks ago, Miriam and I were walking in an urban forest in Netanya and we watched a hooded crow with interest. It had found a stale slice of bread, which had become very hard. The crow stood on the bread and used its substantial bill to hammer the bread until it cracked into small pieces. Then it took one piece at a time and flew to a little stone structure in which rainwater had gathered. It dunked the piece of bread in the water – left it for half a minute or so to soften, then took it out of the water and ate it.

Clearly this crow was no bird-brain. Indeed, crows are considered amongst the most intelligent of birds and recent experiments have shown that crows can recognise the faces of other crows and even human faces. Pigeons, which have also been shown to be intelligent, can do this too. It seems that pigeons can be taught to recognise, somehow, all twenty-six letters in the English alphabet – a skill that, no doubt, they find useful when speaking pidgin English.

It's interesting to note that Noah understood how intelligent crows and pigeons are. He sent a raven and then a dove on reconnaissance missions, before he came out of the ark. Ravens are part of the crow family, and doves are part of the pigeon family.

This week, Ariel wrote to me, to tell me that he had rescued a crow chick that had fallen from its nest, and he had returned it to its parents. He told me that, now when he leaves home, the crows greet him and accompany him on his walk for the first 200 meters or so. He thinks that they’re showing their gratitude. Well, believe it or not, it is thought that crows do express gratitude to people who feed them, by bringing them small gifts. So, more likely than not, the crows really are showing their gratitude to Ariel.

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16th May 2023

Last week I wrote about Egyptian vultures that I had seen recently. Today I’m writing about Griffon vultures that we saw last week at Hai Bar on Mount Carmel, near Haifa.

Griffon vultures are huge, having a wingspan of up to 2.8 metres, much bigger than Egyptian vultures whose wingspan can reach just 1.7 metres. Whereas the Egyptian vulture is an endangered species, the Griffon isn’t. But locally, in Israel, it is endangered – there are far fewer here now than there were a few decades ago. To try to ensure that these magnificent birds remain in Israel, there are various breeding programs to boost their numbers – including at Gamla, Ramat Hanadiv and Hai Bar. At these places and elsewhere, the vultures can be seen riding the thermals, circling to gain height. They have superb eyesight and can see carrion from up to four miles away. By circling above carrion, they alert other vultures to come to share a meal.

Their stomachs are highly acidic allowing them to digest bacteria that other scavengers can’t – thus removing dangerous bacteria from the environment. We might not think of vultures in the positive light that we think of eagles, but they perform a vital function, for the benefit of us all.

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I’ve also included a photo of a wild carrot plant (which is also known as Queen Anne's lace and bird's nest). After flowering they contract and turn concave like a bird’s nest, as you can see.

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14th May 2023

On a recent visit to the Hula reserve, I spent quite some time watching a pair of black-winged stilts (the male has black wings, and the female, brown). They’re very long-legged waders with pink legs and an ungainly walk, which reminds me of a clown on stilts. The ratio of the length of their legs compared to their bodies is bettered only by flamingos. They feed on insects on the surface of the water, and their long legs give them the ability to wade a little beyond the edge of lakes/rivers while keeping their feet planted firmly on the ground.

To look at them, it seems that they bend their knees in the opposite way to the way we bend our knees. You can see the same knee-bends on the little egrets too. However, this isn’t so. The joint that looks like a knee is actually the bird’s ankle. Its knee is much further up the leg (often not visible) and bends in the same direction as our knees do.

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11th May 2023

I recently visited a Nature Reserve; I’ve got to know the folk there quite well, so I asked if there was anything special to see. I was told that an Egyptian vulture had flown over the day before, but they were not publicising it, because some unscrupulous photographers were operating in the reserve. These photographers, sadly, are more interested in a good photo than the welfare of the birds. They were being particularly cautious, as the Egyptian vulture has a conservation status of ‘endangered’.

After I’d been walking for half an hour or so, a vulture flew above me, circled, and then I noticed it had a mate with it too. I managed to get photos as you can see. But I’ve been asked, when I post them on Facebook or elsewhere, not to say exactly where I saw them.

When thinking of Egyptian vultures, I’m reminded that we read in the Bible (Exodus 19:4) of how the Children of Israel were transported out of Egypt on the wings of eagles (kanfei nesharim). Obviously, this is metaphorical but it’s interesting to note that a nesher is not an eagle, but a vulture. But I guess that vultures are not widely liked and to translate as ‘the wings of vultures’, doesn’t sound nearly so impressive.

I also spotted a spotted fritillary – a small butterfly.

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9th May 2023

Near the lake, and even in the Switzerland Forest, as well as many other places we visit in Israel, we frequently see white-throated kingfishers. The first of these photos, was from a recent visit to the Kinneret lake.

But you don’t have to be by the lake or in the countryside to see this master fisher, yesterday in the centre of Tel Aviv, next to the Sarona Market, I watched a white-throated kingfisher dive from a nearby building into a lily pond, in which there were goldfish swimming.

The kingfisher enjoyed a good fish lunch, as you can see.

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7th May 2023

In the Switzerland Forest last week, we encountered this 30cm/12inch long, tiny-legged skink – it’s skinny like a snake but it’s not stinky like a skunk.

We also saw a roughtail rock agama (also 30cm/12inch long), as we often do when we’re out and about in the countryside on warm or hot days. The agama is not nearly as skinny and has much bigger legs.

On Friday we watched a roughtail rock agama walk up a vertical wall at Kibbutz Lavi – easy for a lizard – they have suction pads on their feet. It was very hot on Friday – 43 Centigrade in the shade at 2pm – but much cooler today/tomorrow – high 20’s.

The skink and agama both have long tails which they will shed if attacked by a predator – the idea is to sacrifice a non-essential limb, hoping to save its life. The tail grows back but isn’t quite the same quality as the original.

Like all lizards, they’re cold-blooded and in order to gain sufficient energy to operate, they bask in the warm sun for much of the day.

The final picture is a chicory flower.

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4th May 2023

There are lots of nine-spotted moths around at the moment – we’ve spotted them at Mount Arbel and also at the Switzerland Forest. This moth is also known as the yellow-belted burnet – yellow-belted for obvious reasons. Moths, unlike butterflies, are generally nocturnal insects, but the nine-spotted moths are an exception. Another big difference between moths and butterflies is that moths rest with their wings open, butterflies tend to fold them up as you can see in this photo of a Bath white butterfly.

If my white bath looked like this colour, I wouldn’t be so pleased. So, why is this butterfly known as a Bath white? I think there is a clue in that it is a ‘Bath white’, not a ‘bath white.’ Answer - it’s named for the town Bath in the UK – and it’s whitish – hence the Bath white.

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2nd May 2023

We spent this last weekend in Jerusalem, and on Sunday visited Gazelle Valley. The Gazelles kept a low profile hiding beneath the vegetation that was growing high, so we just got a fleeting glimpse as gazelles passed by in the distance.

Gazelles were scarce, but the rather lovely purple milk thistles were in abundance. However, we didn’t need to travel to Jerusalem to see them, we regularly see them much closer to home. But today we saw something we’d never seen before – a white version. As this was so unusual, we consulted the park wardens, who told us that the white milk thistles are a genetic mutation – they are albino milk thistles.

By the way, some people claim that milk thistle can help cure cancer. The general consensus in the scientific world is that more research is needed before we will know if milk thistle can help prevent or treat cancer.

As well as the purple and albino milk thistle photos, there are also photos of a very young coot chick and a spectacled bulbul that we saw.