In Autumn

A Greentours Tour Report

30th November – 4th December 2012

by Ian Green

The following report is from a visit I made during early December 2012 and was too late for many of the species of and colchicum we’d hope to see on the tour. Almost all of the species found on the higher parts of Mount Lebanon had flowered some weeks before. So we are sure that the tour is timed to give us the best chance of seeing these species being three weeks earlier than my visit. Birdwatching was decent during my visit but could also be expected to be better during an earlier visit.

Day 1 November 30th Hamat & Byblos

After a very comfortable night in The Bristol, a typical example of Beirut’s refined French-cum- Middle-Eastern charm and style, I headed north, swiftly negotiating the glitzy streets of the modern city. The place is clearly thriving after years of strife, and the amount of money being invested in the city and in the abundant villas sprouting up all over Lebanon, is quite extraordinary.

I stopped near Byblos at a supermarket buying lunch and supplies. This supermarket has a great nut and dried fruit counter so I filled up on snacks of cheesy macademias, roasted almonds and all manner of nice fruit and nuts in the trail mix. The wines are something special. Much of Lebanon’s wine comes from the Bekaa Valley, where various mostly familiar grape types produce some rich and sultry reds.

The coastal highway took me northwards and immediately I started noticing flowers. The roadside banks had some great displays of Narcissus tazetta. I had to stop at one, there were so many flowers, and a short walk amongst the coastal phrygana and some small olive groves

Greentours Natural History Holidays www.greentours.co.uk 1 revealed plenty of Cyclamen persicum in flower. This species has a wide flowering period starting in the autumn and ending in late spring! strictus was scattered throughout.

A small crusader castle by a little river was a nice spot for lunch. There were plenty of Stonechats in the grove opposite and Blue Rock Thrush up on the cliffs. The cyclamens here came in a variety of colours with some deep pink forms. I visited a hilltop wedding/restaurant venue where I spent a happy hour or two amongst the surrounding fauna and flora. The rich orange Crocus graveolens was blooming in the lawns, but any thoughts that these were garden was soon blown away with a walk up a track behind the property where the delightful sunny goblets were common, favouring the slightly disturbed roadside banks, but also scattered across the fields and through the garrigue. Sardinian Warblers scolded from the spikey Calicotome whilst flocks of mixed Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Linnets and Corn Buntings moved through the walnuts. A female Hen Harrier coursed flew passing very close. The pretty Ipomoea sinensis showered a bank with pink blooms and the cress, Diplotaxis erucoides was in flower too.

I took a route over a hill, all white chalky cliffs on the inland side, but seaward sharp valleys dropped down through limestone. It was a beautiful landscape and hardly populated, unusual for coastal Lebanon. A gorge was lined with trees, the rocks splattered with mosses and ferns, I could hear Wrens and Robins through the car window. No time to stop though for I hoped to find Crocus hyemalis down by the sea. In this I was thwarted but only, I think, due to sheer weight of autumn-flowering bulbs on the rocky seaward facing slopes. There was a wonderful mix of the Cylcamen persicum and Narcissus tazetta too. There were also a few flowering Friar’s Cowls, and more of the Dianthus. However perhaps the star here was Colchicum stevenii. There were many of the bright pink stars scattered across an area of burn. Graceful Warblers flitted through the shrubs and a female Common Redstart quivered its tail from atop a small oak. A group of birds moved through, there was a variety of species present including single Spectacled Warbler and a Dead Sea Sparrow! There may well have a number of the latter but I got a good look at one. It was almost dark now, so one last stop, where a coastal path wound its way through some stunning scenery. The cliff above the path had yellow flowered Inula crithmoides, an unusual succulent Inula, as well as the widespread coastal Crithmum maritimum. Blue Rock Thrushes enjoyed the vertical landscape and the views down the steep slopes and cliffs to a now very deep blue sea were sublime. The would have to wait for another visit!

I took dinner at Chez Pepe's. Famed as a multi-tasker of the jet-set in Lebanon's heyday, Pepe lives on in the restaurant and street that bears his name by the Byblos's picturesque harbour. There were various shrimp, calamari and lamb dishes on the menu though I stuck to the wonderful mezes that are so good, one doesn’t need a main course – Lebanon’s famed Tabouleh, some excellent hummous, moutabal, a wonderful concoction made from baked eggplant and yoghurt, and kibbeh. The latter is a variable dish made from meat and bulgur

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Day 2 December 1st Laqlouq

The breakfast at the Ahiram was much appreciated especially taken on a terrace overlooking a blue sea. I packed up and headed inland. All along coastal Lebanon the roads that go inland head steeply uphill, for the great bulwark of Mount Lebanon is really very close to coast. Here was no exception and within a few miles I was able to look down on the coast far below. There were crocuses aplenty along the road. I made several stops where they were particularly abundant or formed photogenic clumps. At one of these stops I realised that there were not one but two species involved, both orange-yellow, but distinctly different shades from each other. There were some of the Crocus graveloens that I’d seen the day before but much more Crocus vitellinus, in places making a fine show. The latter had a richer dark orange-yellow colour, and with slightly more star-shaped flowers, graveloens tending towards the typical goblet shape of many crocuses. Vitellinus also had short styles, these only as long as the rather large anthers, and noticeably less in the way of dark markings on the underside of the tepals, indeed virtually none on most that I saw. Sardinian Warblers continued to chunter in the bushes and Robins seemed everywhere.

I continued up into the valleys below Laqlouq, into a land of quite lovely scenery. The autumnal tints of the trees and shrubs up here were gorgeous, green junipers and orange and yellow acers, oaks and the like, all set against white rocks and a blue sky. I walked a couple of areas, drawing a blank on new bulbs but seeing more of the crocuses and plenty of Friar’s Cowl. Chaffinches and Blackbirds were common. Up by Laqlouq I stopped for my picnic in a shadey spot, the sun was really quite strong up here. Coal, Blue and Sombre Tits went through the bushes and there were Western Rock Nuthatches about. A Long-legged Buzzard went over. A narrow road took me into a line of highland valleys of the most exquisite scenery, really superb autumn colours, the slopes lined with natural open woodland, with bluffs of limestone emerging, these forming impressive cliffs in some areas. In the bottom of each valley was a little farm with olive groves and apple orchards where flocks of finches foraged. The only surprise was that there were no flowers!

After a look on the high ground above Laqlouq it was time to head over to the Qadisha Valley. A back road takes one through some sublime countryside, little populated except for several small villages. Along one flat area I spotted the day’s third crocus, the lovely lilac form of Crocus cancellatus subspecies damascenus – superb! Dusk was fast approaching – it is early at this season in Lebanon of course, being pretty much dark by just before 5pm – and so I had to make tracks for Bcharre and the Cedars high on the side of the main Mount Lebanon ridge.

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Day 3 December 2nd Mount Lebanon

It was a clear morning but cold. The views all around were impressive for The Cedars sits in a bowl with high mountain ridges, bare and pale in the sharp morning light, on three sides. There was a band of snow across the top. The breakfast at Le Cedrus Hotel was excellent as usual and well-fortified I was soon on my way.

Up the road was a small group of stalls selling various cedarwood products, apparently all from dead wood, and just a little beyond there I spotted a luminous yellow bloom on the slopes. This was a superb double headed Sternbergia clusiana. The flowers are maybe 8cm across and a similar depth and are a most striking sight as they emerge from the bare red terra rosa soil stemless and without leaves. A quick search revealed just a very few more. The nearby ancient cedar grove, the 'Cedars of God' was visited. Nuthatch, Coal Tit and Blue Tit were seen.

The road took me quickly upwards now, the views over the Qadisha Valley to the Mediterranean becoming rapidly more spectacular. From the top the views were amazing. You could stand on one side of the road and see the aforementioned view spread out below you, Bcharre glinting at the head of the valley, the cedar grove looking pitifully small seemingly directly below me, and crossing the road the wide flat expanse of the Bekaa Valley spread out at the foot of a very direct descent! Beyond lay the dry looking anti-Lebanon range. Baalbek could be seen in the distance. Moving a little further down the road Mount Hermon, snow- topped, loomed into view on the far side of the valley. Four Crimson-winged Finches flew up off the roadside, but not far, perching on the bank and allowing good views. Further along there was a small finch flock with a mixed group of Twite, Linnet and Chaffinches whilst two more Crimson-winged Finches appeared. A Raven was on the ridgetop.

Downwards the road cut across hillsides where snow lay, before descending into the foothills neat Ain Aata. Here the land became somewhat greener and there was promise of bulbs, though in the brief time available I failed to find either Crocus thiebauti or Crocus aleppicus. Some nice patches of Glaucium leiocarpum were noted on field edges. A Chiffchaff nurdled through the shrubbery and Ornithogalums billardieri was just in flower and what looked like Ornithogalum neurostegium was in bud.

Then it was back over the pass and down into Bcharre and after a spot of shopping I was along to Ehden. Here a nice hotel was located and once checked in I headed down into the Qadisha Valley for the last half an hour before dark. Crocus graveolens again became common and there was a lot of Arisarum vulgare in flower. There were colchicums in leaf and the pretty little Ceratocapnos palaestina scrambled through the olive groves. Then it was back up to the hotel and out to a local restaurant perched on the edge of the great gorge here, and which served superb Lebanese cuisine.

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Day 4 December 3rd Ehden

Another sunny autumnal day, with just a hint that the weather might change? Indeed, the forecast for the next few days involved some rain….

A very good breakfast as usual, the Halloumi was particularly tasty here. Then it was a short drive around the edge of Ehden to the reserve of Horsh Ehden. The town sits high on the edge of Mount Lebanon, overlooking the Qadisha Valley on one side and down to the Mediterranean to the west, the whole landscape, in common with much of this part of Lebanon has a wonderful verticality to it.

Horsh Ehden is a surprising place. The reserve protects the forests that cover the upper and mid-levels of the west-facing slope of Mount Lebanon. Though a small reserve no less than 40% of Lebanon's plant species have been recorded here and virtually all of them currently known medium to large mammal fauna is found here. I walked a circuitous route of some five km plus a little offshoot. The forest was stunning. And varied. I walked through orange and yellow autumnal oaks, a mixture of hugely impressive Quercus coccifera (calliprinos), Quercus infectoria and the endemic Quercus cedrorum. At other times the fir Abies cicilica mixed with Cedars of Lebanon and the lovely Acer tauriculum to good effect. In other places the strange apple Malus trilobata mixed with Sorbus torminalis and Ostrya carpinifolia. The apple in particular provided a deep and rich orange to add to the mix of colours. The views across the forest were sublime with the tiered Cedars of Lebanon quite lovely. There was plenty of sign of mammals though the only one to be seen was the Persian Squirrel. These were common and noisy! Wild Boar rootings were everywhere. Roving groups of Coal Tits and Blue Tits passed through the trees and there were winter groups of Blackbirds. Robins were common to. Jays were feasting on the acorns and there were Syrian Woodpeckers and a rather elusive Hawfinch in the Pinus brutia trees. Colchicums were in leaf but I didn’t find any flowers, and it was a little too early to see the Cyclamen coum in bloom, though there were plenty of leaves. The fungi however were exceptional with a range of species that made me feel that a knife and a collecting basket will be necessary on my next visit. There were some exceptionally beautiful species, notably a fine large stemmed Russula and a beautiful Lepista which looked like a Wood Blewitt but had a white stem strongly orange-rust tinged at the base. There were several other Russulas too, as well as a number of Milk-caps. Others included a Gomphus, at least one Hebeloma, and a fabulous relative of the Cauliflower Fungus. Imagine these growing in a bed of Acer and Malus trilobata leaves – a superb setting!

Reaching the car the clouds had started to gather and things looked hazy lower down. I explored the area down towards Tripoli, finding a superb area of habitat, forest and limestone terraces that would be very productive in spring but now had little of interest. Then it was back through the Qadisha Valley and down to the coast and Byblos.

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I arrived in time to visit Byblos’s main archaeological site. A partially restored Crusader castle dominates the site, the walls impressive still, but there is an amazing variety of other periods represented here. The 25m thick city ramparts date from the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC, the remains of the Temple of Resheph from the latter. The oldest temple at Byblos, Baalat Gebal is amazingly from the 4th millennium BC! At the southern end of the site are Chalcolithic enclosures from a similar period and even older (5th millennium BC) are Neolithic enclosures. Standing alone at the seaward end of the site is a single Ottoman era house, which for me summed up this site, one can move right through history at Byblos! Then I went to Pierre Abi Saad’s Paleontological Museum where the man himself talked to me of the discovery of fish fossils in the marly beds of his home area 800m above Byblos. I was shown the most amazing fossils of Coelacanths, Swordfish, Octopus and even Sea Lilies as I learnt how Pierre had split the rocks to find the fossils. The amazing variety of fish found had been killed by toxic 'red tides' and had sunk 200m through the ocean to the calcareous ooze on the ocean floor to be preserved for us see today. Amazing stuff!

An evening meal down at Chez Pepe’s was excellent, though rain started to fall. I took a saunter around this most delightful of coastal towns and found that it was Lebanon’s second Halloween. They enjoy two! One on the same date as the rest of the world, and then their very own. There were groups of youths enjoying a slightly drunken but very good-natured romp around town, fully ‘scary-masked’ and with big drums. Once the drummer got going the ululations started, it sounded very eastern! The older Byblosites sat at their restaurant tables and observed the goings on with a ‘seen it all before’ air.

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Systematic List Number 1 Flora

Species are in flower (except for trees, shrubs and pterdiphytes) unless otherwise stated.

Aceraceae Acer hermoneum Ain Aata Acer tauricolum Ehden

Amaryllidaceae Narcissus tazetta common at lower altitudes Sternbergia clusinana stunning large yellow goblets. A few above The Cedars

Anacardiaceae Pistacia lentiscus widespread Pistacia mutica scattered Rhus coriaria widespread

Apiaceae Crithmum maritimum coastal cliffs near Hamat Ridolfia segetum Ajloun

Araceae Arisarum vulgare common at low altitudes

Araliaceae Hedera helix scattered. Some extraordinary forms at Ehden

Aspidiaceae Dryopteris pallida scattered

Aspleniaceae Ceterach officinarum scattered

Asteraceae Bellis perennis scattered Bellis sylvatica higher areas Echinops viscosus lowlands Inula crithmoides succulent species on coastal cliffs, Hamat Scariola triquetra slightly shrubby plant with small purple chicory-like flowers. Hamat area

Brassicaceae Diplotaxis erucoides Aaoun

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Caryophyllaceae Dianthus orientalis scattered throughout Dianthus strictus Hamat Silene aegyptiaca Hamat area

Convolvulaceae Ipomoea sinensis riverbanks below Aaoun

Corylaceae Ostrya carpinifolia Ehden

Cupressaceae Juniperus drupacea Laqlouq Juniperus excelsa scattered in the mountains Juniperus oxycedrus Ehden

Ericaceae Erica manipuliflora local

Fagaceae Quercus coccifera widespread Quercus cedrorum frequent at Ehden Quercus cerris pseudocerris Ehden where reasonably frequent Quercus infectoria Ehden

Guttiferae Hypericum thymifolium scattered

Iridaceae Crocus cancellatus damascenus a colony near Laqlouq Crocus graveolens widespread near the coast Crocus vitellinus very common at low-mid levels

Lamiaceae Stachys ehrenbergii near Bcharre

Lauraceae Laurus nobilis scattered in maquis

Liliaceae Colchicum stevenii Hamat area Ornithogalum billardieri Ain Aata Ornithogalum neurostegium probably this species at Ain Aata

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Malvaceae Alcea kurdica Qadisha Valley Alcea setosa scattered in the lowlands

Myrtaceae Myrtus communis widespread in the lowlands

Oxalidaceae Oxalis pres-caprae lowlands

Papaveraceae Ceratocapnos palaestina Qadisha Valley Glaucium leiocarpum Ain Aata

Pinaceae Cedrus libani Ehden where common, also The Cadars! Abies cilicia Ehden Pinus halepensis at low altitudes Pinus brutia scattered

Polypodiaceae Polypodium australe scattered

Primulaceae Cyclamen persicum widespread at low altitudes

Pteridaceae Adiantum capillus-veneris scattered

Ranunculaceae Clematis cirrhosa lovely, and common! Ranunculus paludosus probably this species in an olive grove at Ain Aata

Rosaceae Crataegus azarolus yellow fruit. Ehden Crataegus monogyna red fruit. Scattered throughout Malus trilobata beautiful quite large tree with at this season a magnificent orange foliage. Acer-like leaves! Prunus ursina small yellow or purplish plums. Ehden Sorbus torminalis Ehden

Smilacaceae Smilax aspera widespread

Solanaceae Solanum nigrum scattered

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Systematic List Number 2 Birds

The and order of the following list largely follows Voous (1977, List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species).

Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus a female at Aaoun Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus scattered Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Qadisha Valley Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus Laqlouq Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus scattered Yellow-legged Herring Gull Larus cachinnans a few near Hamat Rock Dove Columba livia towns, and some likely natural one Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto scattered Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus Ehden Crested Lark Galerida cristata scattered Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthopygus lowlands Robin Erithacus rubecula widespread and very common Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochrurus scattered Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus Hamat Stonechat Saxicola torquata Aaoun Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius Aaoun Blackbird Turdus merula widespread Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus mountains Graceful Warbler Prinia gracilis lowlands where common Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala scattered Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata Hamat Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita scattered Goldcrest Regulus regulus Ehden Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus Ehden Sombre Tit Parus lugubris scattered Coal Tit Parus ater Ehden, Cedars Blue Tit Parus caeruleus scattered Great Tit Parus major scattered Western Rock Nuthatch Sitta neumayer Aaoun Jay Garrulus glandarius scattered Magpie Pica pica noted Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix here and there! Raven Corvus corax Mount Lebanon Starling Sturnus vulgaris one small flock in the Qadisha Valley House Sparrow Passer domesticus habitation Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus one amongst a flock of birds close to Hamat – may well have been others in the group Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs widespread

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Serin Serinus serinus scattered Linnet Carduelis cannabina several on Mount Lebanon Twite Carduelis flavirostris quite common on Mount Lebanon Greenfinch Carduelis chloris lowlands Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis scattered Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes 1 at Ehden Crimson-winged Finch Rhodopechys sanguineus two groups seen on Mount Lebanon

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