Field Trip to the Hanging Gardens 8-10 October 2003

Field Trip to the Hanging Gardens 8-10 October 2003

With the weather still too warm to climb to the summit, a climb to the Hanging Gardens seemed appropriate for the regular Friday field trip of 10 October.

Having tried unsuccessfully to photograph a sand cat a week earlier in Wadi Juwaif, the group tried to collect more photographic evidence of fox on Jebel Qatar in conjunction with the Friday field trip. On Wednesday afternoon, cameras were set up in two locations: one was the site used last spring when the group photographed two species of fox near the Hanging Gardens, another was a few hundreds meters to the east, also at the base of the escarpment.

Thanks to Bill for organizing the outing and to Brien for sharing photographs.

Fox scat near the parking area at the base of the mountain. Photo by Brien	Bill leading the way up the ridge. Photo by Brien	Donkey hoof prints in the soft sand. Photo by Brien	The scale suggests these are the prints of a young donkey. Photo by Brien
Two primitive 'houses' under an overhang. Photo by Brien	A few from the top of the ridge of the Hanging Gardens. Photo by Brien	The Hanging Gardens still showing evidence of the water from last spring's rains. Photo by Brien	At the base of the escarpment, a view of the lush growth. Photo by Brien
The sedimentary buildup from the water outfall in the face of the escarpment. Photo by Brien	The equipment in place, the water bottle (lower right) marking where the bait will be set. Photo by Brien	The trap site, with the measuring stick on the left. Photo by Brien	The bait, slightly frozen chicken hearts. Photo by Brien
Bill does a last checkup of the setup, the receiver is the black box to the left. Photo by Brien	One of the more substantial houses (left) on the plateau. Photo by Brien	The afternoon sun made the colors more impressive. Photo by Brien	Houses side by side under an overhang near the second camera placement. Photo by Brien
Bill pointing out lizard, ant, beetle and other tracks in the sand. Photo by Brien	A lone ????? plant surviving in the corner of the abandoned house. Photo by Brien	The narrow cave where the second camera was set up. Photo by Brien	The bait in place, midway across the infrared beam. Photo by Brien
Bill checking the camera setup. Photo by Brien	Scattered clouds helped create a memorable sunset. Photo by Brien	The escarpment from the parking area in the quickly fading sunlight. Photo by Brien