A good day around the Larnaca area doing the December waterbird count. Although one of the Sewage Pools is still empty the other one had some good birds including six Greater White-fronted Goose, a Ruddy Shelduck, an immature Great White Pelican, two Common Shelduck, five Black-necked Grebe, nine Eurasian Wigeon, four Common Pochard and two Northern Pintail. Twelve Eurasian Golden Plover were on Spiros Pool and six Eurasian Curlew were in the nearby fields which also had many Eurasian Skylark and Meadow Pipit feeding in them.
Nearly 700 Greater Flamingo were on the main Salt Lake as were around 140 Common Shelduck. An unexpected find were three Common Crane – maybe the same birds that were at Akrotiri Salt Lake recently (see record photo). Flocks of Kentish Plover, Dunlin and Little Stint were feeding on the edges of the water. Towards the north east corner there were more than 20 Common Snipe and a single Temminck’s Stint. Water and Meadow Pipit were around and were put up by hunting Western Marsh and Hen Harrier and two Common Buzzard. In the reeds I found three Moustached Warbler and two Bluethroat, a Water Rail and a Jack Snipe, as well as many Common Chiffchaff, two Grey Wagtail and a first winter Yellow Wagtail.
Common Crane, Larnaca Salt Lake 16th December 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Bluethroat, Larnaca Salt Lake 16th December 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Moustached Warbler, Larnaca Salt Lake 16th December 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
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