Several Little Grebe families this morning at Athalassa Dam. This one was near the hide and the adult was very busy keeping the three youngsters together and also bringing some food. All three young were able to dive and could be seen clumsily swimming underwater presumably looking for insects etc themselves.
Juvenile Little Grebe, Athalassa Dam, 22nd June 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Juvenile Little Grebe, Athalassa Dam, 22nd June 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Adult Little Grebe, Athalassa Dam 22nd June 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Adult and juvenile Little Grebe, Athalassa Dam 22nd June 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Little Grebe adult with small fish, Athalassa Dam 22nd June 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Spent the day visiting several of the Troodos picnic sites which are usually a good area to find migrant and resident breeders and find some endemic sub-species. Some of the plumage of the breeding birds was looking very worn.
Platania
Spotted Flycatcher 1 ad and at least 4 juvs
Red-rumped Swallow 1
Eurasian Blackbird pair seen and 1 other male singing
Common Hoopoe 1
Masked Shrike 2m and 1f (1m having bath in stream)
Coal Tit 3 juvs
Northern Wren 1 having bath in stream
Livadi tou Pashia
Eurasian Blackbird 2m and 1f
European Serin 2+
Northern Wren 2
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler 4+
Masked Shrike 1 pair feeding unseen juvs and another feeding 3 fledged juvs
plus 3 other males
Eurasian Jay 3 juvs, one seen fighting with male Blackbird
Northern House Martin 100+
Did a couple of Common Bird Monitoring Surveys in the Cape Greco area and then stopped off at Oroklini Marsh on the way home. Several Cyprus Warblers and a singing male Black-headed Bunting on territories at Cape Greco with Long-legged Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon and Eleonora’s Falcon fly overs. A Whiskered Tern was on Oroklini Marsh as were several Black-winged Stilt (see photo), plenty of Cattle Egret, a few Ruff and some Spur-winged Lapwing.
Spent the morning around Akrotiri where it was quiet with the best birds at least three Little Bittern at Zakaki Marsh, a group of a couple of hundred Greater Flamingo still on the Salt Lake where there were also Little Tern, Black-winged Stilt and Slender-billed Gull.
Akrotiri Salt Lake/Zakaki Run off
Greater Flamingo 300+
Slender-billed Gull 6
Little Tern 6+
Black-winged Stilt 21
Little Egret 2
Grey Heron 2
Little Stint c40
Ruff 8
Yellow Wagtail 1 in flight
Lady’s Mile
Little Egret 6 inc grey morph
Phasouri Reed-beds
Squacco Heron 2
European Turtle Dove 2
But the best part of the day was the two hours I spent at Prastio Kellakiou in the late afternoon. Full of migrant breeders – Eurasian Hoopoe, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Masked Shrike, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, European Turtle Dove and Cyprus’ endemic sub-species Coal Tit and Jay. But the star was the hardworking male Black-headed Bunting who was kept busy feeding two fledglings in the shade of some olive trees (see the photo below that was taken at a distance). At least four other Black-headed Bunting males and one female were also in the area.
There seemed to have been a clear out of birds overnight and there were less around than yesterday but still some migrants around including a Broad-billed Sandpiper on the Salt Lake. Other birds included:
Larnaca Sewage Works
Grey Heron 2
Little Tern 7
Yellow-legged Gull 1
Black-crowned Night Heron 1 along coast being mobbed by Hooded Crow
Ruff 5
Little Stint 3
Common Sandpiper 1
Mallard 18 plus 1 female with 10 ducklings
Little Grebe 6
Common Coot 11
Sand Martin 20+
Barn Swallow 200+
Common Swift 50+
Northern House Martin 10+
Spiros Pool
Red-backed Shrike 1m
Greater Short-toed Lark 2
Larnaca Salt Lake
Little Owl 1
Eurasian Thick-knees (Stone Curlew) 1 h
Spur-winged Lapwing 16
Wood Sandpiper 5
Broad-billed Sandpiper 1
Little Stint 22
Temminck’s Stint 1
Glossy Ibis 8
Curlew Sandpiper 2
Ruff 9
Squacco Heron 1 (see photos)
Black-crowned Night Heron 2 over road near Airport
Squacco Heron, Larnaca Salt Lake 18th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Squacco Heron, Larnaca Salt Lake 18th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Recently fledged Barn Swallow, Larnaca Salt Lake 18th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Little Owl, Larnaca Salt Lake, 18th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Zitting Cisticola, Larnaca Salt Lake, 18th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Two Caspian Tern flew over Larnaca Sewage Works pools while I was there this morning. They only stayed about five minutes but I was lucky enough to get a few photos.
Caspian Tern, Larnaca Sewage Works 14th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Caspian Tern, Larnaca Sewage Works 14th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Caspian Tern, Larnaca Sewage Works 14th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Caspian Tern, Larnaca Sewage Works 14th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Caspian Tern, Larnaca Sewage Works 14th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Droushia
European Golden Oriole 1m seen and heard
European Bee-eater 2
Eurasian Blackcap 1m subsong
Arodes
Black-headed Bunting 2m
Bonelli’s Eagle 2 ad
Cyprus Warbler 1m
Peregrine Falcon 1
European Roller 4
Great Spotted Cuckoo 1
Little Owl 1
Red-backed Shrike 1m
Woodchat Shrike 1
Ineia
European Roller 1
Droushia to Pittokopos Road
Black-headed Bunting 1m
Pittokopos to Androlikou Road
Black-headed Bunting 1m
European Roller 2
Androlikou
European Roller 4
Common Hoopoe 1
Red-backed Shrike 1m
Woodchat Shrike 1
Latchi
Squacco Heron 1 on breakwater
Neo Horio/Smygies
European Roller 2
Black-headed Bunting 1m
Red-backed Shrike 1f
Cretzschmar’s Bunting 2 bathing in stream
Thrush Nightingale feeding near stream
Common Redstart 1f bathing in stream
European Bee-eater 50+ see photo
Couldn’t find the Desert Finch again at Cape Greco this afternoon but did find a few late migrants – several Spotted Flycatcher, three Woodchat Shrike, a Northern Wheatear and a few European Bee-eater. There were many Spectacled Warbler families as well as two singing male Black-headed Bunting on territory and at least one pair of Cyprus Wheatear.
A great day’s birding around Akrotiri with some good birds at Zakaki, Lady’s Mile, the Salt Lake and Phasouri.
Sightings included:
Zakaki Marsh 8.45am
Little Bittern 1f seen at least one other heard
Black-crowned Night Heron 1 juv and 1 ad
Water Rail 1 seen
European Bee-eater 40+ heading N at 17.30
Lady’s Mile
Curlew Sandpiper 12
Little Ringed Plover 2
Litttle Tern 4
Common Greenshank 1
Common Cuckoo 1
Ruff 90+
Little Stint 30+
Red-footed Falcon 1m (in morning)
Bar-tailed Godwit 1 (in afternoon)
Black-winged Stilt 2
Great White Egret 2 over
Akrotiri Salt Lake and Zakaki run off
Ruff c300+
Kentish Plover c25
Little Stint 50+
Common Ringed Plover 4
Black-winged Stilt 30+
Little Tern 3
White-winged Tern 17
Broad-billed Sandpiper 5
Greater Flamingo 200+
Red-throated Pipit h
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Bar-tailed Godwit 1 flying over am
Akrotiri Gravel Pits
Spotted Flycatcher 1
European Turtle Dove 1h
Eurasian Pied Flycatcher 1m and 1f
Common Whitethroat 1
Common Redstart 1m
Wood Sandpiper 1
A male and a female were found by visiting UK birder Nick Antcliff and luckily I was in the area at the same time and quickly relocated them. Sun all wrong and its ‘a bird on a wire’ but you can still see what it is
Probably same as found on 18th April by Norweigian birder Eric Roualet. Another reported Apostolos Andreas early in the month was the first record for Cyprus.
Cyprus Birding Tours 