A quick visit to Agios Sozomenos, outside Nicosia, this morning mainly to see if any wintering Finsch’s Wheatear had arrived. No luck but I did find a late European Roller, two Red-backed Shrike, a Long-legged Buzzard, a Cyprus Wheatear, some Cattle Egret and Red-throated Pipit. There were also plenty of Common Stonechat setting up territories. The photo below is of one of the many juveniles present.
Common Stonechat, Agios Sozomenos 20th October 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A chance to see some migrating birds off the north west coast of the island and to join the BirdLife Cyprus annual boat trip from Latchi to Cape Arnaouti. Highlight of that for local birders was a Eurasian Oystercatcher seen flying E along the rocky shore – never common here it has been five years since I last saw one in Cyprus, although at least one has been seen on this coast so far this autumn. Also seen over the two days were Purple and Grey Heron, Baltic Gull, Little and Cattle Egret, Garganey, White-winged Tern, Common Redshank, Peregrine Falcon, Western Marsh Harrier, a ring-tailed Harrier – probably a juvenile Pallid, Yellow Wagtail, Little Ringed Plover, Eurasian Shag and migrating Common Black-headed Gull. Plus several flying fish!
Cattle Egret, Agia Napa Football Fields 12th August 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
The third day out with Ann and Peter didn’t develop as planned as we decided to twitch a Cyprus first. We started at Oroklini Marsh where we found Purple Heron, Cattle Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Ferruginous Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Flamingo, Spur-winged Lapwing and Black Francolin as well as the more common wintering ducks Eurasian Teal and Northern Shoveler and resident Mallard, Little Grebe, Common Moorhen and Eurasian Coot. We moved on to the drainage channel at the nearby JUMBO toyshop where our targets of Temminck’s Stint and male Citrine Wagtail were soon found. A Common and Green Sandpiper and a couple of Spur-winged Lapwing were also there.
The plan for the day had then been to head for Larnaca Salt Lake and other Larnaca birding sites but having been told that a Cyprus first – a Brown-necked Raven – had been found earlier in the morning at Cape Greco, Ann asked that we changed our plans and headed there. And we were certainly glad we did. On arrival we only just got out of the car when a male Pallid Harrier flew past us straight in off the sea. We turned around and into view then flew the Brown-necked Raven as if on cue. We watched it land on nearby rocks but were too excited to get our cameras to focus on it. We later rued the loss of a great photo opportunity. Several other birders including the raven’s finders, Keith and Raija Howard, then turned up and we spent some time discussing the bird and looking at Raija’s photos. A flock of migrating Northern Pintail flew E along the coast then turning and heading N over our heads. The first of many Northern and Isabelline Wheatear were around us.
After that the day couldn’t really go wrong and we found Ruppell’s Warbler, a female Pallid Harrier and male Western Marsh Harrier, Spectacled Warbler,Tawny Pipit, Greater Short-toed Lark, Cyprus Wheatear and Cyprus Warbler, Common Nightingale and Red-rumped Swallow. As the afternoon drew on we relocated the Brown-necked Raven near the restored rubbish dump and then finished the day with good views of a female Desert Wheatear. Probably we would have had a greater number of species if we had kept with our previous plan but getting a lifer made that irrelevant we decided!
Total species seen – 64
Little Grebe, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Greater Flamingo, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Ferruginous Duck, Western Marsh Harrier, Pallid Harrier, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Black Francolin, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Temminck’s Stint, Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Common Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Swift, Greater Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Common House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Citrine Wagtail, White Wagtail, Common Nightingale, Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Song Thrush, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Ruppell’s Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, Brown-necked Raven, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Corn Bunting.
Citrine Wagtail, Leivadia, 24th March 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
The three fem/juv White-headed Duck were still at Oroklini at dusk this evening. I also noticed a couple of Northern Pintail, over forty Northern Lapwing, at least fifty Spur-winged Lapwing, four Common Ringed Plover, an Armenian Gull as well as the usual Eurasian Teal, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Coot, Little Grebe, Common Moorhen and more than 200 Cattle Egret coming into roost. On the nearby beach gull numbers were lower than I would expect in December. Three Armenian Gull were in the water with around 150 Common Black-headed Gull.
Some of the birds seen in a few hours birding this morning were:
Agia Napa Sewage Works – Lesser Grey Shrike 2m, Red-backed Shrike 1f, Eastern Orphean Warbler 2, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler c10, Common Sandpiper 2, Cyprus Warbler 1f, Spectacled Warbler 4+, Spur-winged Lapwing 1
Cape Greco – Red-backed Shrike 2f, Eurasian Hoopoe 2, Cyprus Wheatear 1
Agia Napa Football Fields – Cattle Egret c60, Lesser Grey Shrike 1
Oroklini Marsh – Little Stint 20, Spotted Redshank 2, Marsh Sandpiper 1, Little Tern 2 juv, Ruff 5, Wood Sandpiper 4, Grey Heron 1, Yellow Wagtail 5 flew over, Black-winged Stilt c20, Spur-winged Lapwing c25
Red-backed Shrike female Agia Napa Sewage Works 13th August 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Eurasian Hoopoe Cape Greco 13th August 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Well I knew it had been hot in Cyprus while I had been away but I had hoped that at 7am it would be bearable. It wasn’t really but there were a few interesting species around. At least 18 Pallid Swift were over Agia Napa Sewage Works where almost every bush seemed to have several Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in it. I also saw eight Eastern Orphean Warbler but I am sure there were more unseen. A lone Cyprus Wheatear was also there as were several Spectacled Warbler.
A male Lesser Grey Shrike was at the Agia Napa Football Fields together with a Woodchat Shrike. Nearly 50 Cattle Egret were feeding on the watered pitches together with a couple of Black Francolin.
At Oroklini Marsh there were at least 22 Spur-winged Lapwing – several of them juvenile – and 25 Black-winged Stilt (again with several juvenile). At least twenty Little Stint were feeding in what is left of the water with some Little Ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff and a single Marsh Sandpiper.
Cattle Egret, Agia Napa Football Fields 8th August 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Was at Agia Napa Sewage Works early this morning and found a couple of male Black-headed Bunting and a female. Not much else around as the heat of summer starts to take hold. Heard several Spectacled Warbler and there were nearly twenty Little Grebe on the sewage pools. Leaving the area an Eleonora’s Falcon flew over the road being mobbed by a Common Kestrel.
Knowing that there was still water in Akhna Dam and there had been some good sightings there recently I decided to pay it a visit. The first bird I saw there was a Eurasian Spoonbill which made the detour worthwhile. There were four Squacco Heron, twelve Black-winged Stilt, a Common Sandpiper, a Common Greenshank, a Little Egret and two Grey Herons as well as nearly twenty Spur-winged Lapwing. There were several juvenile Spur-winged Lapwing. Cattle Egret flew in while I was there and the seven adults had five young birds with them. Eurasian Reed Warbler were heard in the reeds and a European Roller flew over the area, rolling while trying to catch an insect which was not giving in easily. After the dry winter and spring it was good to visit an area with water in it for a change, even if there was no sign of the Black Tern that had been there last month.
Eurasian Spoonbill Akhna Dam 24th June 2014 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Black-winged Stilt, Akhna Dam 24th June 2014 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Cattle Egret, Akhna Dam 24th June (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Common Greenshank Akhna Dam 24th June 2014 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
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