Spent the morning at Achna Dam where I was lucky to get some slightly closer photos of the Pied Kingfisher that has been around there for a couple of weeks now. Not as sharp or as close as I would have liked but never mind!! A good morning out overall with other sightings including an Osprey, Montagu’s Harrier, male Western Marsh Harrier, a Long-legged Buzzard, a Purple Heron, several Common Kingfisher, Wood, Green and Common Sandpipers, Common Snipe, Common Ringed Plover, European Bee-eater, Common Hoopoe, juvenile Masked and Red-backed Shrike, Spur-winged Lapwing, a few Western Yellow Wagtail and a lone White Wagtail.
Pied Kingfisher, Achna Dam 28th September 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Two flocks of 220 and 60 White Storks were the highlight of the waterbird count around Larnaca this morning. Numbers of Black-winged Stilts on Meneou Pool are slowly dropping as they start to leave (see photo of a juvenile there).
Black-winged Stilt, Meneou 18th August 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Interesting sightings included:
Meneou Pool
Black-winged Stilt 133
Common Ringed Plover 10 (incl six that flew out to sea)
Kentish Plover 3
Little Stint 111
Ruff 20
Grey Heron 6
Greater Flamingo 4 (1 juv)
Glossy Ibis 1
Common Sandpiper 10
Green Sandpiper 6
Little Ringed Plover 4
Western Yellow Wagtail 1h
Slender-billed Gull 2
Black-headed Gull 1
Temminck’s Stint 1
Curlew Sandpiper 2 (1 ad and 1 juv)
Little Egret 2
Larnaca Airport Pools South
White Stork 218 roosting at 08:15.
Spur-winged Lapwing 1
Larnaca Sewage Works
Spur-winged Lapwing 33
Mallard 236
Great Cormorant 1
Ruff 9
Common Coot 4
Grey Heron 4
Greater Flamingo 1 juv
Common Sandpiper 2
Common Shelduck 1
Larnaca Salt Lake
Greater Flamingo 3 juvs
Masked Shrike 2 juv
Red-backed Shrike 1 m
White Stork c60 gaining height and moving SE N of Tekke Mosque at 10:15
Very hot and humid but signs of migration included Greater Flamingo, Grey Heron, Ruff, Little Stint, Little Ringed Plover, Lesser Grey, Red-backed and Masked Shrike, Common Hoopoe, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Teal, Garganey, Isabelline and Northern Wheatear, Western Yellow Wagtail, a single White Stork, Common Kingfisher (photo) and unusually a moulting Mediterranean Gull (photo) on the beach.
Common Kingfisher, Larnaca, 24th August 2019 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Mediterranean Gull, Larnaca 25th August 2019 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Managed to avoid the storms that were around most of the day just inland from Akrotiri and had a relaxing birding day with highlights:
Lady’s Mile
Black-headed Gull c300 (flying between here and Zakaki Marsh)
Mediterranean Gull 1 1st winter
Slender-billed Gull 3
Armenian Gull 20+
Caspian Gull c2
Eurasian Skylark 1 over calling
Dunlin 4
Kentish Plover 6
Zakaki Marsh
Hen Harrier 1 ring tail
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1f flew over area four or five times putting gulls to flight
Eurasian Wigeon 1m
Reed Bunting 3
Eurasian Penduline TIt 2+ h
Moustached Warbler c5
Bluethroat 3 (one with white on head, one white spot and one red spot)
Water Rail 2
Spanish Sparrow 6
Common Kingfisher 2
Akrotiri Gravel Pits
Western Marsh Harrier 1f
Common Starling 1
Phasouri Reed-beds
Cattle Egret 2
Western Yellow Wagtail 3
Eurasian Penduline Tit 1+h
Common Kingfisher 1
Water Rail 1h
Kensington Cliffs
Griffon Vulture 10 flying over cliffs together 14:40 – 14:55
Kourio Stadium
Cyprus Warbler 2 (1 h only)
Long-legged Buzzard 1
Woodlark 2+
Eurasian Magpie 21 in one flock flying together
Bluethroat, Zakaki 23rd November 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Water Rail, Zakaki 23rd November 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
White Wagtail, Zakaki 23rd November 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
No sign today of the Black-winged Kite that was seen at Phasouri Reed-beds yesterday morning which was disappointing. Spent some time watching this female Common Kingfisher which cheered me up (See photo). Elsewhere around Akrotiri I found Spotted Crake, Water Rail, Little Bittern, Great Reed Warbler, Red-throated Pipit, Bluethroat, Common Crane, a Western Marsh and a Hen Harrier, two European Honey Buzzard, four Eleonora’s Falcon and a few Eurasian Sparrowhawk so I can’t really complain!
Common Kingfisher, Zakaki, 19th October 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
While doing the waterbird count at Larnaca Sewage Works this morning, I remarked to another birder there that this time last year a Terek Sandpiper had been found at the Sewage Works. An hour later at Oroklini Marsh the first bird I saw from the hide was this Terek Sandpiper! Not annual here this would be the 15th Cyprus record of the species since 2000 if accepted. Sorry for the awful photos but it was just too far for anything decent.
Sea watching at Polis Chrysochou this morning 6.30 – 8.30 am produced good numbers of migrating Glossy Ibis plus Purple, Grey and Squacco Heron, Cattle and Little Egret, Black-winged Stilt (see photo), Garganey, Gull-billed Tern, Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher and European Bee-eater.
Black-winged Stilt, Polis Chrysochou Bay 11th August 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A lovely drive around some eastern locations today in the February sun. Was pleased to find a total of 15 Greater Sandplover on three different beaches. Other highlights:
Akhna Dam
Common Starling 12
Sotira
Common Starling c300
Paralimni Lake
Greater Flamingo 9
Northern Lapwing 1
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Derynia
Common Starling 30+
Agia Trias
Greater Sandplover 4 (see photo)
Grey Plover 5 (see photo)
Common Sandpiper 1
Cape Greco
Long-legged Buzzard 1
Cyprus Warbler 1m singing and in display flight
Blue Rock Thrush 2m and 1f
Hen Harrier 1 ring tail
Visited Achna Dam and Oroklini Marsh this morning after yesterday’s rain. Birds around included Hen and Western Marsh Harrier, Great Egret, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Snipe, Common Kingfisher, my first Meadow Pipits of the winter and a Bluethroat. Photos of a female Northern Pintail and a Western Marsh Harrier from Achna.
Northern Pintail, Achna Dam 26th October 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Western Marsh Harrier, Larnaca 26th October 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Cyprus Birding Tours 