Still some winter visitors around – Eurasian Siskins, Hawfinches and Bramblings but migrant breeders are now in evidence – I found two male and one female Masked Shrike as well as a Common Hoopoe (see photo).
Common Hoopoe. Livadi tou Pashia 22nd March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Great feeling as I rounded the corner at Akrotiri today and this Cream-coloured Courser appeared in front of me. I guess its probably the same bird (that I was unable to get to see) that was at Mandria yesterday as it was last seen heading east from there late in the afternoon. This rare passage migrant to Cyprus was spooked by a Pallid Harrier at Akrotiri and flew off and was not relocated.
Cream-coloured Courser, Akrotiri Gravel Pits 24th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Cream-coloured Courser, Akrotiri Gravel Pits 24th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Cream-coloured Courser, Akrotiri Gravel Pits 24th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Visited the Headland, Timi Beach, Agia Varvara and Anarita Park. Disappointed to miss the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater at the Headland which seemed to have moved on (30 minutes before I arrived to be precise!) but I still had a good day with some good birds including Short-eared Owl, Desert Wheatear, a Eurasian Wryneck, three Pallas’s Gulls and surprisingly a Green Sandpiper at Anarita Park.
Green Sandpiper, Anarita Park 21st March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Some record shots of the Red-tailed Shrike that I was very surprised to find on the Kiti to Petounta road yesterday morning 19th March 2018. A very scarce passage migrant to Cyprus.
Red-tailed Shrike, Kiti, 19th March 2018 (Cyprus Birding Tours)
Red-tailed Shrike, Kiti, 19th March 2018 (Cyprus Birding Tours
Red-tailed Shrike, Kiti, 19th March 2018 (Cyprus Birding Tours
Red-tailed Shrike, Kiti, 19th March 2018 (Cyprus Birding Tours
This afternoon I went to Mandria to catch up with the male Caspian Plover found there yesterday by Victor Tjernberg (aka The Blonde Birder.) Unfortunately the sun wouldn’t shine to help the light but the bird didn’t seem to mind having its photo taken at all!
Black-necked Grebe, Larnaca Sewage Works 15th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Morning around Larnaca doing the monthly waterbird count. Most wintering ducks have gone as have most of the Greater Flamingos. Highlights were a Greater Sandplover at Spiros Pool, a flock of more than 600 Slender-billed Gulls on the Salt Lake and my first Wood Sandpiper of the year.
Main sightings:
Meneou Pool
Kentish Plover 6
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Eurasian Thick-knee 2
Greater Flamingo 178
Black Francolin 1h
Laughing Dove 1 (first time seen here)
Larnaca Sewage Works
Spur-winged Lapwing 6
Black-necked Grebe 13 (see photograph)
Northern Shoveler 247
Common Pochard 3f
Eurasian Wigeon 1m and 1f
Green Sandpiper 2
Common Teal 44
Common Hoopoe 1
Spiros Beach
Greater Sandplover 1 (later seen on Spiros Pool)
Kentish Plover 2
Spiros Pool
Little Stint 14
Kentish Plover 1
Larnaca Airport Pools North
Greater Flamingo 100
Larnaca Salt Lake
Greater Flamingo 17
Common Shelduck 2
Slender-billed Gull 657
Ruff 145
Dunlin 16
Kentish Plover 14
Little Stint 56
Common Ringed Plover 28
Eurasian Reed Warbler 5+h
Reed Bunting 1h
Common Snipe 6+
Water Pipit 4
Common Redshank 1h
Spur-winged Lapwing 9
Little Egret 1
Bluethroat 1
Wood Sandpiper 1
Little Ringed Plover 1
Yellow Wagtail 1 first winter/spring
Spent the last two days in the Limassol area. The highlight was a Masked Shrike already on breeding territory at Prastio Kellakiou and two Bimaculated Lark in with a flock of Greater Short-toed Lark and Meadow Pipit on the coastline of Akrotiri Gravel Pits. Other interesting sightings during the two days:
Saturday 10th March
Zakaki Marsh
Water Rail 1h
Little Crake 1m
Penduline Tit 2
Lady’s Mile
Slender-billed Gull 2 ad and 1 imm
Heuglin’s Gull 1
Armenian Gull c30
Caspian Gull 2 imm
Isabelline Wheatear 1
Common Hoopoe 3 (See photo)
Lesser Whitethroat 1
Cyprus Wheatear 1
Akrotiri Salt Lake/Zakaki run off
Little Ringed Plover 20+
Common Ringed Plover 20+
Kentish Plover c100
Little Stint c30
Northern Shoveler c50
Greater Flamingo 800+
Dunlin 5
Western Marsh Harrier 1 ad male
Common Snipe 12
Black-headed Wagtail 1m
Akrotiri Gravel Pits
Kentish Plover 2
Isabelline Wheatear 1
Northern Wheatear 1m
Ruppell’s Warbler 1m
Greater Short-toed Lark 4
Phasouri Reed-beds
Subalpine Warbler 1f
Eurasian Reed Warbler 4+h
Red-throated Pipit 1h
Kensington Cliffs
Alpine Swift 14
Cyprus Warbler 2h
Sunday 11th March
Germasogeia Dam
Cyprus Warbler 3 singing males and 1f
Eurasian Reed Warbler 1h
Prastio Kellakiou
Masked Shrike 1m
Cyprus Warbler 4 singing males
Common Buzzard 1
Parekklishia
Great Spotted Cuckoo 1 flew over road
Akrotiri Gravel Pits coast
Bimaculated Lark 2 (Record shot below)
Greater Short-toed Lark 20+
Isabelline Wheatear 2
Black-eared Wheatear 1f
Common Hoopoe, Lady’s Mile 10th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Bimaculated Lark, Akrotiri Gravel Pits 11th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A few hours around Larnaca produced the following more interesting sightings. Migration still to get into full swing.
Meneou Pool
Greater Flamingo 39
Common Ringed Plover 1
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Greater Flamingo 180
Spiros Beach
Greater Sandplover 2 (see photo)
Caspian Gull 1
Isabelline Wheatear 1
Larnaca Sewage Works
Spur-winged Lapwing 4
Common Teal 50+ in one flock, very restless
Northern Shoveler c50 headed out to sea
Black-necked Grebe 12+ (Nine in breeding plumage)
Eurasian Wigeon 3f
Little Gull 1 imm
Common Buzzard 1
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Pervolia fields
Calandra Lark 3+
Petounta Point
Isabelline Wheatear 2
Great Cormorant 2 heading E
Eurasian Reed Warbler 1h
Agios Theodoros Coast – sea watch 15:10 – 16:30
Little Egret 3 on rocks
Great Crested Grebe 4 offshore
Northern Shoveler c50 heading W to E
Duck spp – probably Pintail c35 W to E
Great Cormorant c180 W to E 15:10
Greater Sandplover, Spiros Beach, 5th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Decided to make what will probably be last visit to Troodos for a while before migration gets underway and the coastal sites become the best birding spots. Spent a leisurely day at Livadi tou Pashia picnic site where I found at least three Brambling, two Hawfinch, many Eurasian Siskin (photo) – several feeding on pine cones – , many Coal Tit chasing and calling, lots of Common Chaffinch, a fly over Red Crossbill, and singing Northern Wrens. Also seen were Eurasian Blackbird and European Greenfinch (photo).
Eurasian Siskin, Troodos 1st March 2018 (Cyprus Birding Tours)
European Greenfinch, Troodos 1st March 2018 (Cyprus Birding Tours)
Went out hoping for some early migrants today. No luck with that although had some good birds including at least six singing male Cyprus Warbler at Cape Greco. Two photographed below.
Cyprus Warbler, Cape Greco 27th February 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Cyprus Warbler, Cape Greco 27th February 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Other sightings of note included:
Agia Trias
Greater Sandplover 3
Grey Plover 10
Kentish Plover 2
Konnos Bay
Eurasian Shag 1
Cape Greco
Cyprus Warbler 6 singing males
Macronissos Beach
Common Sandpiper 1
Potamos Liopetriou
Great Cormorant c70 migrating NE 13:40
Ormideia Fishing Harbour
Audouin’s Gull 1
Common Buzzard 1
Eurasian Shag 2
Oroklini Beach
Great Cormorant 90+ migrating W 15:15
Sandwich Tern 1
Armenian Gull 2 imm
JUMBO Drainage Channel
Spur-winged Lapwing 8
Common Sandpiper 1
Oroklini Marsh
Greater Flamingo 50+
Northern Pintail 1m and 1f
Gadwall 1m and 1f
Black-necked Grebe 1
Ferruginous Duck 7
Red-Crested Pochard 1m and 1f
Black-tailed Godwit 1
Ruff 4
Black-winged Stilt 8
Spur-winged Lapwing 5
Common Redshank 2
Little Egret 2
Cattle Egret c250
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Numbers of ducks decreasing but still good numbers of Northern Shoveler and Common Teal as well as 24+ Black-necked Grebe, a pair of Gadwall, some Eurasian Wigeon and Common Pochard. More than 1000 Greater Flamingo in the area, although no sign today of a melanistic one seen yesterday, as well as nearly 1000 Common Shelduck on the main Salt Lake. A couple of hundred Slender-billed Gull were on the Salt Lake as well as some Caspian and Armenian Gull and plenty of Black-headed. But the best was an adult Pallas’s Gull in full breeding plumage in the north-east corner together with a Baltic Gull, two Heuglin’s Gull and a Mediterranean Gull. Waders included at least 16 Common Snipe, five Ruff, a few Eurasian Stone Curlew and hundreds of Dunlin and Little Stint.
The only spring migrants I saw were some Barn Swallows, an Isabelline Wheatear (see photo) and a Common Hoopoe. I then went along the coast towards Agios Theodoros where the Great Grey Shrike (probable aucheri intergrade) was still present and I managed to get a view of one of two Short-toed Snake Eagle that have also been in that area for a few days.
Spent most of the day birding around Limassol. Found a couple of singing Moustached Warblers at Zakaki Marsh where I also heard Eurasian Penduline Tit, Water Rail and Reed Bunting. There were two Reed Bunting at Phasouri Reed-beds and two Western Marsh Harrier, a ring-tail Hen Harrier and a Common Buzzard. Plenty of gulls on Lady’s Mile including Armenian, Caspian, Yellow-legged and Black-headed as well as a single adult Heuglin’s Gull, an adult and an immature Mediterranean Gull, an immature Slender-billed Gull and a Common Gull.
Also went to Germasogeia Dam where several Cyprus Warbler were singing and there was a very large flock of European Serin. Two Common Snipe flew up from the stream
No sign of any spring migrants anywhere that I visited.
Armenian Gull, Lady’s Mile 10th February 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Mediterranean Gull, Lady’s Mile 10th February 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Cyprus Birding Tours 