Blue Rock Thrush Cape Greco 1st February 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
No joy finding the Trumpeter Finches that had been found here on Saturday but did have a great walk and the pleasure of sitting eating sandwiches with a female Finsch’s Wheatear to my left and a male Blue Rock Thrush to my right – so not all bad!
Interesting birds around included: Blue Rock Thrush 2m and 1f, Finsch’s Wheatear 1m and 2f (both dark throated) and Cyprus Warbler 1f.
As I had to be in Paphos by 6pm I decided to do some birding on the way visiting Germasogeia Dam, Kouklia Soakaways, Asprokremmos Dam and Kefalos Beach (Paphos Headland). Highlights were:
Germasogeia Dam
Bluethroat 1
Moustached Warbler 2
Common Snipe 1
Water Pipit 1+
Woodlark 7
Cyprus Warbler 1
Kouklia Soakaways
Long-legged Buzzard 1
Common Buzzard 1
Asprokremmos Dam area
Cyprus Warbler 2m (1 singing)
Spectacled Warbler 2+
Kefalos Beach
Whimbrel 1
Slender-billed Gull 1 imm (photographed)
European Shag 2 offshore
Common Kingfisher 1
Red-throated Pipit 1h
Slender-billed Gull Kefalos Beach 30th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Finally got to Akrotiri today for the first time in 2016. Made the wrong decision in going to Phasouri Reed-beds first as it meant I missed the Pied Kingfisher which was at Lady’s Mile at that time…by the time I got to Lady’s Mile it was nowhere to be seen.
Several Western Marsh Harrier around at both Phasouri and Zakaki as well as a couple of Common Buzzard and a female Hen Harrier at Zakaki. Bird of the day was the Pied Avocet at Lady’s Mile where there were also many Common Black-headed Gull and at least thirty Armenian Gull. At Zakaki Marsh I heard at least one Penduline Tit and a Water Rail and there were also Green Sandpiper and Common Reed Bunting in the area.
Pied Avocet Lady’s Mile 29th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Armenian Gull Lady’s Mile 29th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Green Sandpiper Zakaki Marsh 29th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Common Redshank Lady’s Mile 29th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Five Barn Swallows, two House Martin and a Common Swift today at Athalassa Park reminded me that spring is on the way. On and around the water were two Great Egret, six Grey Heron, two Black-crowned Night Heron, two Cattle Egret, c40 Great Cormorant, a male Common Pochard, 18+ Ferruginous Duck, 3 Tufted Duck, three Grey Wagtail, a Common Snipe and lots of Little Grebe, Eurasian Coot, Common Moorhen, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal and Mallard.
Little Grebe Athalassa Park 27th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Eurasian Coot Athalassa Park 27th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Visited several of my favourite locations today around the east of the island. Several Greater Sand Plover on a couple of rocky coasts and the three White-headed Duck are still at Oroklini Marsh. More interesting sightings included:
Blue Rock Thrush Cape Greco 22nd January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Greater Sand Plover Agia Trias 22nd January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Grey Plover Agia Trias 22nd January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A brief but interesting birding drive around both these two locations this morning. At Agios Sozomenos I found eight Northern Lapwings in one field, although they were then spooked by a beautiful male Hen Harrier quartering the area. A Bluethroat was singing again in the deserted village and today the Finsch’s Wheatear total was two males and a dark-throated female. Just one Long-legged Buzzard flew over. Corn Buntings, Spectacled Warblers and Zitting Cisticola were all singing. A Little Owl was calling but I didn’t see one on this visit.
In the Panagia Stazousa valley there were at least four singing Cyprus Warbler and several others were heard moving in the bushes. Small flocks of European Serin and Corn Bunting were around. I saw three Long-legged Buzzard here. One high over the village of Pyrga and a pair near the southern end of the valley.
Bluethroat, Agios Sozomenos 21st January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Finsch’s Wheatear, Agios Sozomenos 21st January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Walked around the lake at Athalassa Park this morning. Birds of interest were:
Great Egret 5 (maybe 6)
Grey Heron 3
Black-crowned Night Heron 5 (4ad)
Cattle Egret 2
Great Cormorant 11
Ferruginous Duck 14+
Tufted Duck 3 (on smaller Sewage Pool)
Grey Wagtail 2+
Water Rail h
Chiffchaff 30+
Plus lots of Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Eurasian Coot, Common Moorhen, Little Grebe
Ferruginous Duck, Athalassa Park 19th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Four Ferruginous Duck, Athalassa Park 19th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Great Egret Athalassa Park 19th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Northern Shoveler Athalassa Park 19th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Greater Flamingo Larnaca Salt Lake 16th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Spent quite a long time today counting Greater Flamingos. 12,000 plus in the Larnaca area. Hundreds of Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal and Common Shelduck; twenty five Black-necked Grebe, three Gadwall, a Ferruginous Duck, eight Eurasian Wigeon and seven Greater White-fronted Geese at Larnaca Sewage Works. A small flock of less than thirty Eurasian Golden Plover at Spiros Pool with two Sandwich Tern offshore. Among the many Common Black-headed Gull it was good to find a Little Gull on Meneou Pool.
A lot of disturbance around the Salt Lake including some idiots walking in the water to get nearer to the Greater Flamingos there. Away from them in a quieter area there was a Temminck’s Stint, a few Little Ringed and Common Ringed Plover, seven Common Snipe and larger numbers of Kentish Plover, Dunlin, Little Stint and Common Redshank.
The White-headed Duck were still at Oroklini when I popped in there before heading home.
Too nice a day to sit at laptop so went out for a few hours around Agios Sozomenos. Best birds were a pair of Long-legged Buzzard flying together and being mobbed by the many Western Jackdaw of the area. One of the Long-legged had nesting material in its talons. A Bluethroat was a surprise spot, sitting on a bush singing briefly. Found a female and two male Finsch’s Wheatear. The female was at least a kilometre away from where I had seen one at the end of last year so there must be two of them in the area this winter. Spectacled Warbler and Corn Bunting were singing and I also found a female Cyprus Warbler and heard a Little Owl calling.
Finsch’s Wheatear, Agios Sozomenos 15th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Jack Snipe, Germasogeia Dam 9th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Was pleased to find that a couple of Jack Snipe were still at Germasogeia Dam today together with at least one Common Snipe, a Bluethroat, several Water Pipit and two Grey Wagtail. There were also flocks of European Goldfinch, European Serin, and Spanish Sparrow as well as several European Robin, lots of Common Stonechat and a European Blackbird. On the water there were some Great Cormorant, Eurasian Teal, Little Grebe, Eurasian Coot, Common Moorhen and a Grey Heron.
White Wagtail Germasogeia Dam January 9th 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Jack Snipe Germasogeia Dam 9th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
For the first time in many years I was unable to get out birding during the first days of the year so my 2016 Cyprus year list started a week into the new year. I went around several sites on the east of the island and finished at Oroklini. No sign of the White-headed Ducks this evening but watching around 1000 White Wagtails come into roost as it got dark made up for it.
Highlights of the day were:
Agia Trias
Audouin’s Gull 2
Sandwich Tern 1
Greater Sand Plover 3
Grey Plover 5
Kentish Plover 2
Common Sandpiper 1
Cape Greco
Blue Rock Thrush 1m
Cyprus Warbler 1h
Long-legged Buzzard 1
Macronissos Beach
Eurasian Skylark 120+
Potamos Liopetriou
Common Kingfisher 1
Oroklini Beach
Armenian Gull 5
Oroklini Marsh
White Wagtail c1000 coming into roost in reeds at sunset
Black-winged Stilt 5
Northern Lapwing 6+
Cattle Egret c120
Northern Pintail 10
Common Starling 11
Grey Plover, Agia Trias 8th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Greater Sand Plover, Agia Trias 8th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Common Stonechat, Cape Greco, 8th January 2016 (C) Cyprus Birding Tours
A quick ‘spur of the moment’ visit to the Cape Greco area this morning produced four Grey Plover and three Common Kingfisher at Agia Trias; two over flying Great Black-headed Gull at Cape Greco where there was also a Blue Rock Thrush, six Woodlark and a female Cyprus Warbler; and thirteen Eurasian Stone Curlew roosting on the beach at Kermia Beach.
Grey Plover roosting Agia Trias 18th December 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Little Egret, Agia Thekla, 18th December 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Cyprus Birding Tours 