A few hours out with Rose who is over in Cyprus for several days. She had visited the Archaeological Site the day before so we headed to Paphos Sewage Works, Asprokremmos Dam and Anarita Park – Mandria, our other option, was out of bounds due to an army exercise.
There were a few migrants around – although not in large numbers. We found Red-rumped Swallow, Eurasian Hoopoe, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Isabelline and Northern Wheatear. At Anarita Park we found both Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Wheatear as well as a female Finsch’s Wheatear although disappointingly no sign of a male. Several Blue Rock Thrush were also in the area and we had good views of Long-legged and Common Buzzard. The Little Owl was on its usual rock and many Corn Buntings were singing. At the Sewage Works we watched at least eight Spur-winged Lapwing and three Cattle Egret. Plenty of winter visitors were still around including Woodlark and at Asprokremmos Dam we watched singing male Sardinian and Spectacled Warbler.
Total species: 43
Great Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Common Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Spur-winged Lapwing, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Little Owl, Eurasian Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Woodlark, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Meadow Pipit, White Wagtail, European Robin, Common Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Finsch’s Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Song Thrush, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Common Chaffinch, European Serin, European Goldfinch, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Corn Bunting
Little Owl, Anarita Park 9th March 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
It was quite windy at Cape Greco so there was little chance of finding any early sylvia warblers – the reason for my trip. But I was very pleased with what I did manage to see, especially as I finally found the Trumpeter Finches that had been avoiding me on all other recent visits there.
Apart from them, other birds around included two Tawny Pipit, 27 Isabelline Wheatear, four Northern Wheatear, a male Eastern ‘Siberian’ Stonechat, three singing male Cyprus Warbler, four Northern Wheatear, a male Desert Wheatear, two male Cretzschmar’s Bunting, a Eurasian Hoopoe, a male Blue Rock Thrush and a group of c40 Great Cormorant migrating E.
At Kermia Beach I found three Audouin’s Gull, two Yellow-legged Gull and a Caspian Gull.
Pleased to finally get the chance on Friday afternoon to see the first year White-crowned Wheatear that was found at Cape Greco on Tuesday. The eighth record of this species in Cyprus. Also at Cape Greco of note were four Isabelline Wheatear, two Tawny Pipit, a pale Long-legged Buzzard, four Blue Rock Thrush and a passing Audouin’s Gull. On leaving Cape Greco I checked the coast at Kermia Beach where I found two Greater Sand Plover, a Grey Plover, two Northern Lapwing and a migrating flock of 54 Great Cormorant. Moving onto Macronissos Beach there were thirteeen Greater Sand Plover, three Dunlin, around seventy Kentish Plover and a Little Egret.
Back from two weeks holiday in the UK and straight into the first day’s guiding of the season. Picking up Martin from his hotel in Larnaca, we decided to spend the day in the area catching up with as many Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus specialties likely to be found at this time of year. Our first stop was at the somewhat unattractive drainage channel near the JUMBO toyshop at Oroklini which provided a good start to the day with Temminck’s Stint, Spur-winged Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Water Pipit, Grey Wagtail and overflying Cattle Egret. Several Barn Swallow were flying around and we saw small numbers at all the locations we visited.
At Oroklini Marsh we were pleased to see two of the three female White-headed Duck that have been there since mid December, as well as a male and two female Red-crested Pochard, ten Black-winged Stilt, several Spur-winged Lapwing, a Black-tailed Godwit, several Northern Pintail and a tatty looking Western Marsh Harrier. There were just a few immature Greater Flamingo present, while numbers of Northern Shoveler and Eurasian Teal were reduced from earlier in the month. There were just a couple of hundred Greater Flamingo on the main Larnaca Salt Lake with hundreds of Common Shelduck, many Common Black-headed Gull and at least twenty Slender-billed Gull, several with a lovely pinkish tinge. We found many singing Corn Bunting, a lone Kentish Plover, a few Spanish Sparrow, a singing Spectacled Warbler and in the north east corner heard a Eurasian Penduline Tit but were unable to find it in among the reeds.
Moving towards the coast there were several large gulls on the Airport Pools and we spent some time identifying Caspian and Armenian adult and immature birds as well as a Heuglin’s Gull and several Yellow-legged Gull. There was a small group of Greater Flamingo and Martin spotted three Eurasian Stone Curlew hidden in the vegetation near the edge. On the Sewage Pools we found two Spur-winged Lapwing, a Northern Lapwing and a Ruff and in among the Northern Shoveler and Eurasian Teal there were smaller numbers of Eurasian Wigeon and Gadwall.
Along the Airport Coast we found a Eurasian Hoopoe feeding which quickly flew inland. A small flock of Eurasian Skylark were also feeding. We found more in the fields near Pervolia but more interestingly we found a flock of at least twenty Calandra Lark, calling and flying in a ploughed field. An Isabelline Wheatear was in the same field and we had clear views of a calling male Black Francolin while two Chukar flew away as we approached.
Heading inland we drove through the Panagia Stazousa Valley where we had excellent views of at least three male Cyprus Warbler and one female and heard at least four others. There was a flock of Spanish Sparrow, some finches and several Corn Bunting and we could hear Chukar. A Long-legged Buzzard flew briefly into view before disappearing again over the hills. As we sat and drank a cup of tea to finish the day we heard both Little Owl and Eurasian Scops Owl calling. We headed into Nicosia so I could drop Martin off at a local hotel there – with an unscheduled stop in Marks and Spencer’s car park to watch a migrating flock of around 60 Greater Cormorant flying over!
Total number of species seen: 75
Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Greater Flamingo, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard, White-headed Duck, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Black Francolin, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Northern Lapwing, Temminck’s Stint, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank, Common Black-headed Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Heuglin’s Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Caspian Gull, Armenian Gull, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Scops Owl h, Little Owl h, Eurasian Hoopoe, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Water Pipit, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, European Robin, Western Black Redstart, Common Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear, Song Thrush, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Eurasian Penduline Tit h, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Common Linnet, Corn Bunting
Greater Flamingo, Larnaca 25th February 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A couple of hours around the Sewage Works area with Ruddy Shelduck, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Caspian Gull, Baltic and Heuglin’s Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Ferruginous Duck, Black-necked Grebe, Gadwall, Common Shelduck, Sandwich Tern, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Eurasian Curlew and Barn Swallow.
Plus the sight of a Western Marsh Harrier trying hard to put the flock of Eurasian Coot to flight so it could catch one – it had no joy while I was watching it, gave up and flew away. But I had the feeling it would go back and keep trying until it was successful.
Western Marsh Harrier over Eurasian Coot Larnaca Sewage Works 7th February 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Eurasian Stone Curlew Larnaca Airport Pools South 7th February 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Underestimated how much snow was still around at Troodos and most of my usual sites were difficult to explore. There were large flocks of Common Chaffinches around and the Coal Tits were very vocal and chasing through the trees. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to check the finch flocks for anything more interesting.
Down at Zakaki I found: Common Buzzard 1, Common Reed Bunting 4, Water Rail 1h, Bluethroat 1, Eurasian Penduline Tit 2+h, Western Marsh Harrier 2, Hen Harrier 1 ring tail, Spur-winged Lapwing 2, Green Sandpiper 1
Finishing the day at Germasogeia Dam there were at least 12 Eurasian Crag Martin, five Common House Martin and five Barn Swallow plus an adult Bonelli’s Eagle flying over the area, two Bluethroat, two Water Pipit, a Grey Wagtail, two European Serin and flocks of Corn Bunting, Common Chaffinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Spanish Sparrow, and Meadow Pipit.
Bluethroat Germasogeia Dam 5th February 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Common Buzzard Lady’s Mile 5th February 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
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
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.
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:
Agia Trias (Paralimni)
Greater Sand Plover 2
Grey Plover 4
Cape Greco
Blue Rock Thrush 2m
Cyprus Warbler 3m singing plus others heard
Song Thrush 8
Audouin’s Gull 1
Spanish Sparrow c200
Kermia Beach
Greater Sand Plover 2
Grey Plover 1
Macronissos Beach
Common Sandpiper 1
Chukar 16 together in one field
Agia Thekla
Common Sandpiper 2
Great Cormorant 2
Potamos Liopetri
Common Kingfisher 1
Little Egret 1
Common Sandpiper 1
Audouin’s Gull 1
Dhekelia
European Shag 8
Oroklini Beach
Sandwich Tern 2
European Shag 3
Oroklini Marsh
White-headed Duck 3
Black-winged Stilt 4
Black-tailed Godwit 1
Common Pochard 1m
Northern Pintail 2
Blue Rock Thrush Cape Greco 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
Cyprus Birding Tours 