My first count of the BirdLife Cyprus autumn raptor monitoring at Cape Greco is usually very quiet giving me a chance to renew my acquaintance with the local Common Kestrels. So although not very busy the steady stream of raptors around there this morning was a pleasant change. At least three Eleonora’s Falcon, a Perergine Falcon and a Eurasian Hobby flew over the Cava Viewpoint on several occasions and did not appear to be migrating. (Poor, hazy record shots below). A group of eight adult and two juvenile Greater Flamingo flew from west to east and then heading SE out to sea. A trickle of migrating Western Marsh Harrier were seen either circling up and gaining height or heading out S over the sea. At least 15 passed through as well as six European Honey Buzzard. A couple of other large raptors were too distant for a certain ID. Also migrating over were seven Red-rumped Swallows, a handful of Barn Swallows and some European Bee-eater.
On finishing I passed by the Agia Napa Football Fields which is a good location to visit at this time of year and as most years there were a good number of Lesser Grey Shrike (15+) and also a male Red-backed Shrike, a European Roller, two Isabelline Wheatear, two Spotted Flycatcher, seven Yellow Wagtail, a Whinchat, a European Roller and around thirty Cattle Egret.
It was good to see Brian again who I had first taken out in late 2013. We spent the day around Akrotiri and managed several lifers for him plus a Cyprus rarity – a shrike from the Southern Grey complex which on first thoughts would appear to be of the elegans race.
We started at the channel opposite the port where we found a Squacco Heron, two Little Egret, a Common Kingfisher, several Eurasian Reed and Cetti’s Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. We searched the area for one of the Laughing Doves that seem to be colonizing the port area but with no joy. Moving onto the hide at Zakaki Marsh, Brian immediately picked out a male Little Crake in the reeds near the hide. It dashed back into the dense reeds and refused to come back out. Two Ferruginous Duck were on the water and a couple of Sedge Warbler were in front of the hide. Eurasian Reed and Cetti’s Warbler were also here. On Lady’s Mile we found our only Greater Flamingo – a juvenile bird. There were several Kentish Plover on the mud flats there as well as a couple of Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Dunlin, a Curlew Sandpiper, six Common Redshank, an unexpected Greater Sand Plover and a single Greater Short-toed Lark . Near the football ground we found four Tawny Pipit and several Eastern Black-eared and Northern Wheatear.
Moving to the east side of the Salt Lake behind Lady’s Mile we found Isabelline and Cyprus Wheatear as well as several more Eastern Black-eared Wheatear. While Brian was taking photos of the wheatears I spotted a grey shrike nearby. Realising that it was a bit early for a migrating Lesser Grey Shrike I spent some time watching it through the scope and both of us got several photos as did local birder Tony who was also birding in the area. The bird was from the Southern Grey Shrike group and first indications are that it is of the elegans race, although subsequent checking of photos may change this!
We then headed over to Akrotiri Gravel Pits and ate our lunch near the church there. We were joined by several Lesser Whitethroat, a Common Whitethroat, a couple of male Eurasian Blackcap and some Chiffchaffs. A male Cyprus Warbler was seen in display flight and singing behind the garden there. Travelling across the Gravel Pits we saw more wheatears and added Whinchat, Eurasian Pied Flycatcher, Woodchat and Masked Shrike, Eurasian Hoopoe , Common Nightingale, Black-winged Stilt and oddly a single Corn Bunting resting in a tamarisk, to the day’s ever growing list. A ring-tailed harrier was too distant to identify but we did see Western Marsh Harrier and Common Buzzard at closer quarters.
We drove past the burnt Phasouri Reed-beds. We heard a calling Black Francolin but it would not come out in the open for us to get better views. Singing Common Chaffinch and European Serin were heard near the Cat Sanctuary. We moved over to Kensington Cliffs where Brian had hoped to see and photograph Alpine Swift. At first we thought he would be unlucky but then we were treated to an aerial display by five of them. On the distant cliff face I found a Eurasian Griffon Vulture but no others were seen flying. A flock of nearly fifty migrating Great Cormorant flew east over the bay. A lone Cyprus Wheatear was at the nearby Stadium.
We returned to the hide at Zakaki to see if the Little Crake would appear and we were not disappointed as this time a female was seen albeit briefly. A Great Reed Warbler was also seen as was a Green Sandpiper. As earlier we heard Water Rail but it didn’t come into view. Neither did either of the two calling Black Francolin. Three Eurasian Hoopoe flew over the area and the last new species for the day was Grey Heron as fly flew east in the distance.
A very enjoyable day’s birding with the good variety of species that Akrotiri can often provide.
Total species seen: 83
Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Greater Flamingo, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Ferruginous Duck, Eurasian Griffon Vulture, Western Marsh Harrier, ring-tailed Harrier, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Black Francolin h, Water Rail h, Little Crake, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Common Redshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Kingfisher, Common Swift, Alpine Swift, Eurasian Hoopoe, Greater Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Common House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, White Wagtail, Common Nightingale, Common Redstart, Whinchat, Common Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Song Thrush, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Pied Flycatcher, Great Tit, Southern Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Masked Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Common Chaffinch, European Serin, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Common Linnet, Corn Bunting.
Good numbers of Rueppell’s Warbler at Cape Greco this afternoon – mainly males but a few females as well as well as a few Eastern Subalpine Warbler and an Eastern Orphean Warbler. Birds seen included:
Eastern Orphean Warbler 1
Rueppell’s Warbler 10+m and 3f
Eastern Subalpine Warbler 3m and 1f
Isabelline Wheatear 14
Lesser Whitethroat 2
Eastern race of Stonechat – prob Siberian 1m
Blue Rock Thrush 2
Northern Wheatear 4m
Cyprus Warbler 1m setting up territory
Song Thrush 7
Red-rumped Swallow 1
Eurasian Hoopoe 1
Cyprus Wheatear 2m
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear 1m dark throated
Masked Shrike 1
Cretzschmar’s Bunting 2+
Had a great couple of hours this afternoon walking around the archaeological site at Paphos Headland where I found: Richard’s Pipit, Eastern Subalpine Warbler 1m, Ruppell’s Warbler 1m, Common Quail (h), Isabelline Wheatear, Little Egret (one flew over), Greater Short-toed Lark, Blue Rock Thrush, Eurasian Hoopoe and Western Black Redstart and Eurasian Blackcap 2m and 1f.
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
It was good to meet up with Carl and Riss again and enjoy some friendly birding around Paphos. We checked out several locations that were new to them so they could visit themselves later in their holiday and found some good species on the way. It was much quieter than it has been over the last two weeks and we especially noted a big reduction in the number of European Bee-eaters around.
The star turns of the day were a male Western Marsh Harrier we saw with prey (probably a female Black Francolin) in its talons even though it then disappeared into an alfalfa field and defied all our attempts to relocate it; an Osprey we watched fishing at Asprokremmos Dam; and a lone male Red-footed Falcon on wires near the small church at Mandria.
Long-legged Buzzard were seen at Agia Varvara, Mandria and Kouklia Soakaways. We found a Cyprus and Isabelline Wheatear at Agia Varvara and several Greater Short-toed Lark and Tawny Pipit in the fields of Mandria where there were also many Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat and Northern Wheatear. In the wetter areas at Agia Varvara there were three Common Snipe. There we also heard a Water Rail and managed to see rather than hear two Cetti’s Warbler.
A juvenile Eleonora’s Falcon was perched in a tree at Petra tou Romiou where two Hooded Crow and three other Eleonora’s joined it for a while – it got a bit crowded! Other good birds included at least two Whiskered Tern on Asprokremmos Dam, two European Roller at Mandria, four Spur-winged Lapwing at Paphos Sewage Works and a Grey Wagtail at Kouklia Soakaways.
Species seen:
European Shag, European Honey Buzzard, Western Marsh Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard, Osprey, Common Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Eleonora’s Falcon, Chukar, Water Rail (h), Common Moorhen, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Snipe, Whiskered Tern, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Turtle Dove, European Bee-eater, European Roller, Eurasian Hoopoe, Greater Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Tawny Pipit, Yellow Wagtail inc feldegg and flava races, Grey Wagtail, Whinchat, Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Common Linnet
Red-footed Falcon Mandria 25th September 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Three great days out with Robert and Ruth visiting Akrotiri, the sites around Larnaca and those around Cape Greco. Although migration was not as busy as we would have expected at this time of September we still had some great birds while missing out on some usual sitters such as Zitting Cisticola! We had over 100 European Honey Buzzards on at Akrotiri on 18th; displays by flying Eleonora’s Falcons at Akrotiri Gravel Pits, Larnaca Sewage Works and Kensington Cliffs; close views of Long-legged Buzzard at Panagia Stazousa; a probable Saker at Cape Greco (we are checking our photos); Temminck’s Stint and Marsh Sandpipers; six Eurasian Spoonbill at Larnaca Sewage Works; three Demoiselle Crane flying up over Lady’s Mile on 18th; Gull-billed and White-winged Terns; Greater Sand Plover near Kermia Beach 21st; more juvenile Red-backed Shrikes than we thought possible; several Cyprus Wheatear and a showy female Cyprus Warbler when the males let us down; and so many flocks of European Bee-eaters.
Highlights per location and date
Friday 18th September
Phassouri Reed Beds – European Honey Buzzard c130, Sand Martin 100+, Red-rumped Swallow 20+, Ortolan Bunting 1
A few hours out with Jeanette visiting a few of the well-known Paphos birding locations to give her the chance to get several of her target species. We had a total of 40 species with great views of some migrating European Honey Buzzards as a bonus. Not bad for less than four hours and without visiting wetlands!
Cyprus Birding Tours 