Raptor watching at Cape Greco this morning to kick off the autumn migration survey there. For a location that can be very good but also very quiet, it was a reasonable first day with two juvenile Pallid Harrier, five Western Marsh Harrier, three Honey Buzzard and a Black Kite all by 10.00 am. Then the only other bird of prey was a Eurasian Hobby who heading south in the company of the many hirundines that were migrating over the area. There were more than 400 Barn Swallow, 180+ Sand Martin, nine Common House Martin and five Red-rumped Swallow moving S over my observation point.
Also in the area to keep me interested once the raptor movement slowed were six Cretzschmar’s and then one Ortolan Bunting, three juvenile Eastern Orphean Warbler, twelve Eurasian Turtle Dove, two Pallid Swift, an Isabelline Wheatear, at least one Tawny Pipit, two Spotted Flycatcher, Common and Lesser Whitethroat, two Eurasian Hoopoe, a male Blue Rock Thrush and the inevitable Masked, Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrike.
Two mornings around the Paphos area with early starts to avoid the lingering summer heat enabled Andy to see some target species and catch up with several early migrants.
Had my first Pallid Harrier of the autumn today with a juvenile quartering the fields near Larnaca Desalination Plant. A Common Kingfisher was on the coast there and several Yellow Wagtail were in the fields. It was strange to see around twenty Ruff on the bone dry Spiros Pool.
On the Sewage Pools there were seven Garganey, around four Northern Shoveler and at least one Eurasian Teal – migrants mixed in with the resident Mallards. Around the edge were also some migrant waders – a Black-tailed Godwit, a Sanderling, two Common Ringed Plover, a Common Redshank, around twenty Little Stint, five Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper. Two moulting adult White-winged Tern were flying over the water together with a juvenile. There are still good numbers of Black-winged Stilt and Spur-winged Lapwing there.
Near Tekke Mosque there were two Lesser Grey Shrike and two male, three female and a juvenile Red-backed Shrike.
An unusual finding today was a Ruddy Shelduck on Zakaki Marsh – although the height of the reeds there now made it hard to see. Apparently it has been present for a few days now and is probably the first summer record for this species in Cyprus. It’s usually seen between November to April as a winter visitor, although three were reported in September in 1995.
Also had a juvenile Citrine Wagtail at Phassouri Reed Beds where there was a Lesser Grey Shrike and a Eurasian Hoopoe as well as several juvenile Yellow Wagtail and plenty of fledged Eurasian Reed Warblers. On Lady’s Mile there were around 150 Kentish Plover, several Little Stint, a Dunlin and one, maybe two, Sanderling. A juvenile Glossy Ibis was also there with several Black-winged Stilt.
As well as the Ruddy Shelduck at Zakaki I heard a Common Kingfisher and saw a Garganey.
Well I knew it had been hot in Cyprus while I had been away but I had hoped that at 7am it would be bearable. It wasn’t really but there were a few interesting species around. At least 18 Pallid Swift were over Agia Napa Sewage Works where almost every bush seemed to have several Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in it. I also saw eight Eastern Orphean Warbler but I am sure there were more unseen. A lone Cyprus Wheatear was also there as were several Spectacled Warbler.
A male Lesser Grey Shrike was at the Agia Napa Football Fields together with a Woodchat Shrike. Nearly 50 Cattle Egret were feeding on the watered pitches together with a couple of Black Francolin.
At Oroklini Marsh there were at least 22 Spur-winged Lapwing – several of them juvenile – and 25 Black-winged Stilt (again with several juvenile). At least twenty Little Stint were feeding in what is left of the water with some Little Ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff and a single Marsh Sandpiper.
Cattle Egret, Agia Napa Football Fields 8th August 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
The weather had an autumn feel this morning when I picked up Howard for a day around Paphos and Akrotiri. The wind, that at least lowered the temperature, also seemed to affect the birds that we saw with very little raptor movement noted.
We had one Honey Buzzard circling up over Paphos Sewage Works and a Western Marsh Harrier putting the many Yellow Wagtail to flight. Red-backed, Lesser Grey and a very pale juvenile Masked Shrike were found as were a couple of Spotted Flycatcher, several Whinchat, lots of Willow Warbler and a few Zitting Cisticola. We also had great views of two male Black Francolin. One was creeping along the side of one of the fields and the other emerged from the track side vegetation. At the Ezousas Soakaways we found at least four Turtle Dove and a flock of migrating European Bee-eater together with a juvenile European Roller. At least one Eurasian Reed Warbler was spotted and a Water Rail was heard.
Another Honey Buzzard greeted us as we arrived at Mandria where again there were plenty of Yellow Wagtail in the fields. We also found a couple of Northern Wheatear and at least one European Stone Curlew was in one of the ploughed fields. A couple of European Shag were offshore and two Yellow-legged Gull floated past. As we approached nearby Asprokremmos Dam we saw a Long-legged Buzzard fly over which landed on the slope opposite us enabling us to examine it through the ‘scope. More European Bee-eater were around as were many Sardinian Warbler, at least six Chukar and at least three Spotted Flycatcher.
We then headed for Phassouri Reed Beds where we ate our lunch as we checked for migrating raptors. No Honey Buzzards during our watch but we did see a European Sparrowhawk and a couple of Western Marsh Harrier. Howard managed to get some photographs of the European Bee-eaters in the trees but the strong winds were hindering both us and the birds. We went to Zakaki Marsh and from the new hide saw the immature Great White Pelican that has been there for several weeks now. A White Stork was also present with the Little Egret and Grey Heron on the opposite shore. We were treated to a flying display by at least five Whiskered Tern and also watched a Spotted Redshank and Common Kingfisher. Another Western Marsh Harrier was quartering the area and put most of the birds to flight.
Our final point of call was Lady’s Mile. An Eleonora’s Falcon flew westwards over the sand dunes and then we spotted a female Red-footed Falcon heading straight out to sea. Checking the waders we found a Sanderling in with the many Kentish Plover and Little Stint. A couple of Dunlin were also present. We had a good variety of species seen on a day made difficult by the strong winds. Nevertheless an enjoyable day out.
Total 53 species seen:
European Shag, Great White Pelican, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Grey Heron, White Stork, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, European Honey Buzzard, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Eleonora’s Falcon, Chukar, Black Francolin, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Kentish Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Sanderling, Little Stint, Dunlin, Spotted Redshank, Yellow-legged Gull, Whiskered Tern, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Turtle Dove, Common Kingfisher, European Bee-eater, European Roller, Barn Swallow, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Masked Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, European Goldfinch
Great White Pelican, Zakaki Marsh, September 25th 2014 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Arriving at Paphos Sewage Works with Rick, who was holidaying in Paphos, we found a flock of nearly thirty European Turtle Dove feeding on the ground and flying into the conifers. We moved on to the plant buildings where several Spur-winged Lapwing could be seen. The area was full of European Bee-eater and Barn Swallow as well as plenty of resident Common Woodpigeon and Hooded Crow – they were seen at all the locations we visited. A Lesser Grey Shrike was on the overhead wires and a couple of juvenile Red-backed Shrike were also seen. A single Cattle Egret was in the alfalfa fields and as we were watching feeding Yellow Wagtail, the first wave of migrating European Honey Buzzard appeared in a ‘kettle’ thermalling up to our east. Once they had gone the next group were more obliging moving southwards over our heads allowing us good views of their varied plumages and enabling us to sort juveniles from adults. At least thirty birds passed over and a minimum of another twenty passed over as we moved on to the nearby Ezousas river bed.
There was still some water in the Soakaways but not as many birds as earlier in the month. We did however see Grey Heron, a Squacco Heron, a couple of Eurasian Hoopoe, many Willow Warbler, some Whinchat, yet more European Bee-eater and two European Roller. Four Red-rumped Swallow flew down in front of us feeding over the water and a Common Kingfisher flew out of the reeds. Two Western Marsh Harrier migrated over and the nearby fields held more Yellow Wagtail. Among the many females and juvenile we found a male Grey-headed (thunbergii) and a couple of male Blue-headed (flava).
At Mandria a single Honey Buzzard flew low over us as we drank our coffee. Seven Eurasian Stone Curlew were in the fields and checking through the Yellow Wagtail flocks in the Mandria fields we found nine Greater Short-toed Lark and a single Tawny Pipit. A Northern Wheatear was in the fields and as elsewhere many European Bee-eater and Barn Swallow were moving over the area. The roadside vegetation held several Willow Warbler.
We only had the briefest glimpse of a Cyprus Warbler behind Asprokremmos Dam but we were luckier with both Spectacled and Sardinian Warbler. We found more Northern Wheatear, several Spotted Flycatcher, another Lesser Grey Shrike and a couple of Red-backed Shrike. We decided to make a short early afternoon visit to Phassouri Reed Beds in the hope of catching some other raptor species.
On first arrival there at about 14.30pm it looked that all we would be seeing were yet more European Bee-eater, Whinchat and hirundines – a few Sand Martin, House Martin and Red-rumped Swallow in with the many Barn Swallow. But after a fifteen minute wait the first group of Honey Buzzard appeared over the eucalyptus trees to the east of the area and during the next hour and a half we had five plus Western Marsh Harrier, one, maybe two, Black Kite, a juvenile Montagu’s Harrier and juvenile Pallid Harrier and more than fifty Honey Buzzard passing over us. We explored the area near to the reeds finding a couple of Black-headed Wagtail (feldegg) and two Common Kingfisher, a few Turtle Dove, three Common Snipe and a European Roller. Returning to check for migrating raptors before finishing our day we were pleased to see an ELeonora’s Falcon heading southwards and then two female Red-footed Falcon and second calendar year male. A good day’s birding, with each location we visited giving us something different to enjoy.
Total species seen – 53
Little Grebe (h), European Shag, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Glossy Ibis, European Honey Buzzard, Black Kite, Western Marsh Harrier, Pallid Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier, Common Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Eleonora’s Falcon, Black Francolin, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Snipe, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Turtle Dove, Common Kingfisher, European Bee-eater, European Roller, Eurasian Hoopoe, Greater Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Common House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch.
A day out around Paphos, and David and I started at Petra tou Romiou where at least three Eleonora’s Falcon flying around the area got the day off to a good start. Several Willow Warbler were flitting in a eucalyptus tree as was an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. A Lesser Grey Shrike was on a distant bush – the first of many seen throughout the day.
Three of them were on the wires as we turned into the track to Kouklia Soakaways and we also saw several female Red-backed Shrike, a couple of Zitting Cisticola and heard several Cetti’s and Eurasian Reed Warbler. We heard European Bee-eater, and while we watched twelve of them flying above us we caught sight of seven Honey Buzzards thermalling up to the north of the area. Soon they were out of sight so we headed to Asprokremmos Dam. Yet more Lesser Grey and Red-backed Shrike (this time a couple of males as well) and two Masked Shrike were there. We also had two Eurasian Hoopoe, two Tawny Pipit, a Spectacled Warbler, around fifty Yellow Wagtail on a mown field, some Whinchat, Spotted Flycatcher, two Northern Wheatear and many Willow Warbler. Around the edge of the lake itself there was a single Grey Heron and Squacco Heron and four Little Egret.
A drive round Mandria added a juvenile Montagu’s Harrier, three European Roller, three Isabelline Wheatear and fifteen Greater Short-toed Lark to our growing list of species. The Short-toed Lark sat still in a field as we passed by and we were able to get really good views of them. We ate our lunch there watching a migrating flock of Grey Heron pass by as well as a couple of European Shag and Yellow-legged Gull on the offshore rocks.
In the fields of alfalfa at Paphos Sewage Work there must have been at least 200 Yellow Wagtail – many female and juvenile but we did see several male feldegg and flava among them. A female Western Marsh Harrier headed out to sea. Two Cattle Egret were enjoying the water from the irrigation system and the area was also full of shrikes, Whinchat and Willow Warbler. Two Glossy Ibis could be seen over the Ezousas river so we headed there next and checked the Soakaways. A Garganey flew up, we heard a Water Rail, and we also had good views of two Common Kingfisher, several Sedge Warbler and a Eurasian Reed Warbler.
Anarita Park was our last stop where we watched around ten Red-rumped Swallow flying around and found an autumn plumaged Cyprus Wheatear. Pleased to have found one of the Cyprus endemics, as the Cyprus Warbler had eluded us, we finished our day. An interesting variety of species.
Day’s total – 55 species
European Shag, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Glossy Ibis, Garganey, European Honey Buzzard, Western Marsh Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier, Common Kestrel, Eleonora’s Falcon, Chukar (h), Water Rail (h), Common Moorhen, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Turtle Dove, Common Kingfisher, European Bee-eater, European Roller, Eurasian Hoopoe, Greater Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Common House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Masked Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch
Went to Akrotiri for the morning hoping for some raptors – two Marsh Harrier, one juvenile Montagu’s Harrier, another ring-tailed too far away to ID and two Honey Buzzard was not the total I was hoping for – very disappointing.
There were good numbers of Turtle Dove around with some European Bee-eater passing over and several Lesser Grey Shrike and Whinchat. Both Bishop’s Pool and Zakaki Marsh had some interesting waders including Temminck’s and Little Stint, Common Greenshank, Dunlin, Spotted Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Ringed Plover and Collared Pratincole. At Zakaki there was a White-winged Tern and a Whiskered Tern was in the Gravel Pits area. Still several Little Egret, Glossy Ibis, Black-winged Stilt and Spur-winged Lapwing at Zakaki, where there were also two Common Kingfisher and a couple of Ferruginous Duck. A Great Reed Warbler and Hoopoe were at Phassouri Reed Beds.
Went to Agia Napa Sewage Works and Football Fields and then Oroklini and the Larnaca coast this morning. Really pleased to catch up with the male and female Cinereous Bunting that had been reported at the Agia Napa Sewage Works on Saturday. They don’t usually hang around but these birds are an exception to that. There were also several Ortolan and Cretzshmar’s in the area. I counted thirteen male Red-backed Shrike around there as well as nine females and one juvenile. There were many Willow Warbler and Lesser Whitehthroat and I also saw two Common Whitethroat, an Eastern Orphean Warbler and a couple of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. European Bee-eater were flying over and there were two Eurasian Hoopoe, seven Spotted Flycatcher and a juvenile Common Cuckoo. All Masked Shrike seen were adult and there I only saw one Lesser Grey Shrike.
At Agia Napa Football Fields though there were at least twenty one Lesser Grey Shrike and just a few female Red-backed Shrike. Six Pallid Swift were flying over and there were also a couple of Whinchat. The water has nearly all gone from Oroklini Marsh but as I approached I saw a Great White Pelican flying over the motorway and it landed in the water as I parked. There were also over forty Spur-winged Lapwing on the mud together with several Common Ringed Plover, a Little Ringed Plover and some Little Stint.
On the fields next to the Larnaca Desalination Plant there was a flock of at least three hundred Yellow Wagtail feeding together with a Whinchat and an Isabelline Wheatear.
Spotted Flycatcher Agia Napa Sewage Works 3rd September 2014 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A relief to find the day seemed cooler than last week as Paul and I set off for Asprokremmos Dam early this morning. A Common Kingfisher was the first bird of note sitting by the canal as we then headed to the area behind the dam. There we had good views of a male Cyprus Warbler (and heard another), several Spectacled and Sardinian Warbler, a Little Owl, around ten Chukar, a couple of Northern Wheatear and a Cyprus Wheatear. We were pleased to find the Cyprus Wheatear as they are moving off island now and getting harder to locate. As has been the case the last week island-wide, there were several Lesser Grey, Red-backed (mainly female) and Masked Shrike around. A Spotted Flycatcher was found in the pines of the utility area.
A single Glossy Ibis was a strange bird to find in one of the alfalfa fields near the Paphos Sewage Plant. With it were eight Spur-winged Lapwing – including a couple of juvenile. Three Cattle Egret were nearby and in total around 100 Yellow Wagtail were flying around and feeding in the fields. There were yet more shrikes and we had good views of a couple of Zitting Cisticola, Willow Warbler and three Whinchat. Sitting on hay bales near to the Ezousas Soakaways was a European Roller and yet more Lesser Grey Shrike on the wires and bales.
Finding the water filled Soakaways we disturbed a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron and a Garganey, and a Eurasian Hoopoe also flew up. Several Eurasian Reed Warbler were flitting around at the base of the reeds together with a Sedge Warbler and we heard a Water Rail. A Eurasian Turtle Dove was on the wires above the area. More Yellow Wagtail could be heard flying around.
We finished the morning driving over Minthis Hills where we had good views of an adult Bonelli’s Eagle and two European Hobby. A few Sardinian Warbler were flying around but we could not find much else there – well there were obviously some Lesser Grey Shrike!! A good variety of species in just a few hours and Paul was especially pleased to have had good views of both the Cyprus endemics.
Forty two species seen:
Black-crowned Night Heron, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Garganey, Bonelli’s Eagle, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Chukar, Water Rail (heard), Common Moorhen, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Turtle Dove, Little Owl, Common Kingfisher, European Roller, Eurasian Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Zitting Cisticola, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Masked Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, European Goldfinch
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