Out around Larnaca yesterday morning doing the waterbird count. Still more than 2000 Greater Flamingos plus several hundred Slender-billed Gull, 23 Little Gull, three Mediterranean Gull, more than 50 Black-winged Stilt, nine Pied Avocet, a male Tufted Duck, three Great Crested Grebe, some Little and Common Ringed Plover, Ruff, Kentish Plover, some Northern and Isabelline Wheatear, a couple of Common Hoopoe (see photo), lots of Common Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat and Western Yellow and White Wagtail and a Woodchat Shrike.
Common Hoopoe, Larnaca 16th March 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Spent most of the day doing the Waterbird Count around Larnaca today. Lots of Greater Flamingo and Northern Shoveler to count – and surprisingly also – it took time to count the Little Gull with just over 300 in the area feeding on several pools. Other interesting birds included three Pied Avocet, three Greater White-fronted Geese and 38 Black-necked Grebe.
Meneou Pool
Little Gull 71
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Little Gull 2
Northern Shoveler 276
Greater Flamingo 13
Common Shelduck 2
Caspian Gull c50
Armenian Gull 4
Heuglin’s Gull 1
Larnaca Sewage Works
Western Marsh Harrier 3
Great Cormorant 130
Northern Shoveler 88
Common Teal 429
Greater White-fronted Goose 3
Common Coot 29
Caspian Gull 8
Grey Heron 1
Spur-winged Lapwing 3
Common Redshank 5
Spiros Beach
Little Stint 63
Dunlin 58
Kentish Plover 175
Common Ringed Plover 4
Spiros Pool
Northern Shoveler 130
Eurasian Wigeon 2
Common Redshank 4
Larnaca Desalination Plant fields
Eurasian Golden Plover 5
Dunlin 20
Common Ringed Plover 3
Larnaca Airport Pools North
Pied Avocet 3
Little Gull 124
Larnaca Salt Lake
Little Gull 107
Cattle Egret 3
Greater Flamingo 9000+
Common Shelduck 153
Northern Shoveler 449
Black-necked Grebe 38
Dunlin 38
Little Stint 25
Common Snipe 14
Common Redshank 3
Spur-winged Lapwing 5
Common Ringed Plover 7
Bluethroat 2
Reed Bunting 1
Water Pipit 2
Kiti Dam (full but no waterbirds)
Woodlark 5
Little Gull, Larnaca Salt Lake 11th January 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Spent most of the day sea watching in the Polis Chrysochou Bay. The bird of the day was this Whimbrel (photo) which flew in off the sea and started feeding on the beach in front me. Also migrating were some Grey and Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis and Garganey. Other waders seen were a flock of eight Common Sandpiper, four distant Pied Avocet flying west over the sea and two Grey Plover which flew into the bay as I was leaving and couldn’t see where they had landed.
Whimbrel, Polis Chrysochou 13th August 2019 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Back after a few weeks away and spent the day on the east of the island. All wetlands now have a lot of water and from the weather forecasts more is to come. Visited Oroklini, Akhna Dam, Paralimni Lake and the coastal sites of Agios Trias, Kermia and Macronissos Beaches. Highlights were:
Oroklini Marsh
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Northern Lapwing c70+
Spur-winged Lapwing 5+ (see photo)
Black-winged Stilt 5
Northern Pintail 2m and 1f
Red-crested Pochard 1m and 1f
Ferruginous Duck 2
Northern Shoveler 80+
Greater Flamingo 73
Grey Heron 1
Common Teal 30+
Common Starling 1
Cattle Egret 140+ evening roost
Akhna Dam
Great Crested Grebe 1
Grey Heron 2
Great Cormorant 6
Woodlark 3 (1 singing from wire)
Eurasian Skylark h
Common Starling 5
Corn Bunting 1
Paralimni Lake – a lot of water
Grey Heron 17
Northern Lapwing 79
Ruff 5
Common Redshank 1
Greater Flamingo 112
Common Teal 5
Western Marsh Harrier 2
Common Starling 8
Pied Avocet 2
Laughing Dove 1+
Visited Larnaca today where there was evidence of very heavy overnight rain in the fields and around the salt lake.
Highlights:
Meneou Pool
Greater Flamingo 26
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Pied Avocet 3
Greater Flamingo 3
Armenian Gull 4+
Black-headed Gull 3+
other white-headed gulls – probably Caspian – but distant 11
Pervolia
Calandra Lark 2 in flight
Larnaca Sewage Works
Common Shelduck 8
Greater White-fronted Goose 6
Black-necked Grebe 14+
Eurasian Wigeon 2
Northern Pintail 4+
Common Redshank 1
Ferrruginous Duck 32
Armenian Gull 2 imm
Spiro Beach
Sandwich Tern 2 on buoys
Spiros Pool
Eurasian Golden Plover 26
Larnaca Salt Lake
Greater Flamingo 700+
Slender-billed Gull 1 imm
Kamares aquaduct
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Little Egret 1
Spur-winged Lapwing 5
Common Snipe 2 (see photo)
Water Pipit 3
Green Sandpiper 1
Common Redshank 2
Eurasian Penduline Tit 1h
Oroklini Marsh
Spur-winged Lapwing 34 (most in fields on other side of motorway)
Common Redshank 1
Cattle Egret 20
Peregrine Falcon 1
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Northern Shoveler c300
Black-winged Stilt 4
Water Pipit 1h
Common Snipe, Larnaca 5th December 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Red-breasted Merganser, Akrotiri 5th December 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Red-breasted Merganser, Akrotiri 5th December 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Great Crested Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Great Crested Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
I hadn’t been sure where to go birding today until I heard last night that local birder John East had found a female Red-breasted Merganser at Akrotiri Gravel Pits. The last record was in 2014 so not to be missed. The bird was keeping close company with a Great Crested Grebe and a Black-necked Grebe who had been on the pool for several days and I was pleased to get a few photos. Also around Akrotiri today:
Akrotiri Gravel Pits
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1
European Serin 7
Woodlark 8
Red-breasted Merganser 1f
Great Crested Grebe 1
Black-necked Grebe 1
Little Grebe 1
Western Marsh Harrier 1f and 1 sub-ad male
An unexpected visit to Larnaca this morning and good to see some water at the wetlands after the rain earlier in the week. Notable were an Osprey, a Pied Avocet and two Ruddy Shelduck at the Sewage Works and more than sixty Spur-winged Lapwing at Oroklini Marsh (see photo). Water levels at Oroklini were good and there was also a Black-necked Grebe there as well as many Eurasian Teal and Northern Shoveler. A Common Buzzard was chased away from the area by Hooded Crows.
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
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.
Cyprus Birding Tours 