Akhna Dam
White-winged Tern 1
Whiskered Tern 5 (see photo of a juvenile that was preening on a rock)
Northern Lapwing 2
Spur-winged Lapwing 45
Little Egret 1
Grey Heron 5
Common Ringed Plover 6
Common Kingfisher 2
Garganey 1
European Bee-eater 14
Dekeleia Fire Station
Eurasian Thick-knee 8
Ormideia Beach
Common Kingfisher 1
Grey Plover 1
Oroklini Marsh
Spur-winged Lapwing 110
Glossy Ibis 1
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Common Redshank 1
Ruff 2
Common Ringed Plover 6
Little Stint 6
Whiskered Tern , Achna Dam 25th September 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Greater Flamingo, Larnaca Sewage Works 15th September 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Did the waterbird count this morning around Larnaca. Most of the birds were at the Sewage Works – Greater Flamingo, Little and Cattle Egret, Grey and Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Kentish and Common Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Sanderling, Ruff, Marsh Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Redshank, Northern Shoveler, Common Teal, Garganey, Ferruginous Duck. Plus migrating Montagu’s and Pallid Harrier, lots of European Bee-eater, an Isabelline and Northern Wheatear, Red-backed (see photo), Masked and Lesser Grey Shrike. Good morning’s birding.
Red-backed Shrike, Larnaca 15th September 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
While doing the waterbird count at Larnaca Sewage Works this morning, I remarked to another birder there that this time last year a Terek Sandpiper had been found at the Sewage Works. An hour later at Oroklini Marsh the first bird I saw from the hide was this Terek Sandpiper! Not annual here this would be the 15th Cyprus record of the species since 2000 if accepted. Sorry for the awful photos but it was just too far for anything decent.
Migration slowly getting busier with c50 Collared Pratincole in the fields near Larnaca Sewage Works and a group of 13 Common Sandpiper resting on the rocks on the nearby coast this morning. Feeding on the Sewage Pools were Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Tern. A couple of Slender-billed and Black-headed Gull were present as were more than 100 Greater Flamingo, a couple of Black-winged Stilt, 23 Ferruginous Duck, a Common Greenshank, six Grey Heron and six Cattle Egret, plenty of Spur-winged Lapwing and both the long-staying unseasonable Great Crested Grebes.
Back in Cyprus and out today around Larnaca. Not much around and area very dry but I did find several young Spur-winged Lapwing in the area and this adult trying to scare away some Hooded Crows.
Spur-winged Lapwing, Larnaca 25th June 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Black-necked Grebe, Larnaca Sewage Works 15th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Morning around Larnaca doing the monthly waterbird count. Most wintering ducks have gone as have most of the Greater Flamingos. Highlights were a Greater Sandplover at Spiros Pool, a flock of more than 600 Slender-billed Gulls on the Salt Lake and my first Wood Sandpiper of the year.
Main sightings:
Meneou Pool
Kentish Plover 6
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Eurasian Thick-knee 2
Greater Flamingo 178
Black Francolin 1h
Laughing Dove 1 (first time seen here)
Larnaca Sewage Works
Spur-winged Lapwing 6
Black-necked Grebe 13 (see photograph)
Northern Shoveler 247
Common Pochard 3f
Eurasian Wigeon 1m and 1f
Green Sandpiper 2
Common Teal 44
Common Hoopoe 1
Spiros Beach
Greater Sandplover 1 (later seen on Spiros Pool)
Kentish Plover 2
Spiros Pool
Little Stint 14
Kentish Plover 1
Larnaca Airport Pools North
Greater Flamingo 100
Larnaca Salt Lake
Greater Flamingo 17
Common Shelduck 2
Slender-billed Gull 657
Ruff 145
Dunlin 16
Kentish Plover 14
Little Stint 56
Common Ringed Plover 28
Eurasian Reed Warbler 5+h
Reed Bunting 1h
Common Snipe 6+
Water Pipit 4
Common Redshank 1h
Spur-winged Lapwing 9
Little Egret 1
Bluethroat 1
Wood Sandpiper 1
Little Ringed Plover 1
Yellow Wagtail 1 first winter/spring
Larnaca Sewage Works
Spur-winged Lapwing 4
Common Teal 50+ in one flock, very restless
Northern Shoveler c50 headed out to sea
Black-necked Grebe 12+ (Nine in breeding plumage)
Eurasian Wigeon 3f
Little Gull 1 imm
Common Buzzard 1
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Pervolia fields
Calandra Lark 3+
Petounta Point
Isabelline Wheatear 2
Great Cormorant 2 heading E
Eurasian Reed Warbler 1h
Agios Theodoros Coast – sea watch 15:10 – 16:30
Little Egret 3 on rocks
Great Crested Grebe 4 offshore
Northern Shoveler c50 heading W to E
Duck spp – probably Pintail c35 W to E
Great Cormorant c180 W to E 15:10
Greater Sandplover, Spiros Beach, 5th March 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Went out hoping for some early migrants today. No luck with that although had some good birds including at least six singing male Cyprus Warbler at Cape Greco. Two photographed below.
Out for a day’s birding around Larnaca with Victor Tjernberg checking out some good sites for spring birding and trying to up our year lists!
The wetlands had most birds but probably the birds of the day were the Calandra Lark on the fields in Pervolia already in display song flight. Also good to see several Cyprus Warbler in the Panagia Stazousa valley singing and on territory. Although it is a partial migrant with some leaving in the winter, many stay all year on the island.
Interesting sightings:
Larnaca Sewage Works
Eurasian Wigeon 7 (3m)
Ferruginous Duck 1
Common Pochard 6+
Black-necked Grebe 40+
Common Greenshank 3
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Spiros Pool
Eurasian Golden Plover 120+
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Eurasian Thick-knee 17
Caspian Gull 10+
Armenian Gull 1ad
Heuglin’s Gull 1 ad
Pervolia fields
Calandra Lark 4+ in display flight
Petounta Point
Common Buzzard 4
Kiti Dam
Common Quail 1h
Panagia Stazousa
Cyprus Warbler 6+ singing males
Long-legged Buzzard 1
European Serin 3+
Eurasian Blackbird 1m
Eurasian Thick-knee 1 in flight near Klavdia village
Oroklini Marsh (see photo)
Black-winged Stilt 2
Red-crested Pochard 1m and 2f
Common Pochard 2m
Ferruginous Duck 7
Ruff 3
Northern Lapwing 1
Cattle Egret 200+
Grey Heron 2
Barn Swallow 3
Common Redshank 1
Green Sandpiper 1
Spur-winged Lapwing 3
Oroklini Beach
Armenian Gull 5 ad and c15 imm
Caspian Gull 1 imm
Sandwich Tern 2 fishing offshore
Oroklini Marsh 6th February 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A lovely drive around some eastern locations today in the February sun. Was pleased to find a total of 15 Greater Sandplover on three different beaches. Other highlights:
Akhna Dam
Common Starling 12
Sotira
Common Starling c300
Paralimni Lake
Greater Flamingo 9
Northern Lapwing 1
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Derynia
Common Starling 30+
Agia Trias
Greater Sandplover 4 (see photo)
Grey Plover 5 (see photo)
Common Sandpiper 1
Cape Greco
Long-legged Buzzard 1
Cyprus Warbler 1m singing and in display flight
Blue Rock Thrush 2m and 1f
Hen Harrier 1 ring tail
Not very many Greater Flamingos on the Salt Lake – less than 100 in the whole area. Numbers of ducks reduced on the Sewage Works pools from November but still plenty of Northern Shoveler, Mallard and Common Teal. More than thirty Black-necked Grebe have arrived for the winter but only four Greater White-fronted Geese – the numbers of those wintering here get less every year. A male Tufted Duck was on the pools as were five Common Pochard, 21 Ferruginous Duck, nine Eurasian Wigeon and four Northern Pintail.
Good numbers of Dunlin (see photo), Common Redshank, Little Stint, Common Ringed Plover and Kentish Plover as well as four Common Snipe, a Green Sandpiper and two Little Ringed Plover. A large flock of Eurasian Golden Plover and two Eurasian Curlew were in fields near the coast. Two Hen Harrier and two Western Marsh Harrier were hunting over the area. Plenty of Eurasian Skylark were in the fields. Offshore were four Sandwich Tern. Four Heuglin’s, some Caspian and a couple of Armenian Gull were roosting with the large group of Black-headed Gull on the Salt Lake.
A quick visit to Oroklini afterwards and I found a first winter Mediterranean Gull in with the Black-headed Gull and more Northern Shoveler and Greater Flamingo on the main lake. Two Merlin flew over the area and it was depressing to see 19 Spur-winged Lapwing roosting on a newly constructed road, part of an area that looks as if it is to be drained for housing.
Dunlin, Meneou 13th December 2017 (d) Cyprus Birding Tours
Dunlin, Meneou 13th December 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Common Redshank, Larnaca Salt Lake, 13th December 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A sunny but cool winter’s day around some of the Paphos birding sites with Martin and Beverley produced a variety of species and showed that most of our regular winter visitors have arrived. Unfortunately for Martin and Beverly a lot of those are common in the UK but even so we picked up several new species for them and they were also pleased to see three female Hen Harriers which are not easy to see in England any longer.
We started at Paphos Sewage Plant where six Spur-winged Lapwing were feeding in a recently mown field along with four Northern Lapwing, plenty of Meadow Pipit, just two Red-throated Pipits and some Eurasian Skylark. Of course we saw many European Stonechat as well as the first of many of the day’s Black Redstart. In the valley behind Agia Varvara village we found a small group of Woodlark and then European Serin. Here we saw the first of our female Hen Harrier as well as a distant Long-legged Buzzard and Eurasian Sparrowhawk. Two Common Snipe were feeding in a small area of water. Also in the area was a very late Willow Warbler as well as several Common Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler and Spanish Sparrow.
Our next stop was Anarita Park where our target species was the Finsch’s Wheatear. A male was waiting for us – or so it seemed – as we arrived on one of the usual territories and then proceeded to keep us entertained for almost half an hour as it fed, flying from rocks down to the grass and back again. Another male was seen on a large boulder in the distance. A couple of flocks of Woodlark and Meadow Pipit were flying around. We then drove down to the coast and around the fields at the coast of Mandria. We had reasonable views of two Red-throated Pipits and watched several Eurasian Skylark in the fields. A Black Redstart entertained us while we ate our picnic lunch and several Yellow-legged Gull flew over. We decided to make a short stop near Kouklia Fish Farm where a pair of Slavonian Grebe had been offshore since late last week. Unfortunately we couldn’t find them but we did get great views of five Chukar that we had not managed at other locations.
We took the opportunity to visit Kouklia village where at least five Laughing Dove were found near the archaeological site there and then we moved to our last location of the day – Asprokremmos Dam. We spent some time on the dam wall where we watched another female Hen Harrier fly up stream and a lovely male Blue Rock Thrush feeding on the boulders. Driving up to the mast we found many Corn Bunting as well as more Woodlark, Spanish Sparrow, Common Chaffinch and a large flock of Common Linnet. On the water was a large group of Great Cormorant – another winter visitor – as well as some Common Teal and a single Northern Shoveler. Now the sun was setting the temperature started to drop and we called it a day and I drove Martin and Beverley back to their Paphos hotel.
Species seen – Chukar, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Common Teal, Little Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Laughing Dove, Common Coot, Grey Heron, Great Cormorant, Northern Lapwing, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Snipe, Yellow-legged Gull, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, Great Tit, Woodlark, Eurasian Skylark, Crested Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Cetti’s Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, European Robin, Black Redstart, Blue Rock Thrush, European Stonechat, Finsch’s Wheatear, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Red-throated Pipit, Meadow Pipit, White Wagtail, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, European Serin, Corn Bunting
Blue Rock Thrush, Asprokremmos Dam 23rd November 2017 (C) Cyprus Birding Tours
