Black-winged Stilt, Larnaca Sewage Works 17th July 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Gull-billed Tern, Larnaca Sewage Works 11th July 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A record photo of one of four Gull-billed Terns at the Sewage Pools this morning. Three other tern species also present – seven Little Tern, one Whiskered and one White-winged Tern. Black-winged Stilt and Spur-winged Lapwing had chicks of varying sizes. On the water there were five Ferruginous Ducks in with the Mallard and around the edge there was a Little Ringed Plover, a Common and Green Sandpiper and some Kentish Plover. I only saw the best bird as I drove up to the hide – a Osprey was being chased over the area by Hooded Crows and heading east. A juvenile had been reported there towards the end of June and I guess it may well be the same bird.
Just had 30 minutes to spare yesterday and today in the hide overlooking the Sewage Pools but managed a few decent birds there after a quiet couple of weeks. Two long staying Grey Heron and the breeding Spur-winged Lapwing, Mallard, Coot and Little Grebe have been joined at some stage by a White-winged Tern, up to seven fishing Little Tern, a Gull-billed Tern, an adult Slender-billed Gull, two Little Ringed Plover and up to six Black-winged Stilt. Feeding on caterpillars in the bushes along the fence line are an adult (photo) and a juvenile Great Spotted Cuckoo.
Great Spotted Cuckoo, Larnaca Sewage Works 30th June 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Did a couple of Common Bird Monitoring Surveys in the Cape Greco area and then stopped off at Oroklini Marsh on the way home. Several Cyprus Warblers and a singing male Black-headed Bunting on territories at Cape Greco with Long-legged Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon and Eleonora’s Falcon fly overs. A Whiskered Tern was on Oroklini Marsh as were several Black-winged Stilt (see photo), plenty of Cattle Egret, a few Ruff and some Spur-winged Lapwing.
Black-winged Stilt, Oroklini Marsh 31st May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
There seemed to have been a clear out of birds overnight and there were less around than yesterday but still some migrants around including a Broad-billed Sandpiper on the Salt Lake. Other birds included:
Larnaca Sewage Works
Grey Heron 2
Little Tern 7
Yellow-legged Gull 1
Black-crowned Night Heron 1 along coast being mobbed by Hooded Crow
Ruff 5
Little Stint 3
Common Sandpiper 1
Mallard 18 plus 1 female with 10 ducklings
Little Grebe 6
Common Coot 11
Sand Martin 20+
Barn Swallow 200+
Common Swift 50+
Northern House Martin 10+
Spiros Pool
Red-backed Shrike 1m
Greater Short-toed Lark 2
Larnaca Salt Lake
Little Owl 1
Eurasian Thick-knees (Stone Curlew) 1 h
Spur-winged Lapwing 16
Wood Sandpiper 5
Broad-billed Sandpiper 1
Little Stint 22
Temminck’s Stint 1
Glossy Ibis 8
Curlew Sandpiper 2
Ruff 9
Squacco Heron 1 (see photos)
Black-crowned Night Heron 2 over road near Airport
This year a day out in mid-May means finding very few passerine migrants, the need to concentrate on breeding birds and visiting a wetland to increase the variety of species seen. Luckily Robert had a list of realistic target species which made our day easier although we had to work hard to find the Black-headed Wagtail. The other species Robert hoped to see were Cyprus Warbler, Cyprus Wheatear, Black Francolin, Chukar, Little Owl, Spur-winged Lapwing and Masked Shrike.
Starting at Cape Greco, the first bird we saw was a singing male Cyprus Warbler which was a great start. We explored the area and found another two males and two females together with a couple of juveniles. We soon heard the distinctive call of the Cyprus Wheatear and spotted a singing male on a low bush. Several others were later seen as were a couple of European Turtle Dove, a Spectacled Warbler, a male and female Red-backed Shrike as well as a couple of Sand Martin. A couple of Black-headed Buntings were singing near the Sea Caves area where we also found our only Chukar of the day.
We then headed to Akhna Dam where several Spur-winged Lapwing were found as was a male Garganey, a couple of Ruff and Common Sandpiper, some Little Egret, a Grey Heron and a Glossy Ibis. Several Eurasian Reed Warbler were heard singing and a flock of around 30 Common Swift and seven Alpine Swift were flying over the area and coming down to drink – a great sight. We visited both hides at Oroklini and Robert got great views of another of his targets here – this time a male Black Francolin was out in the open calling for quite a while. We also saw more Spur-winged Lapwing here as well as Black-winged Stilt, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Little, Whiskered and White-winged Tern and Garganey. There were several recently hatched young Cattle Egret in the colony and we also spotted a Spur-winged Lapwing chick with one of its parents.
We then went inland to Panagia Stazousa to try and find a Masked Shrike and a Little Owl. We found the Little Owl perched outside its nest site but it took a while to find a Masked Shrike until eventually a male flew into view. We also saw more Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Wheatear as well as Olivaceous Warbler, a European Roller, a fly-over Eurasian Hobby and two Long-legged Buzzard. We heard Cretzschmar’s Bunting but couldn’t get decent views of them.
Our next stop was on the eastern side of Larnaca Salt Lake where there was still some water and I was hoping may be a suitable location for the feldegg race of the Yellow Wagtail – Black-headed Wagtail. We found some water and the bonus of three Broad-billed Sandpiper (a regular but scarce passage migrant to Cyprus) feeding with Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, Little Stint, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper and some stunning Curlew Sandpiper. A Squacco Heron was also present and we heard the call of a Yellow Wagtail and saw a couple fly over but were unable to see which race they were. Finally, a male Blue-headed was spotted feeding next to some reeds and then to its right there was a male Black-headed. All of the target species seen we went south of the airport to see what was on the Sewage Pools there. There were several Little Tern and a couple of White-winged Tern as well as two Yellow-legged Gull, some Spur-winged Lapwing and several Ruff. New birds for the day were a single Gull-billed Tern feeding over the water and a Collared Pratincole which we saw head out towards the coast.
We finished our day there pleased with our efforts.
Chukar, Black Francolin, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Common Teal, Little Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, European Turtle Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Laughing Dove, Alpine Swift, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Common Coot, Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Ruff, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Collared Pratincole, Yellow-legged Gull, Little Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Whiskered Tern, White-winged Tern, Little Owl, Long-legged Buzzard, European Roller, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Red-backed Shrike, Masked Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, Great Tit, Crested Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Olivaceous Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Northern House Martin, Barn Swallow, Collared Sand Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Cyprus Wheatear, House Sparrow, Blue-headed Wagtail, Black-headed Wagtail, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Black-headed Bunting, Cretzschmar’s Bunting
Whiskered Tern, Oroklini Marsh 17th May 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Other commitments meant that I was a bit late doing the monthly waterbird count for April but luck was on my side in doing it today as I also checked for the Bar-tailed Lark that had been seen in the area near the Sewage Works yesterday. Having failed to see it yesterday I wasn’t very hopeful but not only did I see it but also found a female Hooded Wheatear close by!
Other sightings included:
Larnaca Sewage Works area (pools and surrounds in front and down to sea)
Bar-tailed Lark 1
Hooded Wheatear 1f
Spur-winged Lapwing 16 (see photo)
Yellow Wagtail 3
White-winged Tern 1
Common Sandpiper 3
Black-winged Stilt 8
Wood Sandpiper 2
Ruff 14
Northern Shoveler 2m
Little Stint 6
Sand Martin 1
Semi-collared Flycatcher 1f
Collared Flycatcher 1f
Larnaca Airport Pools North
Red-necked Phalarope 3
Black-winged Stilt 12
Slender-billed Gull 12
Black-headed Gull 1 breeding plumage
Ruff 45
Spotted Redshank 1 near full breeding plumage
Common Greenshank 3
Marsh Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 2
Little Stint 45
Kentish Plover 2
Greater Flamingo 3
Larnaca Salt Lake
Great White Egret 1
Glossy Ibis 2
Long-legged Buzzard 1
Greater Flamingo 4
Spur-winged Lapwing 4
Little Stint 16
Ruff 60
Marsh Sandpiper 2
Little Ringed Plover 2
Spur-winged Lapwing, Larnaca Sewage Works, 25th April 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A good day out with Peter and Jeanette around some of the Limassol and Larnaca sites didn’t quite go according to plan but we still picked up some good species including their targets of Black Francolin and Spur-winged Lapwing. We started at Germasogeia Dam and had intended to go around the Akrotiri peninsula after that but on hearing the news that a Bar-tailed Lark had been found near Larnaca Sewage Works we decided to try our luck and headed that way to see if we could find it.
Unfortunately we couldn’t find the lark but Peter and Jeanette weren’t phased as they were able to get good view of other species they had hoped to see on our day out and we took the opportunity to visit some other Larnaca locations before finishing the day at Prastio Kellekiou outside Limassol as originally planned.
Highlights per location:
Germasogeia Dam – Glossy Ibis, Long-legged Buzzard, Little Owl, Laughing Dove, Greater Short-toed Lark, Red-rumped Swallow, Cyprus Wheatear, Great Reed Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Kofinou – European Roller
Larnaca Sewage Works area – Spur-winged Lapwing, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Little Tern, White-winged Tern, Black Francolin, Black-headed Wagtail (feldegg), Common Whitethroat, Common Nightingale, Collared Flycatcher 1f
Pervolia – Common Quail h, Calandra Lark, Red-throated Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat
Kiti Dam – Black Francolin h, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, Wood Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, European Pied Flycatcher 1f, European Golden Oriole 1m
Prastio Kellakiou – European Turtle Dove 1h, Red-rumped Swallow, Cyprus Wheatear, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Garden Warbler h, Coal Tit, Masked Shrike, Spanish Sparrow, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Black-headed Bunting
Little Grebe, Glossy Ibis, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Long-legged Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Black Francolin, Common Quail, Eurasian Coot, Spur-winged Lapwing, Little Stint, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Ruff, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Yellow-legged Gull, Little Tern, White-winged Tern, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Turtle Dove, Laughing Dove, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, Little Owl, Common Swift, European Roller, Greater Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Common House Martin, Red-throated Pipit, Yellow Wagtail spp, Black-headed Wagtail (feldegg), Common Nightingale, Whinchat, Cyprus Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Blackcap, Wood Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, European Pied Flycatcher, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Masked Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Hooded Crow, Western Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, European Serin, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Black-headed Bunting, Corn Bunting
A morning out at two very different locations with Mary, Rui and Maria. We visited Panagia Stazousa valley first where we were looking to get good views of the endemic Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Wheatear. We were successful with the wheatear at our first stop but although we could hear a Cyprus Warbler male singing his heart out we could not spot where it was. A quick walk down the track led us to another singing male – this time well out in the open at the top of a pine. After that we heard many other singing males throughout the valley which was very pleasing. We heard both calling Common Quail and Black Francolin but had no joy trying to see them. A male Collared Flycatcher flew into a pine and several Olivaceous Warbler were singing.
At our next stop we found a large colony of Spanish Sparrow in a couple of large pines and moved on to watch two Great Spotted Cuckoo flying around calling and then listen to and watch a singing male Cretzschmar’s Bunting.
A complete change of scenery and birds at Oroklini Marsh where we visited both hides. There were good numbers of Cattle Egret, some already on nests, in the recently formed colony there. We also saw several Black-winged Stilt and Spur-winged Lapwing as well as Ruff and a couple of Wood Sandpiper. A Little Tern was resting on one of the shingle islands, two male Red-crested Pochard were seen as was a male Ferruginous Duck and three Garganey. Hopefully all of these will or are already breeding there. A single Glossy Ibis flew over and a few overstaying Northern Shoveler and Eurasian Teal were still around.
A brief taste of birding in Cyprus in a few hours gave us a total of 41 different and varied species.
Number of species seen: 42
Little Grebe, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Ferruginous Duck, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Common Quail (h), Black Francolin, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Spur-winged Lapwing, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Little Tern, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Common Swift, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Cyprus Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Collared Flycatcher, Great Tit, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, European Serin (h), European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Cretzschmar’s Bunting
Black-winged Stilt, Oroklini Marsh 21st April 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Mark, Jill and I spent the morning visiting a few of the Paphos birding locations with a view to showing them a different variety of species. Our first stop was at Anarita Park where we watched the Lesser Kestrels hunting over the area and also found singing male Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Wheatear, a European Roller, a Great Spotted Cuckoo, several Ortolan Bunting, Woodchat Shrike, a Little Owl, many Whinchat, a Tree Pipit and a male and female Black-eared Wheatear.
We searched for the crakes I had found at Agia Varvara the day before but other than brief inflight views of one we had no luck today. It was impossible to say which of the two we had seen in flight and it didn’t show again. There were two Lesser Kestrel in the area as well as a small group of Yellow Wagtail, a Spotted Flycatcher and yet more Whinchat. We found at least 14 Spur-winged Lapwing in the fields near Paphos Sewage Plant and saw a tiny Eurasian Stone Curlew chick with its parent in an olive grove there. A group of mainly Blue-headed Wagtail came to a puddle to drink, a Black Francolin flew across our path and a smart male Spanish Sparrow came into the open on a road side reed as we left.
An enjoyable morning out with the highlight being excellent views of the endemics.
Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Black Francolin, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Spru-winged Lapwing, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Little Owl, Common Swift, European Roller, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Tree Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Blue-headed Wagtail (flava), Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Woodchat Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, European Greenfinch, Ortolan Bunting, Corn Bunting
Lesser Kestrel, Anarita Park 20th April 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
This was the second time that I had taken Esther and Marcel out and it was good to see them again. After the numbers of migrants around in the last two weeks it was much quieter today but we still had some good birds including great views of a singing male Cyprus Warbler, a pair of Long-legged Buzzard over our heads, a Great Reed Warbler and a Baillon’s Crake.
Highlights per location:
Timi Beach – Eurasian Stone Curlew, Red-rumped Swallow
Agia Varvara – Black Francolin, Little Crake, Baillon’s Crake, European Turtle Dove, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Tree Pipit, Black-headed Wagtail, Great Reed Warbler (1 seen and another heard only), Cyprus Warbler 1 singing male
Paphos Sewage Plant – Spur-winged Lapwing 8, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Yellow Wagtial, Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher 1f
Mandria – Purple Heron, Laughing Dove, Greater Short-toed Lark, Tawny Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Yellow Wagtail 50+, Whinchat, Olivaceous Warbler, Woodchat Shrike
Anarita Park – Black-crowned Night Heron 1 over village, Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Little Owl, Whinchat, Black-eared Wheatear, Cyprus Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Collared Flycatcher 1f, Woodchat Shrike
Black-crowned Night Heron, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Black Francolin, Little Crake, Baillon’s Crake, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Spur-winged Lapwing, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Turtle Dove, Laughing Dove, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Little Owl, Common Swift, Greater Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Common House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Black-headed Wagtail (feldegg), White Wagtail, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Cyprus Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, Great Tit, Woodchat Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, bunting spp probably Ortolan, Corn Bunting
Whinchat, Anarita Park 19th April 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Picking up Bob, John, Lesley and John from Pissouri we headed straight to Timi Beach to start our day. Thirteen Black-winged Stilt were flying along the coast while two Little Egret and a couple of Yellow-legged Gull sat on offshore rocks. On the grassy areas we found several Isabelline and Northern Wheatear as well as a single Cyprus Wheatear. Two Eurasian Stone Curlew were in the ploughed field and in the bushes we watched a Common Nightingale, a Common Whitethroat and an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler which was in song. Three female Black-headed Wagtail were also present.
We then headed inland to Anarita Park. As we arrived the wind started to blow and that was the story of the rest of the day out. There appeared to have been a clear out of birds compared to yesterday although we did have two male Lesser Kestrel in with several females, a couple of Alpine Swift, at least four Tree Pipit, a couple of Northern, Cyprus and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, two Cretzschmar’s Bunting and a male Ruppell’s Warbler – not all bad!
A quick visit to Agia Varvara added two more Lesser Kestrel, a Green Sandpiper, two Whinchat, a fly over Red-throated Pipit, a Eurasian Hoopoe and a female Eastern Black-eared Wheatear. We then went to Asprokremmos Dam where the wind was still very strong but we managed to see a male Collared Flycatcher, a Little Owl and a Woodchat Shrike as well as the area’s usual European Goldfinch and vocal European Serin.
A change of plan to try and avoid the wind and we headed inland to the head of the dam to what was once Nata Ford and is now a bridge. On the way we found a large group of nearly 200 Spanish Sparrow and another Eurasian Hoopoe. On the Xeros river we watched a Marsh Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, several Green Sandpiper, some Yellow Wagtail and both Barn Swallow and Red-rumped Swallow coming down to collect mud. A noisy Great Spotted Cuckoo flew into nearby trees and on the return drive we found a female Collared Flycatcher. Driving through Anarita Village we were pleased to see a male Pallid Harrier over an orchard although disappointed it was moving so quickly and was soon out of sight.
A quick visit to Paphos Sewage Works gave us good views of Spur-winged Lapwing and Cattle Egret and a Long-legged Buzzard high above us before we returned to Pissouri where a smart male Masked Shrike was perched on a hawthorn bush as we parked. A good bird on which to finish a day on which we had worked pretty hard in the wind for the birds we did find!
Total birds seen – 64
Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Pallid Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Chukar, Black Francolin h, Common Moorhen, Black-winged Stilt, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Little Ringed Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Marsh Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Slender-billed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Little Owl, Common Swift, Alpine Swift, Eurasian Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Common House Martin, Tree Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, flava, feldegg and supercilaris, White Wagtail, Common Nightingale, Whinchat, Isabelline Wheatear, Northern Wheatear, Cyprus Wheatear, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Ruppell’s Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Collared Flycatcher, Great Tit, Woodchat Shrike, Masked Shrike, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, European Serin, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Common Linnet, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Corn Bunting
