Went to Achna for first time in several weeks to see if I could find the Pied Kingfisher that had been seen there on Thursday. Surprisingly it was the first bird I saw when I arrived – it called and flew in front of me as it headed to another part of the dam. Later on I saw two in that area – I assume one of those was the one I had seen earlier. No chance of anything other than a record flight shot as they were flying around the area and then disappearing! But it was a great morning’s birding with other birds seen including a Spotted Crake, Little Bittern, Great Crested Grebe, Western Marsh and Montagu’s Harrier, lots of Red-backed and Masked Shrike, many Common Hoopoe, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Wood, Green and Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Purple and Squacco Heron, Olivaceous and Willow Warbler.
Achna Dam, 14th September 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding BirdsSpotted Crake, Achna Dam, 14th September 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding ToursDistant flight photo of one of Pied Kingfisher, Achna Dam 14th September 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding ToursSpur-winged Lapwing, Achna Dam, 14th September 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding ToursMasked Shrike, Achna Dam, 14th September 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding ToursCommon Hoopoe, Achna Dam, 14th September 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Spent the hottest day of the year doing my first stint of raptor counting of the autumn at Akrotiri on Friday. A few Western Marsh Harrier were on the move as was a male Montagu’s Harrier and a Pallid/Montagu juvenile. Other birds of interest were three Isabelline Wheatear, some Eleonora’s Falcon, several Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrike, a Woodchat Shrike, lots of Common Snipe, Grey and Squacco Heron and Cattle (see photo), Great White and Little Egret, Glossy Ibis, Western Yellow Wagtail, Ruff and Wood Sandpiper, European Roller and Greater Flamingo.
I don’t remember as much water in Achna Dam before as I found today . But even so I managed to have a good walk in several areas and found some interesting birds. Its getting hotter though now so I guess walks of an hour or more will soon be out of the question!
Birds seen included:
Glossy Ibis 13
Squacco Heron 8
Gull billed Tern 12
Spur winged Lapwing 8
Great Cormorant 2
Grey Heron 3
Great Crested Grebe 1 ad
European Roller 1
Cattle Egret 2 (one with stick in bill)
Little Egret 2
Little Bittern 1f
Purple Heron 1
Common Hoopoe 4
Black winged Stilt 2
Headed towards Paphos yesterday for first day here without a lock down and restrictions on movement. Spent some time in the Akamas where I found plenty of European Roller, a Woodchat Shrike, several Black-headed Bunting, two Cretzschmar’s Bunting (see photo of female), European Turtle Dove, Red-rumped Swallow and Cyprus Wheatear. On the way home I visited Agia Varvara soakaways where there is still some water and spent time watching a Little Bittern and a Squacco Heron (see photo) fishing.
Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Akamas 21st May 2020 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Out for an hour before sunset in the Meneou/Spiros Pool area. A few birds seem to have been put down by the heavy storms in the area during the afternoon. Interesting species seen were:
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Little Tern 2
Squacco Heron 1 (see photo)
Spiros Pool
Little Bittern 1m
Northern Pintail 1m
Eurasian Wryneck 1
Little Tern 4
Common Redstart 1f
Black-tailed Godwit 1
Common Whitethroat 2
Spiros Beach
Dunlin 1
Little Stint c40 (See photo)
Eurasian Stone Curlew 2 (See photo)
Kentish Plover c30
Common Ringed Plover 3
Northern Wheatear 1m and 1f
Eurasian Stone Curlew, Larnaca 19th April 2019 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Little Stint, Larnaca 19th April 2019 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Squacco Heron, Larnaca, 19th April 2019 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Out again guiding for Birdwatching Breaks – today trying to dodge the heavy rain around Paphos with some success. Good views of a very mobile flock of Greater Short-toed Lark at Mandria with Eurasian Turtle Dove, Tawny Pipit, Western Yellow Wagtail and Squacco Heron also seen there. Several Collared Flycatcher seen at Timi as were a couple of Laughing Dove at Kouklia. Ending the day at Lady’s Mile and Zakaki Marsh we saw several Spotted Flycatcher, three Eurasian Spoonbill (see photo), a male Little Bittern and a Great Reed Warbler.
Some different birding today visiting Oroklini, Akhna, Paralmini area and Agia Napa coast.
Birds seen, including a lovely juvenile Great White Pelican:
Oroklini Marsh morning and late afternoon
Common Crane 1 juv still present 16:45
White Stork 1 still present 16:45
Grey Heron 1
Spur-winged Lapwing c30
Common Teal c30
Common Redshank 3
Bluethroat 1
Eurasian Skylark 7 over
Greater Flamingo 58
Black-winged Stilt 1
Black-headed Gull 30+
Cattle Egret c250 coming into roost late pm visit
Common Ringed Plover 2
Little Stint 15+
Common Starling 7
Akhna Dam
Great White Pelican 1 juv (see photos)
Cattle Egret 1
Little Egret 5
Squacco Heron 1
Moustached Warbler 1
Whiskered Tern 1
Grey Heron 6
Sea watching at Polis Chrysochou this morning 6.30 – 8.30 am produced good numbers of migrating Glossy Ibis plus Purple, Grey and Squacco Heron, Cattle and Little Egret, Black-winged Stilt (see photo), Garganey, Gull-billed Tern, Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher and European Bee-eater.
Black-winged Stilt, Polis Chrysochou Bay 11th August 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
A good selection of birds including non-breeders and returning migrants today at Akrotiri. Breeding Black-winged Stilt and Kentish Plover with young of all ages as well as a Whiskered Tern, two Curlew Sandpiper, a Greater Sandplover, several Little Ringed Plover, a Wood Sandpiper, some Common Redshank, a Squacco Heron, several Black-headed Wagtail and three Common Greenshank.
Black-winged Stilt, ASL, 6th July 2018 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Managed to avoid most of the rain showers today and even had a good walk around Achna Dam – trying to find (and failing) the Pied Kingfisher that has been seen there on a couple of occasions over the last ten days. But despite that, at the three locations I visited I managed to see some good birds including Black-necked Grebe, Squacco Heron, Great Egret, Glossy Ibis, ‘Baltic’ Gull, Purple Heron, Marsh Sandpiper, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Black-winged Stilt, Temminck’s Stint, Garganey, Olivaceous Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Cyprus Wheatear and Warbler, Tawny Pipit, Black-eared Wheatear and Woodchat Shrike.
David, Diane and I spent the day out birding around Larnaca visiting Achna Dam, Ormeidia, Oroklini, Larnaca Sewage Works area, Pervolia, Kivisili and Panagia Stazousa. We had a good selection of species including Greater Sandplover, the endemic Cyprus Wheatear and Cyprus Warbler, White-winged and Whiskered Tern, Red-footed Falcon, Montagu’s Harrier, Ferruginous Duck, Chukar and Spur-winged Lapwing.
Highlights per location:
Achna Dam – Squacco Heron, Great White Egret, Little Ringed Plover, Common Snipe, Whiskered Tern, Western Marsh Harrier, European Bee-eater, Common Kingfisher
Ormedeia Beach – Greater Sandplover, Kentish Plover, Whinchat, European Shag
Oroklini – Little Ringed Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Northern Lapwing
Meneou Pool – Eurasian Thick-knee, Masked Shrike
Larnaca Sewage Works area – Ferruginous Duck, Northern Pintail, Greater Flamingo, Black-winged Stilt, Grey Plover, Spur-winged Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, White-winged Tern (inc 1 in breeding plumage), Whiskered Tern, Western Marsh Harrier, Red-backed Shrike, Sand Martin, Spotted Flycatcher, Western Yellow Wagtail
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