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
Plenty of the usual wintering ducks around – Northern Shoveler, Common Teal for example. Interesting birds seen during the count included: Greater White-fronted Goose (see photo), Black-necked Grebe, Ferruginous Duck, Tufted Duck, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Redshank (see photo), young Baltic Gull and Slender-billed Gull, adult Citrine Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Water Pipit, Bluethroat (see photo), Common Snipe, Northern Lapwing, Spur-winged Lapwing, Water Rail, Reed Bunting and a feeding male Penduline Tit (see photo).
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
Out counting the waterbirds around Larnaca today was very enjoyable – not a lot of Greater Flamingos to count (last year there were 12000+ on this day!) – but lots of interesting birds including the largest flock of Greylag Geese in Cyprus for more than 30 years, five Pallas’ Gulls, two Common Quail, two Barn Swallow and plenty more. One of the Pallas’ Gulls was sitting at the north end of the Salt Lake with some Greater Flamingos (see record photo below).
Greater Flamingo and a Great Black-backed Gull, Larnaca Salt Lake, 14th January 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Meneou Pool
Common Redshank 4
Greater Flamingo 97
Common Shelduck 43
Common Ringed Plover 2
Kentish Plover 2
Larnaca Airport Pools South
Eurasian Stone Curlew 5
Larnaca Sewage Works
Eurasian Curlew 17
Great Cormorant 24
Greater White-fronted Goose 8
Eurasian Wigeon 16
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Eurasian Teal 736
Northern Shoveler 16
Mallard 232
Great Black-headed Gull (Pallas Gull) 2 ad and 2 imm
Black-necked Grebe 3
Northern Pintail 4
Tufted Duck 1m
Caspian Gull 3
Meadow Pipit c30
Great White Pelican 1
Mediterranean Gull 1 imm
Spiros Pool
Greater Flamingo 37
Eurasian Wigeon 3
Eurasian Golden Plover 336
Larnaca Airport Coast
European Shag 2
Larnaca Airport Pools North
Greater Flamingo 37
Common Shelduck 26
Northern Shoveler 41
Kentish Plover 4
Common Redshank 3
Dunlin 12
Larnaca Salt Lake
Common Starling 50
Greater Flamingo 1028
Common Shelduck 576
Common Ringed Plover 8
Little Stint 39
Common Redshank 7
Common Black-headed Gull 261
Greylag Geese 57 (presumably same birds as those at Akrotiri during the week)
Dunlin 62+
Hen Harrier 1
Black-necked Grebe 12
Slender-billed Gull 1 ad
Caspian Gull 60+
Armenian Gull 24
Great Black-headed Gull 1 ad
Common Quail 2 flushed
Corn Bunting c60
Common Buzzard 2
Common Snipe 4
Spanish Sparrow 20+
Common Reed Bunting 1h
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Song Thrush 2
Eurasian Blackbird 1
Marsh Sandpiper 1
Common Greenshank 1
Kamares area
Spur-winged Lapwing 3
Common Chiffchaff 50+
Moustached Warbler 1
Yellow Wagtail 1 1st winter bird – same as seen there in mid Dec
Common Snipe 1
Green Sandpiper 1
Common Redshank 1
Common Ringed Plover 1
Western Jackdaw 15
Barn Swallow 2
Western Marsh Harrier 1
Water Pipit 2
Once again some good birds in Nicosia; this time at Athalassa Dam where highlights were ten Tufted Duck, a Black-necked Grebe and two fishing Whiskered Terns (unusual for January, they are usually passage migrants through Cyprus).
Main birds seen:
Black-crowned Night Heron 2 ad
Cattle Egret 1
Little Egret 2
Grey Heron 3
Great Cormorant 2
Black-necked Grebe 1
Common Pochard 1m
Ferruginous Duck 3
Tufted Duck 10 (inc 4 males)
Grey Wagtail 2
Eurasian Blackbird 2m
Whiskered Tern 2
Northern Shoveler c80
Eurasian Teal c50
Mallard c40
Common Chiffchaff 20+
Black-crowned Night Heron, Athalassa Dam, Nicosia, 6th January 2017 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Five Barn Swallows, two House Martin and a Common Swift today at Athalassa Park reminded me that spring is on the way. On and around the water were two Great Egret, six Grey Heron, two Black-crowned Night Heron, two Cattle Egret, c40 Great Cormorant, a male Common Pochard, 18+ Ferruginous Duck, 3 Tufted Duck, three Grey Wagtail, a Common Snipe and lots of Little Grebe, Eurasian Coot, Common Moorhen, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal and Mallard.
Little Grebe Athalassa Park 27th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Eurasian Coot Athalassa Park 27th January 2016 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Did the waterbird count around Larnaca Salt Lake today. Some interesting birds around despite the general lack of water. The Sewage Works pools had c750 Northern Shoveler, c490 Eurasian Teal, c130 Mallard, a Gadwall, 219 Greater Flamingo, a Ruff, two Ruddy Shelduck, a Common Shelduck, six Greater White-fronted Geese, a Tufted Duck, 11 Ferruginous Duck, 13 Black-necked Grebe, a Mediterranean and Armenian Gull and 11 Northern Lapwing. In the fields there were many Eurasian Skylark, some Red-throated Pipit, plenty of Spanish Sparrow and flocks of European Goldfinch, European Greenfinch and Common Linnet. On the Airport Pools South there was a flock of 330 Eurasian Golden Plover.
There is not a lot of water on the main Salt Lake and a lot of the birds mentioned below were seen in the north east corner where it is quite boggy: 9 Greater Flamingo , 2 Heuglin’s Gull , 1 Mediterranean Gull , 2 Armenian Gull , 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 39 Common Shelduck , c170 Kentish Plover, 4 Common Ringed Plover, 11 Corn Bunting, a Common Reed Bunting, 5 Common Snipe, 2 Water Pipit, 2 Spur-winged Lapwing, Water Rail (h), Eurasian Teal c175 and two Marsh Sandpiper.
Common Redshank, Meneou Pool, 15th December 2015 (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Female Sardinian Warbler keeping an eye on what’s above her, Larnaca Sewage Works 15th December (c) Cyprus Birding Tours
Larnaca Sewage Works
Common Crane 9 (also seen later gaining height and heading out S over the sea)
Eurasian Spoonbill 1
Mediterranean Gull 1
Slender-billed Gull 6
Grey Plover 1
Northern Lapwing 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Marsh Sandpiper 1
Black-winged Stilt 8+
Little Stint 12+
Common Ringed Plover 5
Common Redshank 10+
Greater Flamingo 62
Ferruginous Duck 4
Tufted Duck 1m and 1f
Common Pochard 1f
Northern Pintail 4
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