Cyprus Review (2)

 Ruff - Large numbers at Spiros Pool

Curlew Sandpiper - Wonderful finale to the Trip with a mad dash over to Larnaca  to connect with 3 last minute Birds for a late Tick.

Temminck's Stint

Dunlin

Little Stint

Snipe

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Redshank

Wood Sandpiper

Red-necked Phalarope - a great start, again at Spiros Pool

Collared Pratincole - the only Bird I saw was at Mandria 6/4

Slender-billed Gull - see only at Airport Pools South, Larnaca

Black-headed Gull

Little Gull - a Tick at Spiros Beach this time!

Audouin's Gull - fly-by at Cape Greco.

Great Black-headed Gull - fly-by at Paphos.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Baltic) - a few seen off Paphos Headland.

Yellow-legged Gull

Caspian Gull

Little Tern - and yet another Tick courtesy of Spiros Pool.

White-winged Tern - I found a single at Spiros Pool that ended up on the Beach next to the Little Gull!

Griffon Vulture - 2 Sightings. One from the Motorway near Episkopi and one at Anarita Park

Bonelli's Eagle - One over Asprokremnos Dam 27/3

Marsh Harrier

Sparrowhawk 

Long-legged Buzzard - seen at various locations. This one was at Androlikou

Long-eared Owl - a remarkable record! This Bird was sat in full sun, all day, at Mandria Picnic Site. A great find by Ian and Kate Bloomer. It even remained when a group started a barbecue not 10 yards away!!

Hoopoe

Wryneck- a single sighting at Anarita Park 5/4

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater - I finally achieved my dream of finding a Bird at Pervolia late on the afternoon of March 30th. The Bird remained into the following day for others to enjoy.

European Bee-eater - seen from the Apartment (15) and at Anarita Park (2)

Roller - seen at Androlikou, Anarita Park and Agia Varvara. An early arrival this Year.

Lesser Kestrel - seen well, if distantly at Kivilisi (4).

Kestrel

Peregrine - fantastic performance for 15 minutes over Larnaca Sewage Works 31/3.

Isabelline Shrike - Cyprus Tick at Paphos Archaeological Site 23/3

Woodchat Shrike - Seen at Mavrokoylmpus Dam 29/3 and Agia Varvara 9/4

Jay - Troodos Village 8/4

Magpie 

Jackdaw 41

Hooded Crow

Spanish Sparrow - Colonies seen at Mandria and Paphos Archaeological Site

House Sparrow

Tree Pipit -  a few seen. This one was at Androlikou 

Red-throated Pipit - seen very well at Paphos Headland

Meadow Pipit

Water Pipit - one in with a large Yellow Wagtail flock behind the Beach Bar, Mandria 7/4.

Yellow Wagtail - I enjoyed a few large mixed race flocks. Always a highlight.

White Wagtail

100 up. Final List and thoughts tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Cyprus Review (1)

At last!

Having had a few life issues lately it's took longer than anticipated to get the ball rolling but better late than never right?

Having already done a diary I've decided to do a Taxonomic review enhancing key sightings with photos were possible and Sites where seen. So, here we go...

Red-crested Pochard - Seen only at Oroklini Lake (6). They breed here.

Pochard - Larnaca Sewage Works. A single Male.

Ferruginous Duck - Larnaca Sewage Works (c20) and Oroklini Lake (2)

Garganey - Larnaca Sewage Works (c30), Mavrokolympos Dam (5)

Shoveler - by far the most common Duck

Gadwall - Larnaca Sewage Works

Mallard - Larnaca Sewage Works

Pintail - Larnaca Sewage Works - a notable flock of 35 Birds dropped in during on during one of my visits 2/4.

Teal

Quail - A single bird calling at Kivisili 2/4

Chukar

Black Francolin - Heard far more often than seen. I managed a distant shot at Pervolia.

 

Greater Flamingo - Three figures at Spiros Pool 24/3.

Little Grebe

Black-necked Grebe - Larnaca Sewage Works. A single sp Bird 31/3.

Rock Dove

Wood Pigeon

Turtle Dove - Heard at Agia Varvara 9/4

Collared Dove

Laughing Dove

NAMAQUA DOVE - An early highlight to the Trip at Mandria.

Alpine Swift - Agia Varvara

Pallid Swift - Troodos Village

Common Swift

Great-spotted Cuckoo - Great views of a mating pair at Agia Varvara

Little Crake - Agia Varvara

Baillon's Crake - Agia Varvara (Motorway Pools) 27

Moorhen

Coot

Scopoli's Shearwater 

Bittern - One of the highlights of the Trip stumbling on it at Nata Ford with Louise's help.

Night Heron

Cattle Egret

Grey Heron

Purple Heron

Great White Egret

Little Egret

Glossy Ibis - I saw a few decent flocks migrating along the Coast

Shag

Cormorant

Stone Curlew - Mandria (2), Yeroskipou (6)

Avocet - A scarce Bird here. 8 on Spiros Pool 1/4 was only my second record.

Black-winged Stilt

Grey Plover - a couple of "late" Birds at Spiros Beach was an unexpected bonus.

Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Kentish Plover - common. This one was on Lady's Mile.

Greater Sand Plover - great views of a single Bird on the shore at Mandria 23/3.

Spur-winged Plover

Curlew

There we go then. That's the first 50 Species seen. More tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Summer for a Day!

Temperature reached 23c this morning at Duff. Had a steady 3 hours with Haydn swapping stories about Cyprus. He found a first!!! Namely Pallas's Warbler. Really pleased for him.

I added 4 Year Birds...

Whimbrel

Swift 

Sedge Warbler 

Song Thrush 

Haydn had a fly-by Yellow Wagtail.

NDC 91

Nearly completed wading through my Cyprus pics and I'll start posting a selection this weekend (not too many) accompanied by a few thoughts.

May has started with a MEGA Lesser Kestrel in Cornwall. Thankfully I won't need to travel having seen the Westleton Heath Bird in Suffolk 29/3/2010

Cyprus Re-Visited

I've been chewing over how to approach the Summary of my Trip. It's a balance between avoiding too much repetition and filling in the gaps I guess? I thought I gave it a "good go" keeping up with my daily Blogging, trying to vary my approach depending on circumstances. If you followed it you'd have seen I covered most Sites around the Island and undertook a few Twitches for Rarities. I added one Lifer, namely DESERT FINCH plus 10 other Cyprus Ticks...

Namaqua Dove

Curlew Sandpiper

Red-necked Phalarope

Little Gull

Little Tern

Scopoli's Shearwater

Long-eared Owl

Isabelline Shrike

Trumpeter Finch

Spotted Flycatcher

My Cyprus List now stands at 240 and my Trip Total was 157 which is my best. As always there were some surprising omissions, especially considering my later "window"?

Spoonbill

Squacco Heron

Whimbrel

Greenshank

Pallid Harrier

Little Owl

Scops Owl - never tried for it this time?

Kingfisher

Short-toed Treecreeper - again!

Other Species possible were...

Cuckoo

Water Rail

Spotted Crake

Golden Plover

Black-tailed Godwit

Jack Snipe

Spotted Redshank

Mediterranean Gull

Armenian Gull

Sandwich Tern

Pallid Harrier

Goshawk

Common Buzzard

Short-eared Owl

Eleonora's Falcon

Merlin

Red-backed Shrike

Hawfinch

Siskin

Ortolan Bunting

Reed Bunting

Woodlark

Savi's Warbler

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Crag Martin

Eastern Orphean Warbler

Starling

Bluethroat

Mistle Thrush

I was "on the cusp" for Golden Oriole and Black-headed Bunting.

The closure of Phassouri Reedbed was a huge blow but all other Sites were accessible. Our extra day "out East" was a good move as it felt we weren't as rushed and I had more time at the Sites. The WhatsApp Groups worked well as always and were handy to dip into when appropriate, as well as providing crucial "breaking news"...e.g. Long-eared Owl!

Great to renew a few acquaintances once again and meet a few new faces. The general atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly, adding to the experience.  

The Weather was atypical This Year with cooler, unsettled conditions and quite a few Thunderstorms. Great for making Birds "stop off" and rest...not so great for Louise! Ironically certain Species arrived earlier this Year as they would as my window was later!! Examples being Roller and Ficedula Flycatchers. In previous Years I'd visited in the last 3 weeks of March and not had a sniff of these Birds. No matter, they were worth waiting for and I had great views this Trip.

As always I reflect on my "movements"! Lets face it, I always overdo it and I can push it at times but I just get wrapped up in the excitement. Energy levels aren't what they used to be as the Years roll by and there were certain Sites I couldn't get around e.g. The Archaeological Site...which was frustrating. I managed to access most areas in the car and I did walk some distances when possible...eg 2 walks to the Headland to dip Turnstone (still present). I was generally happy with how it went.

I still have a lot of photos to go through and I intend to post some of the better ones on here in the coming days. I'll try my best not to repeat. One aspect I need to reflect on is the location of our Apartment which is to the West of Kato Paphos. It's a great deal BUT it does take time each day reaching and returning from the Key Sites, which are mainly East of the Town? I have a plan for next Year...all being well!

Update: My plan has reached fruition. We'll be at Mandria next Year, all being well.

I STILL need Little Bittern and Great Reed Warbler. I was hampered in my belated attempts by access problems and confusion initially. I did have a couple of decent attempts but no joy. Always good to save some for next time!?

I think that will do for now. I'll try and post asap regarding photos and final thoughts. Stay tuned...

Crane

 I borrowed Louise's car yesterday to have a run over to NDC. Arrived at 11.45 and settled in for a 3 hour watch.The dry spell has dramatically reduced the water viewable, a combination of evaporation and emergent vegetation. Couple this with significant heat haze, despite the NE wind and viewing conditions were far from optimal. I like it though!

I recorded a modest 33 Species on a sunny but fresh afternoon. I could still see parts of the Bund but nothing of note was seen. I was pleased to see that some Pintail (c10) remain and the breeding pair of Mute Swans appear to be doing well on the Scrape. Waders were represented by Lapwing, Curlew and Redshank. 

A pair of Gadwall showed well on the Scrape...

A beautiful Drake

There were quite a few Herons dotted around the Reserve at various distances. As I scanned the far end I picked up what I thought initially was another in the shimmering haze. I was talking to my Mother at the time on the phone. I had to cut the call short (I did ring her back) when the "Heron" turned into a Crane (87) as it took off!!! Surprisingly I couldn't initially relocate it? After around 30 seconds I had it circling high over the Carrs...

The Bird was in view for around 15 minutes before heading strongly North towards Wheldrake Ings where it roosted.This was only my 4th record here after...

3 Birds - 20/3/2011 

1 Bird - 18/5/2012 

2 Birds - 27/5/2025

So, after initial disappointment at the dry conditions, I ended up with an adrenaline rush. Birding in a nutshell! Just off to do a rain dance...