Great day.
Started at Zakaki Pool after dropping Louise off at My Mall. Time to study some reeds. In view immediately was a pair of Ferruginous Ducks albeit asleep!. A Lesser Whitethroat bobbed around below me.
More scanning high and low. WOW...PENDULINE TIT!!! Not a bird I have had the opportunity to study very often. This was again the case...but at least I'd found one.
Another Birder arrived. Turned out to be a nice chap called Bill Stacey who's a regular visitor to the island.
We had a good chat and then we were joined by a local called Mario's who informed us a LITTLE CRAKE had been reported!!
The three of us grilled the reeds and after around 10 minutes we were all enjoying prolonged views of this tiny jewel. I even managed a record shot.
Marios soon departed but I stayed with Bill till 11.30 before I went back to the Mall to have lunch with the boss.
We then headed to the other side of the peninsula via Lady's Mile. I saw my first adult Armenian Gulls (2) and a superb Marsh Sandpiper at close range (pics). I also "had" 49 Ruff and 35 Black-headed Stilts. A Hoopoe zoomed North over the car.
More exploring ensued with mixed results! I won't bore you with the details but I saw three more Hoopoes and an impressive flock of Cormorants (146).
I ended up back at Zakaki (Louise returned to Costa). I had another sighting of the LC and added Water Rail (seen well) to my trip list. Three Reed Warblers were belting it out, a Little Egrets dropped in and the Heron count rose to 15.
The day concluded with the sound of a Curlew (scarce in Cyprus).
Tomorrow morning I head for Paphos headland to join the local group. Fingers crossed...
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