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Tuesday, 10 April 2018

Cyprus 18 - Day 16

Today I started at dawn at Mandria. On a whim I decided to try Mandria gardens, a residential development where I saw a RUFOUS TURTLE DOVE last year.

Guess what was sat in the same dead tree...a Turtle Dove sp!!!!!!! Deja Vu?

Now then, it's VERY early for Eurasian Turtle Dove, even in Cyprus. Also ANY TD is noteworthy these days...unfortunately. I sent Colin Richardson a text. The bird was tucked in behind a few Collared Doves. The light was poor but I was getting excited! Circumstantial evidence has caught me out before on more than one occasion but could this possibly be the same returning bird? I managed a few record shots from the car before the bird suddenly flew off north. I looked at the BOC images and compared the images with my Collins app'.

Colin replied and I arranged to meet him. Turns out it was a Eurasian...but it didn't half wake me up lol! The dilemma is...balancing releasing the news of a potential MEGA against looking a chump! Fortunately I've looked the latter on several occasions, so I guess I'm immune to it now!

After breakfast I received another message off Colin. Had he changed his mind? Just kiddin! He'd found a BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER at the Sewage Works! We soon located a very actively feeding bird near the stables. Unfortunately the location and time of day meant the photos were strongly back-lit. This was my best effort...


Always special...

We then moved onto Mandria again as a female Desert Wheatear had been reported there. Louise loves it here...there's a beach bar!

No other birders around and in no time at all I was enjoying stunning views of a very entertaining and striking bird...


It was interesting to note the way the bird behaved completely differently to the Northern and Isabelline Wheatears also present...


Lovely bird...

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