Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD 04/04/2018 Paphos
Eurasian Hoopoe - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the 4th I had the pleasure of guiding Ingeborg and Graham around the Paphos sites. We started in the foothills where they were staying and managed to see a pair of Great Spotted Cuckoo fly in before we even got in the car, and a Cyprus Wheatear was singing nearby. A great start!
We headed down to Timi beach after a quick browse around the sewage works which produced some Spur-winged Lapwing and Spanish Sparrow. The previous afternoon I had spotted a beautiful summer plumaged Greater Sand Plover but unfortunately it was not still there, probably the result of dog walkers. Infact the whole area was completely devoid of life, not even a wheatear and so we continued on to Mandria. On the way there was a small group of Greater Short-toed Lark that provided great views and photo opportunities. At Mandria the Laughing Dove were showing as were a few yellow wagtails and a lingering Water Pipit. A Hoopoe probed the ground meters from the car and caught a grub allowing some action photos. The rest of Mandria was pretty poor unusually, we only had a few Little Egrets flying over.
We continued on to Anarita Park which was also quieter than it had been before. Unbelievably a Cetti's Warbler was showing well on quite a few occasions. A Wryneck posed well as did Cyprus Wheatear and Black-eared Wheatear, with many Tawny Pipits around but only 3 Lesser Kestrel still present. We also found Cyprus Warbler at three locations here.
A surprise bird here was an incredibly early Red-backed Shrike, a stunning male. Many Corn Bunting were singing still and a pair of Red-rumped Swallow kept returning to their nest.
We headed down to Timi beach after a quick browse around the sewage works which produced some Spur-winged Lapwing and Spanish Sparrow. The previous afternoon I had spotted a beautiful summer plumaged Greater Sand Plover but unfortunately it was not still there, probably the result of dog walkers. Infact the whole area was completely devoid of life, not even a wheatear and so we continued on to Mandria. On the way there was a small group of Greater Short-toed Lark that provided great views and photo opportunities. At Mandria the Laughing Dove were showing as were a few yellow wagtails and a lingering Water Pipit. A Hoopoe probed the ground meters from the car and caught a grub allowing some action photos. The rest of Mandria was pretty poor unusually, we only had a few Little Egrets flying over.
We continued on to Anarita Park which was also quieter than it had been before. Unbelievably a Cetti's Warbler was showing well on quite a few occasions. A Wryneck posed well as did Cyprus Wheatear and Black-eared Wheatear, with many Tawny Pipits around but only 3 Lesser Kestrel still present. We also found Cyprus Warbler at three locations here.
A surprise bird here was an incredibly early Red-backed Shrike, a stunning male. Many Corn Bunting were singing still and a pair of Red-rumped Swallow kept returning to their nest.
 Cetti's Warbler - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |  Red-backed Shrike - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |
We then continued on to Agia Varvara where we managed Black Francolin (target species), infact a few of them with also quite a few others heard. At the pools there was quite a few ruff on the water along with a Marsh Sandpiper, I had a brief glimpse of a Spotted crake in the corner though Ingeborg and Graham were unable to get on it before it retreated into the vegetation. Scanning to the right I noticed a Snipe showing a lot of white on the wings. GREAT SNIPE. I quickly got the scope out and put them on it. We had some great lengthy views of the Great Snipe and spotted a Sedge Warbler also in the area and a pair of Turtle Dove and then we moved on.
Next stop was Asprokremnos Dam for lunch. After we ate our lunch and saw an Eastern Bonelli's Warbler we moved around to the mast area where plenty of Hoopoe are still hanging out. There were some red-throated pipit here but not in their usual spot on the heaps.
We quickly checked Kouklia Soakaways which were bone dry including the river. Graham managed to spot a few Ortolan Bunting that were perched for a considerable amount of time.
Next stop was Asprokremnos Dam for lunch. After we ate our lunch and saw an Eastern Bonelli's Warbler we moved around to the mast area where plenty of Hoopoe are still hanging out. There were some red-throated pipit here but not in their usual spot on the heaps.
We quickly checked Kouklia Soakaways which were bone dry including the river. Graham managed to spot a few Ortolan Bunting that were perched for a considerable amount of time.
 Great Snipe - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |  Black Francolin - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |
Great Snipe - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Next we ventured back to the Sewage Plant in hope of getting better photo opportunities with the Spur-winged Lapwing. We managed to find a few Eurasian Stone Curlew flying in and out of an orchard.
On the coast there was a small group of Northern Pintail in the sea and on the alfalfa fields we had three cattle egret on the ground hunting in the fields. One pulled out a young Snake that Graham managed to get some shots of in the beak. A nice bit of action to finish a relatively slow day totaling 58 species.
On the coast there was a small group of Northern Pintail in the sea and on the alfalfa fields we had three cattle egret on the ground hunting in the fields. One pulled out a young Snake that Graham managed to get some shots of in the beak. A nice bit of action to finish a relatively slow day totaling 58 species.
| Spiecies: Northern pintail Chukar, Alectoris chukar cypriotes Black francolin Little egret Squacco heron Cattle egret Long-legged buzzard Lesser kestrel Common kestrel Spotted crake Common moorhen Eurasian Stone curlew Spur-winged lapwing Great snipe Marsh sandpiper Ruff Yellow-legged gull Common Wood pigeon European turtle dove Eurasian Collared dove Laughing dove Great spotted cuckoo Common swift Eurasian Hoopoe Eurasian wryneck Greater short-toed lark Crested lark Barn swallow Red-rumped swallow | Common house martin White wagtail Yellow wagtail Tawny pipit Tree pipit Red-throated pipit Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta coutelli Zitting cisticola Cetti's warbler Sedge warbler Eurasian reed warbler Eastern Bonelli's warbler Eurasian blackcap Sardinian warbler Cyprus warbler Northern wheatear Cyprus wheatear Eastern Black-eared wheatear Great tit, Parus major aphrodite Red-backed shrike Magpie Hooded crow Ortolan bunting Corn bunting European greenfinch European goldfinch House sparrow Spanish sparrow 58 |
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