Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - 2-day Tour - Paphos + Akrotiri 12+13/04/2019
Cyprus Scops Owl - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the 12th and 13th I guided Mike Redfern around the Paphos and Akrotiri sites on a 2 day tour.
Mike mentioned his target species were Bonelli's Eagle, Baillon's Crake and Cyprus Scops Owl. So we started in the foothills at a Bonelli's Eagle site. There were many Serin singing along the track, presumably nesting in the area this year. We had two Bonelli's Eagles close fly from the trees into the valley providing good low flight views. An Eastern Bonelli's Warbler showed in a shrub not far from where we were standing and on the way out we had a Wryneck sitting in a bare tree.
We managed to spot a few Cretzschmar's Bunting in song as we drove through Minthis and an Isabelline Wheatear. We dropped down checking a day roost for Cyprus Scops Owls on the way, seeing two scops sitting very close together with unobstructed views. The Peregrines were feeding on the cliff face and only flew briefly.
We saw a few newly arrived Turtle Doves on the wires down here and also an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler singing away. Many Cyprus Wheatears were showing on the way to Anarita Park, and a few Ortolan Bunting too feeding in the verge. Just before we got to Anarita Park I noticed a large raptor sitting on some rocks, a Long Legged Buzzard showing nicely but not with the suns direction in our favour and then great close views of it in flight.
Nearly every bird we saw at Anarita Park was an Ortolan Bunting, absolutely everywhere. We did see a few Little Owls and Great Spotted Cuckoos too, though the gsc's weren't being very vocal and so we assumed the eggs had already been deposited in the magpie nests. There was a few Hoopoe's knocking about and also we had Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and Cyprus Warbler.
Mike mentioned his target species were Bonelli's Eagle, Baillon's Crake and Cyprus Scops Owl. So we started in the foothills at a Bonelli's Eagle site. There were many Serin singing along the track, presumably nesting in the area this year. We had two Bonelli's Eagles close fly from the trees into the valley providing good low flight views. An Eastern Bonelli's Warbler showed in a shrub not far from where we were standing and on the way out we had a Wryneck sitting in a bare tree.
We managed to spot a few Cretzschmar's Bunting in song as we drove through Minthis and an Isabelline Wheatear. We dropped down checking a day roost for Cyprus Scops Owls on the way, seeing two scops sitting very close together with unobstructed views. The Peregrines were feeding on the cliff face and only flew briefly.
We saw a few newly arrived Turtle Doves on the wires down here and also an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler singing away. Many Cyprus Wheatears were showing on the way to Anarita Park, and a few Ortolan Bunting too feeding in the verge. Just before we got to Anarita Park I noticed a large raptor sitting on some rocks, a Long Legged Buzzard showing nicely but not with the suns direction in our favour and then great close views of it in flight.
Nearly every bird we saw at Anarita Park was an Ortolan Bunting, absolutely everywhere. We did see a few Little Owls and Great Spotted Cuckoos too, though the gsc's weren't being very vocal and so we assumed the eggs had already been deposited in the magpie nests. There was a few Hoopoe's knocking about and also we had Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and Cyprus Warbler.
Ortolan Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Our next site was Agia Varvara with Baillon's Crake in mind. Sure enough the Baillon's Crake was in the same place in the same pool and provided very close veiws and photo opportunities. We also saw many Little Crakes here, both male and female but couuldn't locate the Spotted Crake or Little Bittern that I had seen there previous days. A Masked Shrike and Great Reed Warbler showed well here and some Wood Sandpiper and Whinchat.
Baillon's Crake - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Our next stop was Timi beach to check out the newly formed temporary wetlands. We had many Glossy Ibis feeding at the entrance and Black-winged Stilt, a pair of Temminck's Stints landed on the edge of the pool, a good species to get in Paphos.
A Grey Heron as well as a Squacco Heron and many Little Egret with a few Cattle Egrets in with them were at the front of the wetland. Seemed that most of the waders had cleared out. We stopped here for our lunch.
Our next site was Asprokremnos dam car park for flycatchers. We ended up seeing a single male Collared Flycatcher and a Wood Warbler ... so fairly quiet here. We located a Purple Heron and some Yellow-legged Gulls on the dam.
Lastly we checked Mandria and had a male and female Eastern Black-eared Wheatear sitting next to each other. We also located a Laughing Dove and some Greater Short-toed Larks. As we were exiting the site a Black Francolin was on the edge of the road walking towards the car, providing great views but eventually scared by an oncoming truck. A good end to the day, good species count (73) and all target species and full breeding endemics met.
A Grey Heron as well as a Squacco Heron and many Little Egret with a few Cattle Egrets in with them were at the front of the wetland. Seemed that most of the waders had cleared out. We stopped here for our lunch.
Our next site was Asprokremnos dam car park for flycatchers. We ended up seeing a single male Collared Flycatcher and a Wood Warbler ... so fairly quiet here. We located a Purple Heron and some Yellow-legged Gulls on the dam.
Lastly we checked Mandria and had a male and female Eastern Black-eared Wheatear sitting next to each other. We also located a Laughing Dove and some Greater Short-toed Larks. As we were exiting the site a Black Francolin was on the edge of the road walking towards the car, providing great views but eventually scared by an oncoming truck. A good end to the day, good species count (73) and all target species and full breeding endemics met.
Romanian Yellow Wagtail (m.f.dombrowskii) - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
The next day we started out at Phassouri seeing Cattle Egret, Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis and Little Egret en route to the rabbit shed pools, and a Ferruginous Duck in flight. On the pools we had the usual Spotted Redshank and Marsh Sandpipers. Many Snipe were showing again but we couldn't make out any Great Snipes. Ruff, Common and Wood Sandpiper were plenty as were Little Ringed Plover. A Red-throated Pipit flew in and landed infront of us and also a Great Warbler was singing which showed for a while. A pair of male Garganey were also here feeding on the water.
We drove up the gravel pits track and found a Great Spotted Cuckoo showing nearby in a tree and Black Francolin showing briefly. By the church we had a female Blue Rock Thrush, Common Cuckoo and a Woodchat Shrike plus a group of Turtle Doves flying in.
We then cut through to Ladies Mile (seeing Greater Flamingo and Slender-billed Gull on the salt lake as we drove past and a very late Starling) which had some Greater Flamingo on the pools and Little Egret. A few gulls were near the port, young Armenian Gulls, Yellow-legged and Caspian. Plus a single Black-headed Gull and a Whimbrel that flew in and landed close to the car.
By the port we had Squacco Heron and a Green Sandpiper.
At Zakaki we was treated to a male Little Bittern showing very close to us, which even hunted/fed infront of us meters away. A Common Kingfisher perched close to us too.
We drove up the gravel pits track and found a Great Spotted Cuckoo showing nearby in a tree and Black Francolin showing briefly. By the church we had a female Blue Rock Thrush, Common Cuckoo and a Woodchat Shrike plus a group of Turtle Doves flying in.
We then cut through to Ladies Mile (seeing Greater Flamingo and Slender-billed Gull on the salt lake as we drove past and a very late Starling) which had some Greater Flamingo on the pools and Little Egret. A few gulls were near the port, young Armenian Gulls, Yellow-legged and Caspian. Plus a single Black-headed Gull and a Whimbrel that flew in and landed close to the car.
By the port we had Squacco Heron and a Green Sandpiper.
At Zakaki we was treated to a male Little Bittern showing very close to us, which even hunted/fed infront of us meters away. A Common Kingfisher perched close to us too.
Little Bittern - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
As we ventured to the run off we had a very large group of Gull-billed Tern on the ground, Little Stint and many Kentish Plover.
Gull-billed Tern - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Near the run-off there was many Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper and a large group of Greenshank and Glossy Ibis. A recently arrived Eleonora's Falcon hunted in the distance. We had a single Spectacled Warbler here too as we returned to the car.
We then ate our Lunch at Bishop's Pool which was also fairly quiet, just a small party of Black-crowned Night Heron in the very corner on a bar tree overhanging the water.
Our next site was Kensington Cliffs where many Alpine Swifts were darting around very close at times. Unfortunately no Griffon Vultures showed again but we did see a Peregrine Falcon and many Cyprus Wheatear.
We then ate our Lunch at Bishop's Pool which was also fairly quiet, just a small party of Black-crowned Night Heron in the very corner on a bar tree overhanging the water.
Our next site was Kensington Cliffs where many Alpine Swifts were darting around very close at times. Unfortunately no Griffon Vultures showed again but we did see a Peregrine Falcon and many Cyprus Wheatear.
Alpine Swift - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Mike wanted to see Stone Curlew and unfortunately one of their main nesting sites was gated off, so I took him to a certain part of the Sewage Plant where I have seen them often previous years. We managed to spot two and we also had some very close encounters with Spur-winged Lapwing to the wrap the day off reaching a large count of 94 species bringing our total to 123 species.
Spur-winged Lapwing - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
| Species List: Chukar Partridge Black Francolin Mallard Garganey Common Teal Ferruginous Duck Little Grebe Greater Flamingo Glossy Ibis Little Bittern Black-crowned Night-heron Squacco Heron Cattle Egret Grey Heron Purple Heron Little Egret European Shag Common Kestrel Eleonora's Falcon Peregrine Falcon Western Marsh Harrier Long-legged Buzzard Little Crake Baillon's Crake Common Moorhen Common Coot Eurasian Stone Curlew Black-winged Stilt Spur-winged Lapwing Little Ringed Plover Kentish Plover Common Snipe Whimbrel Spotted Redshank Marsh Sandpiper Common Greenshank Green Sandpiper Wood Sandpiper Common Sandpiper Little Stint Temminck's Stint Ruff Armenian Gull Yellow-legged Gull Caspian Gull Black-headed Gull Slender-billed Gull Gull-billed Tern Rock Dove Common Wood-pigeon European Turtle-dove Eurasian Collared-dove Laughing Dove Great Spotted Cuckoo Common Cuckoo Cyprus Scops Owl | Little Owl Alpine Swift Common Swift Common Kingfisher Eurasian Hoopoe Eurasian Wryneck Woodchat Shrike Masked Shrike Eurasian Magpie Eurasian Jackdaw Hooded Crow Great Tit Greater Short-toed Lark Crested Lark (h)Eurasian Skylark Barn Swallow Red-rumped Swallow Common House-martin Zitting Cisticola Cetti's Warbler Sedge Warbler (h)Eurasian Reed-warbler Great Reed-warbler (h)Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Eastern Bonelli's Warbler Wood Warbler Blackcap Common Whitethroat Lesser Whitethroat Sardinian Warbler Cyprus Warbler Spectacled Warbler Common Starling Common Nightingale Whinchat Northern Wheatear Eastern Black-eared Wheatear Cyprus Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Blue Rock-thrush Collared Flycatcher House Sparrow Spanish Sparrow White Wagtail Yellow Wagtail (Flava, Dombrowskii) Black-headed Wagtail Tree Pipit Red-throated Pipit (h)Common Chaffinch European Serin European Greenfinch European Goldfinch Common Linnet Corn Bunting Ortolan Bunting Cretzschmar's Bunting 123 |
| Butterflies: Large White Small White Eastern Dappled White Common Blue Paphos Blue (Syrian) Swallowtail Painted lady Moths: Striped Hawk Moth | Orchids: Neotinia Maculata Ophrys Cinerophilia Orchis Fragrans Ophrys Apifera Reptiles: Mediteranean Gecko Kotschyi's Gecko Sling-tailed Agama Snake Eyed Lizard Schreiber's Fringe-fingered Lizard |
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