Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - 1/2 day tour - Paphos 21/04/2018
European Roller - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the 21st I had the pleasure of Guiding Dave and Josie around Paphos for a half day tour in the afternoon. As we approached our first destination the weather took a turn for the worst and it started raining with winds also picking up.
Not ideal conditions. At Anarita Park we found some Lesser Kestrel with a Common Kestrel posing very well for photos. There was quite a few European Rollers present, some providing some great photo opportunities. A Chukar sat on a rock meters from the car completely unfazed. Probably some of the best photo opportunities and views I've ever managed of them. We found a Woodchat shrike seeking shelter from the rain inside a thorny broom.
Not ideal conditions. At Anarita Park we found some Lesser Kestrel with a Common Kestrel posing very well for photos. There was quite a few European Rollers present, some providing some great photo opportunities. A Chukar sat on a rock meters from the car completely unfazed. Probably some of the best photo opportunities and views I've ever managed of them. We found a Woodchat shrike seeking shelter from the rain inside a thorny broom.
Chukar - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
 Chukar - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |  Common Kestrel - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |
On to Agia Varvara we saw some Wood Sandpiper and a Little Grebe on the way. We had a quick look on the river to see if any Crakes were about since the water levels had increased after drying out recently. Unfortunately there were none around, though we did see two Turtle Doves.
A female Pallid Harrier flew in from the hills enabling some great views as it circled to gain height not far from us. A falcon followed the valley edge, very hard to identify from such a distance but a few record photos showed it to be a female Red-footed Falcon.
There were many Great Reed Warblers on the south side, with Eurasian Reed Warbler and a Sedge Warbler. Also a few Pied Flycatchers darted across the track. A Purple heron sat not far from the track enabling good views on the ground and in flight. I heard a faint call of a Great Spotted Cuckoo, though was unable to locate it.
There was also quite a few Whincat knocking about, I managed to get us very close to them on many occasions though they were very jittery and never allowed a shot. One even landed a few meters infront of the car foraging for food.
Moving on to Mandria we stopped to see the Laughing Doves which were perched on the wires. Many Yellow Wagtail were feeding on the football pitch as well as Barn Swallow and House Martin collecting mud.
There was a big group of Common Swifts, House Martin, Barn Swallow, and a few Alpine Swift and Sand Martin feeding over the fields.
Driving along the coast a Common Tern came in to view. A very uncommon sighting in Cyprus, and it flew fairly close to us. A small migrating group of Little Egret flew overhead quite low. We finally managed a photo opportunity of Zitting Cisticola here after hearing them just about everywhere.
A female Red-footed Falcon stood on top of a bare tree, we went in closer for a photo but a Hooded Crow flushed her and she just kept flying east which was a shame. On the far east side I showed them two Stone Curlew that had been on the same field for quite some time allowing some great views. A large group of Glossy Ibis were flying along the coast just as we were leaving the Stone Curlew and a Peregrine Shot across the fields to the coast though views were very restricted by the plastic agricultural tubes.
A female Pallid Harrier flew in from the hills enabling some great views as it circled to gain height not far from us. A falcon followed the valley edge, very hard to identify from such a distance but a few record photos showed it to be a female Red-footed Falcon.
There were many Great Reed Warblers on the south side, with Eurasian Reed Warbler and a Sedge Warbler. Also a few Pied Flycatchers darted across the track. A Purple heron sat not far from the track enabling good views on the ground and in flight. I heard a faint call of a Great Spotted Cuckoo, though was unable to locate it.
There was also quite a few Whincat knocking about, I managed to get us very close to them on many occasions though they were very jittery and never allowed a shot. One even landed a few meters infront of the car foraging for food.
Moving on to Mandria we stopped to see the Laughing Doves which were perched on the wires. Many Yellow Wagtail were feeding on the football pitch as well as Barn Swallow and House Martin collecting mud.
There was a big group of Common Swifts, House Martin, Barn Swallow, and a few Alpine Swift and Sand Martin feeding over the fields.
Driving along the coast a Common Tern came in to view. A very uncommon sighting in Cyprus, and it flew fairly close to us. A small migrating group of Little Egret flew overhead quite low. We finally managed a photo opportunity of Zitting Cisticola here after hearing them just about everywhere.
A female Red-footed Falcon stood on top of a bare tree, we went in closer for a photo but a Hooded Crow flushed her and she just kept flying east which was a shame. On the far east side I showed them two Stone Curlew that had been on the same field for quite some time allowing some great views. A large group of Glossy Ibis were flying along the coast just as we were leaving the Stone Curlew and a Peregrine Shot across the fields to the coast though views were very restricted by the plastic agricultural tubes.
Laughing Dove - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
 Common Tern - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |  Wood Warbler - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |
Last stop was the Paphos Sewage Plant to see the Spur-winged Lapwing which we saw quite a few of. We also managed a couple more Stone Curlew but much closer this time, a great way to end the tour managing 53 species with unfavourable weather conditions.
Eurasian Stone Curlew - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
| Species: Chukar Partridge (A.c.cypriotes) (h) Black Francolin Little Grebe Glossy Ibis Cattle Egret Purple Heron Little Egret Lesser Kestrel Common Kestrel Red-footed Falcon Peregrine Falcon Western Marsh Harrier Pallid Harrier Common Moorhen Eurasian Stone Curlew Spur-winged Lapwing Wood Sandpiper Yellow-legged Gull Common Tern (h) Great Spotted Cuckoo Common Wood-pigeon European Turtle-dove Eurasian Collared-dove Laughing Dove Little Owl Alpine Swift | Common Swift European Roller Woodchat Shrike Eurasian Magpie Eurasian Jackdaw Hooded Crow Great Tit (P.m.aphrodite) Crested Lark (G.c.cypriaca) Barn Swallow Common House-martin Zitting Cisticola Cetti's Warbler Sedge Warbler Eurasian Reed-warbler Great Reed-warbler Blackcap Wood Warbler Common Whitethroat Lesser Whitethroat Sardinian Warbler Whinchat Cyprus Wheatear European Pied Flycatcher House Sparrow Yellow Wagtail (M.f.flava) European Greenfinch European Goldfinch 53 |
RSS Feed
