April 28th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos 27/04/2019

Bonelli's Eagle - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

On the 27th I guided Jules around the Paphos sites. Jules had done a fair bit of birding at the popular sites and used my service to find a few of the species that had evaded him i.e Bonelli's Eagle, Cretzschmar's Bunting and Black-headed Bunting.
We set out straight to the foothills where we got incredible views of Bonelli's Eagles perching not far away for lengthy times and also flying low, a great start to the day. A Hoopoe showed well as we left the site and many Serin were in song.
Next we headed to kathikas for Black-headed Bunting, we actually found quite a few and got great views and photo opportunities with them. As we left the site a Black Francolin showed close at the side of the road.

Black-headed Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

Black-headed Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

We then had a look around Pano Arodes which proved great for Common Cuckoo (including a hepatic morph) and Great Spotted Cuckoo.

Black Francolin - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

Then we traveled to Neo Chorio for Cretzschmar's Bunting. Unfortunately none actually showed, called or sung here which is unusual though we got great views of many Cyprus Warbler, Cyprus Wheatear and hundreds of Blackcap. Pied and Spotted Flycatcher were in the area on the way to the picnic site and a Eurasian Hobby flew close overhead.

Eurasian Hobby - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

We swept through Androlikou in hope of getting a late Eastern Bonelli's Warbler and was unsuccessful with that, though we did see the local Masked Shrike, brief views of a Wood Sandpiper flushed from a pool and some great views of Ortolan Bunting.
We stopped for some food and then continued back to Paphos to check out Minthis Hills for Cretzschmar's Bunting. They took a long time to show, though we had a Common Rock Thrush nearby to keep us occupied until they finally presented themselves. 

Ortolan Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

We stopped at a Cyprus Scops Owl roost on the way to Episkopi and saw two sitting close together. At Episkopi we had views of one of the Peregrines on territory. Moving into the valley we managed to get a view of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, something Jules wanted to see as his only other sighting of the species was a scruffy one.
As we headed back we stopped for a young Chameleon crossing the road, which we helped and snapped a few photos of too. Targets achieved, not the highest bird count but some great species and fantastic views. 47 Species.

Cyprus Scops Owl - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

​Species List:

Chukar Partridge    
Black Francolin    
Common Kestrel   
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon
Bonelli's Eagle    
Wood Sandpiper 
Common Wood-pigeon   
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
Cyprus Scops Owl
(h)Little Owl
Common Swift
Eurasian Hoopoe 
Masked Shrike 
Eurasian Magpie    
Eurasian Jackdaw   
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark  
Barn Swallow 
Common House-martin   

Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler 
Blackcap 
Lesser Whitethroat 
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler 
Whinchat
Cyprus Wheatear
Common Rockthrush
Spotted Flycatcher
European Pied Flycatcher
House Sparrow 
Spanish Sparrow    
Tree Pipit 
Red-throated Pipit
European Serin 
European Greenfinch    
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
Ortolan Bunting
Cretzschmar's Bunting 
Black-headed Bunting

47