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February 22nd, 2019

22/2/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos & Akrotiri 21/02/2019

On the 21st I guided Lisa and John around the Akrotiri and Paphos sites. We started in Akrotiri with Greater Flamingos in mind. Unfortunately there was only a few birds feeding near the coast, likely reduced numbers due to disturbance in the area. But we got great views of the few that were there.
We was looking through the gulls when an Arctic Sku flew low over the car, a very scarce bird for Cyprus. We watched it as it flew down the coast and rested in the sea for a while, though as I drove down for closer views it vanished, briefly re-appearing and then losing it again. Only the second I have ever seen in Cyprus and a lifer for both Lisa and John.
We proceeded to look through the gulls and found a few Armenian, Slender-billed and Mediterranean Gull. Moving on to Zakaki there was a few Temminck's stint on the pool across the road from the hide.

From the hide we had many good views of Marsh Harrier hunting and a Sparrowhawk harrassing a hooded crow. We had very good views of Penduline Tits out in the open but failed to see the few Moustached Warbler that were singing. A reed warbler showed very briefly.
On the way to Bishops pool a Common Buzzard was sitting out in the open showing very well and during a brief stop next to the salt lake a Common Kestrel swooped down and grabbed something from the ground in close proximity to the car. Bishop's Pool was again unusually short of waterfowl for this time of year. We did manage to see quite a few Ferruginous Ducks here though. We did manage to spot a Green Tree Frog which proceeded to hide in a shrub.

Lisa had an interest in Orchids so we entered part of the Gravel Pits to find some of the special species in flower at the moment. We found a decent selection of species including two of our endemic: Kotschyi and Elegans.
As we left the site we spotted a Cyprus Warbler sitting in the top of a low shrub next to the road, which provided good views at times. I suspect it was a recent arrival as this is not one of their territories.
We then headed to Phassouri seeing many finches at the entrance as well as some Common Swift ... with a few Alpine Swifts among them. We tried looking for the Black-bellied Sandgrouse that was seen recently here but was unsuccesful. A small party of Starlings were airborn and we later saw them all perched in a Eucalyptus tree. We got great views of a Marsh Harrier perched on some dead wood here.
We decided to have our lunch at Kensington cliffs whilst watching the Griffon Vultures. There was only one in view at first but shortly after we had 4 of them flying extremely close to us ... eye level.

As we returned to Paphos, we scouted Mandria which held surprisingly little, though we did see a Laughing Dove. We headed to Timi after in hope of catching an Isabelline Wheatear but they seemed to be vacant from both sites.
Our final stop was the Sewage Works for Spur-winged Lapwing. One flew in and landed next to the car as did a second. A red-throated pipit flew overhead calling and a few Meadow pipit were at a puddle. A small group of Corn Bunting showed well in a bare pecan tree and moments later joined by a male Spanish Sparrow.
We ended the day by the pomegranate orchard to get good views of Serin which didn't disappoint.
We managed 63 species for the day

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin (h)
Mallard
Common Teal
Ferruginous Duck
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Cormorant
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Common Buzzard
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Temminck's Stint
Armenian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Arctic Skua
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Alpine Swift

Common Swift
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Eurasian Penduline tit
Crested Lark
Barn Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
Moustached Warbler (h)
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Common Starling
Eurasian Blackbird (h)
Song Thrush
Common Stonechat
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
Red-throated Pipit (h)
Common Chaffinch
European Serin
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
62

Himantoglossum Robertianum
Orchis Syriaca
Ophrys Sicula
Ophrys Elegans
Ophrys Kotschyi
Ophrys Iricolor

Veined Sainfoin
Fagonia Cretica
Storks Bill
Anenome Coronaria
Salvia lanigera
Silene Aegyptica

Green Tree Frog

February 13th, 2019

13/2/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Akrotiri 12/02/2019

On the 12th I guided Jane and Mike around the Akrotiri sites. We started at Zakaki where we was treated to decent views of the many Penduline Tits that were feeding on the reed seed. Moustached Warblers were moving around and we had good clear views of them at times as well as the Eurasian Reed Warbler that arrived early in Cyprus late last month. We also managed good views of Cetti's Warblers sitting still in the reeds and singing away for prolonged periods of time.
Moving on to Ladies Mile we had great views of a small group of Greater Flamingo, they were sleeping at first but were woken up by a helicopter passing over. There was hundreds of Black-headed Gulls on show but we couldn't find any slender-billed gulls among them, which was odd as there was an increase in numbers of them the previous day. Behind the restaurant we had great close views of Armenian and Caspian Gull plus a single Yellow-legged Gull.
Moving closer to the salt lake an Isabelline Wheatear showed well and a small group of Serin and Linnet were feeding on the ground next to it.

Our next site was Bishop's Pool. We was greeted by many song thrush and blackbird darting across the road at the entrance. As we approached the Lake a male Black Francolin edged out from the side of the path meters from the car and showed well for nearly a minute.
Species were thin on the lake, only Ferruginous Duck, Common Teal, Common Coot, Little Grebe and a few Mallard. A Water rail called and climbed up the bank showing very briefly. Reed Warbler and Moustached Warbler were moving in the reeds here.

Jane and Mike were interested in the flora too and was delighted to see Ophrys Flavomarginata here and enjoy some wild asparagus. I decided to show them the special area for orchids near here of which we saw Ophrys Sicula, Levantina, Elegans (Endemic) and Orchis Syriaca. Also plenty of Anemone Coronaria's and Romulea Tempsykana's (sand crocus) were growing here.
A quick check of the gravel pits didn't produce any birds but we did see many Himantoglossum Robertianum and Ophrys Iricolor here.
We decided to eat our lunch at the Phassouri Marsh hide as it was raining quite heavily at this point. There we saw many Teal and a Ferruginous duck as well as a Marsh Harrier and fleeting glimpse of a Common Kingfisher. Penduline Tits were calling but we couldn't manage to see any.
As we left the area we had a Common Buzzard perched eye level on a fence meters from the car which surprisingly didn't fly off straight away.
Our next destination was the Kensington Cliffs. As we arrived, a migrating flock of Great Cormorant were passing overhead. Shags were on the rocks and we managed scoped views of Griffon Vultures perched on the cliffs which were not flying much, probably due to the weather. We tried our luck going in land for Cyprus Warbler and hopefully some early migrants but the weather wasn't very accommodating and nothing was showing.
We finished the day with 56 species.

Species:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Common Teal
Ferruginous Duck
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Great Cormorant
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Common Buzzard
Water Rail (h)
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Armenian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Caspian Gull
Black-headed Gull
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
Eurasian Collared-dove
Common Swift
Common Kingfisher
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Eurasian Penduline tit
Crested Lark
Wood Lark
Eurasian Skylark
Barn Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler

Moustached Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Eurasian Blackbird
Song Thrush
European Robin (h)
Western Black Redstart
Common Stonechat
Isabelline Wheatear
House Sparrow
White Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Serin
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet

56

Himantoglossum Robertianum
Anacamptis Collina
Orchis Syriaca
Ophrys Flavomarginata
Ophrys Sicula
Ophrys Levantina
Ophrys Elegans
Ophrys Iricolor
Romulea Tempsykana
Anemone Coronaria
Fagonia Cretica
Veined Sainfoin
Gagea Sp.
Rock Rose
Myrtle
Muscari inconstrictum
Fumaria judaica

February 11th, 2019

11/2/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos + Akrotiri 11/02/2019

On the 11th I guided Jimmy around the Paphos and Akrotiri Sites. We started out at the headland for Greater Sand Plover, one of the four present there before was starting to change into summer plumage which was nice to see, a Common Sandpiper showed well as did the European Golden plover though no sign of the Turnstone or long staying whimbrel. There seemed to be less numbers on the ground today, athough we still got good views of Crested, Eurasian Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Red-throated Pipit as well as many finches inc. Linnet. There seemed to be more Corn Bunting in the area singing as well as the large flock of Common Starling.
Heading through the Sewage Plant we saw many Spur-winged Lapwing with one providing great photo opportunities. The Grey wagtail was showing well too, as was a large group of various finches (chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch, serin and spanish sparrow) and a very showy woodlark singing away. We got a single cattle egret on the far western entrance.
Moving on to Anarita Park we located a Peregrine Falcon on a pylon, Little Owl on its nesting boulder and 2 male Finsch's Wheatear, the latter showing well quite close on some Spiny Shrub. We couldn't locate the Blue Rock Thrush but got cracking views of Cyprus Warbler, which showed out in the open often for long periods. There was a few more Cyprus Warblers that had arrived in the area since my last visit. Chukar Partridge were plenty calling away and sitting on nearby rocks throughout the site.

We then headed to Mandria after a quick detour to the entrance to Agia Vavara which produced a Long-legged Buzzard.
We were quick to find a Laughing Dove and a recently arrive Eurasian Hoopoe ... my first of the year. An Isabelline Wheatear was showing well near the picnic site, another lifer for Jimmy.
Our next site was Zakaki in Akrotiri. En-route we came across a few Common Buzzards along the motorway.
Arriving at Zakaki it seemed very devoid of life and the wind had picked up. I heard a few Eurasian Penduline Tit but we was unable to find them.
We moved on to Ladie Mile quickly where 4 Greater Flamingo were feeding and the large group of gulls were settled. We had quite a few Slender-billed Gulls among the Black-headed Gulls and a pair of young Mediterranean Gulls. Behind the restaurant we found quite a few Armenian Gulls of all ages but no Caspian Gulls this time around.
Our next stop was Phassouri Marsh where we ate our lunch in the hide and watched the Marsh Harriers hunting. I got a fleeting glimpse of a Common Kingfisher here but Jimmy didn't manage to get on it quick enough. A group of 5 Northern lapwings flew in from the east and landed in one of the concealed pools which held some Common Teal that were put up by the Marsh harriers from time to time.
After we finished our lunch we headed to the Kensington Cliffs where a Griffon Vulture was seen on entry. It landed in a pine tree and stripped a branch and carried it back to the nest. The only other bird of note here was some pure Rock Doves.

We had a bit of time left over and so Jimmy opted to visit one last site in Paphos. We went to Timi beach where 2 Isabelline Wheatear were showing well and provided good photo opportunities and a good way to wrap up the tour producing 67 Species for the day.

Species:

Chukar Partridge
Mallard
Common Teal
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Cattle Egret
Great Cormorant
Common Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Common Buzzard
Long-legged Buzzard
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Northern Lapwing
Spur-winged Lapwing
Eurasian Golden Plover
Greater Sand Plover
Common Sandpiper
Armenian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Little Owl
Common Kingfisher
Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Magpie

Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Eurasian Penduline tit (h)
Crested Lark
Wood Lark
Eurasian Skylark
Barn Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler (h)
Common Chiffchaff
Blackcap (h)
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Common Starling
Song Thrush
European Robin (h)
Western Black Redstart
Common Stonechat
Finsch's Wheatear
Isabelline Wheatear
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Serin
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
67

February 10th, 2019

10/2/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - x3 Day Tour - Paphos, Akrotiri + Larnaca 07, 08, 09/02/2019

On the 7th I had the pleasure of guiding Ewelina on a 3 day tour around Paphos, Akrotiri and Larnaca. The weather wasn't always good, although we managed a decent bird count each day.
On the first day we started off at the Paphos Headland Coast for Greater Sand Plover driving through the harbour on the way which had many Great Cormorants and a few Yellow-legged Gulls on the breakers. We saw many birds on the ground leading up to the greater sand plovers including Eurasian Skylark, Crested Lark, Meadow Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, countless Common Stonechat and many Corn Bunting singing away. We even managed good views of a pair of recently arrived Isabelline wheatears. I had only discovered the first Isabelline Wheater to arrive in Cyprus this year 2 days prior, so we were very fortunate.
At the point the Greater Sand Plover all stood on the rocks in a row, sadly all in their winter plumage though a few just starting to change ... which is unusual in that this time previous years I had seem some of them almost half changed by this time. A group of Golden Plover were slightly to the right of them and had a lone Turnstone among them.
We then ventured to the Sewage Works here we saw a female Eurasian Sparrowhawk hunting and fly straight through an olive tree. Many Spur-winged Lapwing were showing including a pair very close to the car, and the Cattle Egrets were feeding in the alfalfa fields, chasing each other at times. Meadow Pipits were darting around in their hundreds and a Grey Wagtail showed well next to the car. We saw a small group of Ducks in flight land in one of the concealed pools, by size we assumed they must have been common teal. A Common Quail was calling from inside an alfalfa field, though we had no chance in locating it. There seemed to be a large number of Serin moving around the site that day of which we got great views of, but a disappointing number of Spanish Sparrows, just 1 in fact, though a nice male that posed meters from the car in some fennel.
As we left the site we checked an orchard for Stone Curlew, but unfortunately none were to be seen.
Our next stop was Timi beach which held very little so we moved on quickly to Mandria. Here we saw 7 Laughing Doves, great views of them on the wires (accompanied by recently arrived Barn Swallow) and also feeding close on the ground. We added 2 more Isabelline Wheatear here and then stopped for coffee.
We then checked Secret Valley for Chukar and waterfowl. On the lake we had Grey Heron and Little Egret, with a Great Cormorant perched at the top of a coniferous trees. Many Coot, Moorhen and Little Grebe were on the water and a single Teal.
We moved further up after to stopping to look at an endemic flower - Aphrodite's Spurge. Sure enough we found little groups of Chukar, unfortunately no Bonelli's Eagles hunting here today though and so we moved on.
We stopped at Anarita Mast on the way to Anarita Park which held no surprises. Anarita park produced a Little Owl, Finsch's Wheatear and a stunning male Blue Rock Thrush of which we had lengthy views of whilst we ate our lunch. We also heard a few Cyprus Warbler here and got lengthy views of a male moving among some spiny bush, which briefly did show clearly out of the bush thankfully.
We managed 55 species for the day.

On the second day we ventured to Akrotiri. The weather was very poor as we left Paphos and it rained heavy at times with very few sunny spells throughout the day in Akrotiri, making the birding difficult.
We started at Zakaki where we struggled to see the many Penduline Tits darting around and the many Moustached Warbler singing. We never managed good views of either unfortunately. We did get good views of Cetti's Warbler and a very early Eurasian Reed Warbler. Seeing a Siberian race of Common Chiffchaff was a treat. We had a flyover Green Sandpiper calling here and Water Rail calling from the dense reeds. A very small falcon flew over towards the salt lake, a Merlin!
The gulls were disturbed at ladies mile and so we drove down the strip to check some waders out. A small group of Little Stint show well very close to the car, as did many Greater Flamingo. As we returned we got to look through some settled gulls and found a Slender-billed Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Caspian Gull and Armenian Gull among the Black-headed Gull. A group of 30+ Great Cormorant were migrating north.
Bishop's Pool was unfortunately locked but gave us time to visit a few sites that we missed in Paphos the previous day.
We checked out Phassouri Marsh of which Ewelina spotted and pointed out a Eurasian Wryneck sitting in a eucalyptus tree, a great spot! There was quite a few recently arrived Common Swift around here and Barn Swallow. We also saw a group of Woodlark sitting in a tree drying off from the rain.
Moving on to Kensington Cliffs we were treated to good close views of the griffon Vultures on arrival and then saw 7 of them sitting in a low pine tree very close to us for a lengthy time. Some of the best perched views I have ever had of our small population!

So with our extra time we headed back to Paphos and headed into the foothills of Episkopi to see the Peregrine Falcon site. Sure enough we saw one and then moments later the male flew in and they started copulating, minutes after we arrived. What great timing! We saw the female perched at various spots and patrolling the monlith edge many times.

We then drove through Minthis seeing a few Corn Bunting on the way and headed back through Armou of which we saw a Long-legged Buzzard in flight a few times and briefly perched close in the top of a coniferous tree.
Despite the bad weather it turned out to be a great day managing 63 species.

On our final day we headed to Larnaca, and the weather was great.
After the journey there we stopped for coffee at Menou. Over the road from us a Black Francolin was calling and some largish birds were moving every now and then through a field. Ewelina saw a white bar on the upper wing of one and so I suggested Stone Curlew. After we finished our coffee I took the car in for a closer inspection and they were indeed Stone Curlew, over 60 of them infact! An incredible start to the day!
Menou and Spiros Pools held little but Greater Flamingo. As we walked to the Sewage Pools hide we saw quite a few Spectacled Warbler in the flooded low shrubs. On the pools we had some water fowl but not the usual winter concentration.
A few Gadwall and Common Pochard, Mallard, Northern Shoveler and Common Teal were the most numorous species. We had 3 grebe species too: Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and over 40 Black-necked Grebe with some changing into summer plumage. Ewelina managed to spot a small group of Greater White Fronted Geese on a meadow behind the pools in the distance.
We searched around the desalination area and managed great close views of a lone Chukar. We also saw many Kentish plover on the beach accompanied by 2 Dunlin.
Then we headed to the Salt Lake. We was unsuccessful in finding a pair of Little Gull and a Ruddy Shelduck that had been seen here previous days, though we did see many Greater Flamingo, a very large flock of Black-headed and Slender-Billed Gulls and many Little Stint with a few Ringed Plover among them. There were some distant Common Shelduck halfway in and a few Spur-winged Lapwing around the edge.
Our next stop was the Kamares Aqueduct. There was many Water Pipit here at the start of the channel and a Grey Wagtail. A small group of Little Egret were further up and eventually flew over. As we walked up we flushed many Common Snipe and managed good views of one. A Green Sandpiper showed but was very nervous at times as was a Common Redshank. A pair of Common Kingfishers were chasing each other many times during our visit and the reed bed was full of Common Chiffchaff. Occasionally a Laughing Dove flew over and landed on some wires and as we returned to the start of the channel we was treated to lengthy close views of a Bluethroat which was very close to summer plumage. We had our first House Martin here also, accompanied by a Barn Swallow. A few Penduline tit and a Moustached warbler were calling from the reeds but we never managed to see them.
Next we headed to Oroklini. Here we got some Ferruginous Duck and Black-winged Stilt to add to the list and some good scoped views of perched Marsh Harrier, also seeing them hunting many times. The main hide got very busy and so we ventured to the second hide. Some Greater Flamingo were very close here, no surprises on this side though until we left the hide and another Bluethroat flew in and landed in a low tamarisk right next to us. This one was a drab female though.
We headed to the beach to look through the gulls. There was quite a few Cattle Egret feeding in the flooded fields and a few Spur-winged lapwings were meters from the car as we pulled up to some traffic lights. On the beach there were mainly Black-headed Gulls but we did manage a Mediterranean Gull among them as well as a few Sandwich Terns on the ground.
We managed 72 Species for the day bringing our today to 101 Species. A thoroughly enjoyable 3 day adventure with great company.

Species List:

Black Francolin (h)
Chukar Partridge (a.c.cypriotes)
Common Quail (h)
Greater White-fronted Goose
Common Shelduck
Gadwall
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Common Teal
Common Pochard
Ferruginous Duck
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Grey Heron
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Great Cormorant
European Shag (p.a.desmarestii)
Common Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon (f.p.brookei)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Common Buzzard
Long-legged Buzzard
Water Rail (h)
Common Coot
Common Moorhen
Eurasian Stone Curlew
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Eurasian Golden Plover
Greater Sand Plover
Common Snipe
Common Redshank
Green Sandpiper
Little Stint
Dunlin
Ruddy Turnstone
Armenian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Caspian Gull
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Sandwich Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Common Swift
Common Kingfisher
Eurasian Wryneck
Little Owl
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit (p.m.aphrodite)
Eurasian Penduline Tit
Crested Lark (g.c.cypriaca)
Wood Lark
Eurasian Skylark
Barn Swallow
Common House Martin
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
Moustached Warbler
Eurasian Reed Warbler
Common Chiffchaff (inc. P.c.tristis)
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Common Starling
Eurasian Blackbird
Song Thrush
European Robin
Bluethroat
Western Black Redstart
Common Stonechat
Finsch's Wheatear
Isabelline Wheatear
Blue Rock-thrush
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Water Pipit (a.s.coutelli)
Common Chaffinch
European Serin
European Greenfinch (c.c.muehlei)
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting

101 Species