Blog Archives

September 26th, 2019

26/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 25/09/2019

On the 25th I guided Paul and Fiana around the Akrotiri and Troodos sites.
We started at Phassouri Marsh car park where quite a bit was flying over, Garganey, Mallard, Grey Heron, Bee-eaters, Whiskered and White-winged Tern and various Egrets. A Whinchat was showing on the reeds nearby. We then ventured to the main hide, seeing a pair of Black Francolin crossing the road infront of us nice and slowly, providing great lengthy views.

Spur-winged Lapwing were showing on the ground and we had views of a Common Kingfisher and a Sedge Warbler. Glossy Ibis and Great Egret flew over and huge flocks of Mallard were coming down into the pool. We also had plenty of Turtle Doves flying over here.

On the other side of the marsh near the gravel pits there was only one Red-footed Falcon showing, a male though.
We then checked out a Eucalyptus woodland for roosting raptors and only managed to see a single Honey Buzzard in the trees. Blackcap were calling and showing in the small bushes and plenty of Bee-eaters were perched in the trees.
We then ventured to the Salt Lake, seeing the many Flamingos and some Eleonora's Falcons hunting with some even sitting in some trees. We had a small party of Yellow Wagtail on a puddle and a juvenile Citrine Wagtail was among them. Plenty of Spectacled Warbler were showing in the bushes.
Next stop was Kensington Cliffs, we was lucky to get a good kettle of Honey Buzzard as we arrived, also two Griffon Vultures were in the air, one being mobbed by plenty of Eleonora's Falcon, and we had an ellies meters away on the cliff too. The Green Turtle was still showing in the bay and as we left an Osprey flew over.
We admired some of the pygmy carlinas and then proceeded up to the mountains. In Platres we had great views of two Cyprus Wheatear and I had distant views of Treecreepers though Paul and Fiana could not get on to them. Coal tit were showing well here too as well as our endemic Cyprus Grayling butterflies. At Livadi tou Passia we were treated to mouth watering close views of a female collared flycatcher (the first I had ever seen in Autumn) and close encounters with a Cyprus Jay and a very brief view of a wren. Colchicum Troodi was flowering in abundance here.
We stopped to have our lunch and then left back to Limassol, seeing a stunning Masked Shrike and fleeting views of a Cyprus Warbler. We finished with 69 species for the day.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Osprey
European Honey-buzzard
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Ring-tail Harrier
Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Snipe
Yellow-legged Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove

Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Red-backed Shrike
Masked Shrike
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Coal Tit
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Eurasian Wren
Dorothy's (Short-toed) Treecreeper
Whinchat
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
Collared Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Citrine Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
69

Cyprus Grayling
Large White
Painted Lady
Wall Brown
Speckled Wood
African Grass Blue
Millet Skipper
Humingbird Hawkmoth

Lesser Emperor

Pygmy Carlina
Colchicum Troodi

September 24th, 2019

24/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 23/09/2019

On the 23rd I guided Ian around the Akrotiri Sites.
We started off at Phassouri where we had brief views of Water Rail and good views of Gossy Ibis, Little Egret and Spur-winged Lapwing as well as Black-headed Wagtail. A Honey Buzzard took up on our arrival and a pair of Whiskered and White-winged Tern where flying in the area as well as some snipe and 2 Ruff. We also had good views of a male and female Black Francolin on the marsh. Round the back heading to the gravel pits we had great views of Red-footed Falcon in the trees and on the ground.
The gravel pits was still very much quiet as was last time, we did manage to spot 3 Tawny Pipit on the ground and a Turnstone still feeding around the oasis.
We then ventured to the Salt Lake. Glossy Ibis, Greater Flamingo and some Spoonbill were on the salt lake as well as long lines of Grey Heron and Sleder-billed Gull. Some of the Slender-billed Gull took up and flew quite close to us. Pallid Swift and various hirundines were flying over and we managed to get on a rare Little Swift here. We only saw around 8 Honey Buzzard here high up and decided it was not the point that the raptors would come down for a drink and so we continued to Bishop's Pool. On the way we saw Crested Lark and Red-backed Shrike plus many Bee-eaters and a small party of Chukar, we didn't check the pools at Ladies Miile as we was tipped off that nothing much was on the water.
As we approached Bishop's Pool a Honey Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Steppe Buzzard were not too high in a small kettle.

Sadly we didn't see any more large raptors at Bishop's Pool though we did get good views of a Blunt-nosed Viper crossing the road close, a Black Francolin meters from the car laying down and also the usuals on the lake.

Next we ventured to the tower hide, having a look on the gravel pits again on the way. Not much was happening at the tower hide and so we headed to kensington cliffs where finally a few Griffon Vultures were on show. We had Eleonora's close on the cliff and many in flight and admired some of our endemic pygmy carlina thistles here and the adult Green turtle still in the bay.

We stopped here for our food and then headed back to Phassouri to the Bee-hives area in hope of some raptors. Here we got many Red-footed Falcon, a disappointing number of Honey Buzzard for this time of year, a Hobby and also a Black Kite. We finished the day with 68 species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Steppe Buzzard
Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Snipe
Eurasian Curlew
Ruff
Turnstone

Baltic Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Pallid Swift
LITTLE SWIFT
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
Northern Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
Tree Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
68

September 20th, 2019

20/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 19/09/2019

On the 19th I guided Hillary and Ian around the Akrotiri sites. Our day started at Phassouri where Grey Heron and Glossy Ibis were flying over and the trees were full of European Bee-eaters at their roost. A European Roller seemingly wanted some attention by landing in the tree next to the car on arrival.
We headed to the main hide where 4 Common Snipe flushed on our arrival and Spur-winged Lapwing were walking with us down the path to the hide. Marsh Harrier were hunting frequently and small groups of mallard and garganey were taking up every now and then. From the hide we saw Red-backed Shrike and Whinchat close and fleeting glimpses of Water Rail and Common Kingfisher. Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler showed well at times here. Every time a Marsh Harrier flew over it put up a Whiskered Tern and a group of Greenshank. As we exited the site a female Red-footed Falcon flew in close towards us providing great views and a Golden plover type flew over the hide ... which seemed quite early and though I was suspicious that it may be a Pacific, the record photos showed that it was in fact a European.
As we ventured to the Gravel Pits there was many European Turtle-Dove flying over, with some coming down for water.
The gravel pits was again very low on life aside quite a few Marsh Harrier on the ground and a distant Hoopoe and so we continued to the Salt Lake.
The usuals were at the Salt Lake though new additions were Pallid Swift overhead and a small group of Baltic Gull. A Spoonbill was seen very briefly flying into the runoff channel and not re-emerging. Only a few Honey Buzzard flew over here so we tried to find an area with better raptor activity.
We headed to Bishop's Pool and found a nice shady place to view the sky. As we entered the gates a Sparrowhawk flew out of a nearby tree, sadly not a levant but still a welcome sight. There wasn't too much activity in the sky aside Marsh Harrier, a small group of Black Kite and seemingly a fair group of Red-footed Falcon up high. We checked on the water and new additions included Northern Shoveler. On the opposite site we flushed a Little Bittern and had quite a sizable kettle of Honey Buzzard with a Montagu's Harrier among them.
We then ventured to Ladies Mile for the waders which didn't seem to be present, only getting Kentish Plover and Little Stint plus Lesser Grey Shrike in the area and then headed to the Tower Hide which was very poor aside a brief viewing of a Common Kingfisher.
As we were heading to Kensington Cliffs I spotted a Chameleon in the road and so we stopped to help it across and got some photos of it.
Eleonora's Falcons were showing at Kensington, with some close on the cliff face but again no Griffon Vultures seemed to be present though the Green Turtle was still happily in the bay. We ended the day with 67 species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill
Little Bittern
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Western Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
European Golden Plover
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Snipe
Common Greenshank
Little Stint

Yellow-legged Gull
Baltic Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Alpine Swift
Pallid Swift
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Willow Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
67

September 20th, 2019

20/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 17/09/2019

On the 17th I guided Shay and Natalie around Akrotiri.
We started out at Phassouri where there wasn't overly too much on show aside the European Bee-eaters and a distant pair of Golden Oriole sitting at the top of a eucalyptus tree. Lesser Whitethroat were heard here but not seen. We did manage brief views of a Common Kingfisher and a few Red-backed Shrike.

We ventured through the Gravel Pits seeing a few Whinchat as we passed through, but seemed quite devoid of life aside that so we quickly moved on to the salt lake seeing a few Black Francolin and a Redstart en-route.
The salt lake held the large number of Greater Flamingo as well as a few yellow-legged and slender-billed gull. Groups of Great, Little and Cattle Egret were still present. There didn't seem to be too much activity so we decided to re-locate again. We ventured to Bishop's Pool where a decent kettle of Honey Buzzard were at the entrance along with an Osprey. Heading in to Bishop's pool we had Garganey and Mallard on the water as well as many Little Grebe. Willow Warbler showed well and there was a stream of raptors flying over. We even had a group of 6 Black Kite together. Honey Buzzard numbers were around 80. As we were leaving a Cyprus Hare darted across the road.

We did a quick check at Ladies Mile and got very close to some Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint and a few Turnstones. A European Roller showed nice and close on a low wire nearby and Spectacled Warbler were heard.

Our next site was Kensington Cliffs where we saw many Eleonora's Falcon with one perched quite close, unfortunately the Griffon Vultures were not around but a large male Green Turtle was showing well in the bay.

Our last stop was back in Paphos at the Sewage Plant where we saw some more whinchat, a pair of Ruff, Spur-winged Lapwing and also another Osprey, but this one flew in quite close to us bringing about a nice final sighting of the tour.

We managed 61 species for the day.

Species List:

Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Osprey
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Western Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Long-legged Buzzard
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Little Stint
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Ruff
Yellow-legged Gull

Slender-billed Gull
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
Willow Warbler
(h)Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
(h)Spectacled Warbler
Common Redstart
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit
61

September 20th, 2019

20/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 16/09/2019

On the 16th I guided my friend Allen around Akrotiri. Allen has taken multiple tours with over the past few years and chose Autumn to get some raptors and hopefully some more lifers.
As we set out early many Stone Curlew were calling from a field nearby the hotel. We started out at Phassouri where many Bee-eaters and a Great Reed Warbler showed nicely. A few Grey Heron and Glossy Ibis flew over as well as a medium flock of Black-crowned Night Heron that passed us twice. Marsh Harrier were hunting nearby and a small party of Spur-winged Lapwing were not too far off. Sardinian Warbler, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and a Red-backed Shrike were showing in the bushes and trees. Water Rail and Little Bittern called from the reeds but were unfortunately not seen. A Whiskered tern fed over the pool for quite a few minutes and we also had small groups of White-winged Tern and Turtle Dove flying over a few times as well as European Roller that was flying around and perching a few times.

Our next stop was the Salt Lake where nearly 8000 Greater Flamingos were showing close with Yellow-legged and Slender-billed Gull among them and a small party of Glossy Ibis. Great, Little and Cattle Egret were also on the lake including a large party of Grey Heron as well as Mallard, Garganey and Coot. A Greater-short-toed Lark was scurrying around some meters from us from our view point. Eleonora's Falcon and Marsh Harrier were hunting in the area not too far away.
We then moved on to the Gravel Pits where a Masked Shrike showed briefly as well as many Whinchat. There was many European Honey Buzzards flying over and we even managed to get quite a few on the ground close. We ended up with nearly 200 for the day. We was told that we just missed a Bar-tailed Godwit on one of the pools here. We heard a curlew call in the distance but was unable to see it.

We then headed back on ourselves to Ladies Mile to get some waders after hearing of a Broad-billed Sandpiper being sighted, we saw Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint, Kentish Plover, Common and Little Ringed Plover quite close but the bb sand must have moved on. A pair of Tree Pipit flew over here and identified on call.
We then finished up the day at the Phassouri Bee-hives where we had a few Black Kite and Montagu's Harrier (Black Kite being a target for the day), some more Honey Buzzard, most of the hirundines and best of all a pair of Lesser Kestrel and a Short-toed Eagle.

We finished up with 79 species for the day.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
(h)Little Bittern
Black-crowned Night-heron
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Short-toed Snake-eagle
Western Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Steppe Buzzard
(h)Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
(h)Eurasian Stone Curlew
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
(h)Eurasian Curlew
(h)Common Greenshank
Ruddy Turnstone
Little Stint
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Yellow-legged Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Sandwich Tern

Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Masked Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Great Reed-warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Tree Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
79

September 10th, 2019

10/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 09/09/2019

On the 9th I guided Dennis around Akrotiri.
We started out at the entrance to Phassouri tower hide where Bee-eaters were flying over-head and Lesser Whitethroat were showing in the bushes. A Wood Sandpiper called from a distance.
On the Salt Lake we managed to find an adult Demoiselle Crane at the waters edge and got fantastic views of that. A probable Pallid Harrier was a little way away but spooked as we tried to get in closer to get an accurate ID. We also flushed a few Greater Short-toed Lark here, saw a Hoopoe and heard a Sectacled Warbler nearby.
We then headed round to the run-off. The Curlew wasn't in sight but the Flamingo's were there as usual and the small party of Glossy Ibis. In the distance there was a big line of Grey Heron and a giant mixed flock of little and cattle Egret with a small party of Black-winged Stilt. There was a few Mallard and Garganey on the water as well as a small party of coot. Yellow Wagtail were flitting around and we had a fly-over Montagu's Harrier and many Marsh Harrier.
Next we continued around to ladies mile, seeing a female Black-francolin en-route (A target species). There was plenty of Lesser Grey Shrike here and one had even caught a Scorpion.

A few Red-backed Shrike were also knocking about here as well as a few Northern Wheatear. On the small puddles of water we got Common Ringed Plover and Little Stint, but the majority of birds here were Kentish Plover aside two young Black-winged Stilt and a single Glossy Ibis very close. We heard a Common Kingfisher call out near zakaki though we did not see it.
A quick drive around the Gravel Pits produced a Tawny Pipit, a few Whinchat, many European Rollers and a few Turtle Doves in flight.

We checked Phassouri and found another female Black Francolin, there wasn't much infront of the hide due to the reeds being vastly overgrown, though we ventured around the side to get a view of the scrape where a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and a Greenshank were, and also 3 Spur-winged Lapwing and a Spotted Flycatcher a bit further down.
Our next stop was Bishop's Pool and at the entrance we saw a kettle of around 80 Honey Buzzards, mostly adults not too high up.

We stopped to have our lunch at Bishop's Pool and the only other birds of note here was a Purple Heron, Green Sandpiper Calling out and a White-winged Tern. Cetti's and Willow Warbler called from the trees and another Montagu's Harrrier flew over as well as some more Honey Buzzard and Marsh Harrier. I got a txt about 20 Spoonbill just arriving on the salt lake, but Dennis wasn't too fussed to see them and so we ventured to Kensington Cliffs. We got great views of Eleonora's Falcon here, mostly in flight but some perching on the cliffs and trees. We also saw 3 Griffon Vultures, though they did not fly in close.

On the drive back a Long-legged Buzzard was low over the motorway and that brought our total to 69 Species.

Species List:

Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
European Honey-buzzard
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
(prob)Pallid Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Long-legged Buzzard
(h)Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Demoiselle Crane
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Greenshank
(h)Green Sandpiper
(h)Wood Sandpiper
Little Stint
Yellow-legged Gull
Slender-billed Gull
White-winged Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
European Roller
(h)Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
(h)Willow Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
(h)Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch

69

Large Whipsnake
Schreiber's Fringe-fingered Lizard

African Grass Blue
Painted Lady

Tiger Beetle

Blue Emperor
Lesser Emperor
Slender Skimmer
Wandering Glider
Red-veined Darter
Violet Dropwing

Cyprus Scorpion

Sea Daffodil

September 07th, 2019

7/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 06/09/2019

On the 6th I guided Brian around the Akrotiri sites for my first tour of autumn. I had met Brian out here before when he was on an orchid tour with a friend, and had been friends on social media for quite some time.
We set off early morning to the Salt Lake to check for any late parties of Demoiselle Cranes. Unfortunately none had roosted overnight though we had a good view of many Greater Flamingos and Slender-billed Gulls. A Lesser Grey Shrike was moving around the bushes next to us which we got great views of. Bee-eaters were flying high overhead.
We moved around to the run-off side. Water levels weren't so good but the dryness enabled us to get very close to a Eurasian Curlew feeding through the salt flats, a fairly scarce species in Cyprus. Small parties of Spectacled Warbler were in the shrubs and more Lesser Grey Shrikes. A pair of Hoopoe flew in close to the car but vanished in the shrubland. On the Salt Lake many of the Greater Flamingo were very close and many of their nesting mounds were visible.

They were joined by many coot, Little Egret and a few Glossy Ibis as well as a few Herons hiding behind the shrubs. Eleonora's Falcons were hunting over the salt lake as well as quite a few Marsh Harriers. Here we also had some Slender-billed Gulls and many Yellow-legged Gulls. Small groups of Yellow Wagtail were darting around but small waders were absent from the area. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of Raptors on the ground here as it is a favoured roosting spot, though the close ups of the Curlew more than made up for it.
We then headed to the Gravel Pits. Here we got close to a pair of Hoopoes and a Red-backed Shrike wasn't too far away and Chukar Partridge moving along the rocky ledge.

A couple of Willow Warblers were flitting around by the church. There wasn't a bird to be found around the water bodies and so we ventured to Phassouri, seeing Whinchat, Turtle Dove and Spotted Flycatcher en route.
Many Cattle Egret were around the cattle, and at the main hide a pair of Whiskered Terns took up from somewhere nearby. A Greenshank called and then it was fairly quiet. A pair of Zitting Cistcola were feeding their young quite close to the path. A bit further up a Marsh Harrier was on the ground next to some Hooded Crows.

We entered the tower hide which was fairly dissapointing, only seeing one Reed Warbler, a few Turtle Dove and a few Marsh Harrier.
Our next destination was Bishop's Pool in hope of seeing some migrating raptors there. There wasn't so much on the water aside some Little Grebes, Moorhen and Garganey. There was a single Ferruginous Duck there but only seen briefly. Eleonora's Falcon frequently patrolled the water, a Grey Heron and many Turtle Doves were moving around too. Overhead some Marsh Harrier flew over and also a young Pallid Harrier.
Next stop was Kensington Cliffs where 3 Griffon Vultures were seen on arrival and another on the cliff face. Many Eleonora's Falcons were flying around not far from us and one dark morph perched on the cliff face meters from us. Right below us from the cliff face a very large adult Green Turtle was swimming in the shallows. We headed inland a bit and had our lunch.

We then ventured to zakaki to a dragonfly site as Brian is very keen on dragonflies. Here we got to see Wandering Glider, Broad Scarlet, Black Percher, Slender Skimmer, Violet Dropwing, Red-veined Dropwing and Lesser Emperor. Earlier at the Salt Lake we saw Red-veined Darter and Vagrant Emperor also.

Our last stop was at Ladies Mile where quite a few waders were on the small pockets of water, including Kentish and Ringed Plover and also Little Stint. We stopped to see some Sea Daffodils and then finished the tour, seeing Laughing Dove and Baltic Gull on the way back.
We managed 56 species for the day, which is not particularly the best count for this time of year and odd that not a single Honey Buzzard or Black Kite was seen.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Mallard
Garganey
Ferruginous Duck
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Pallid Harrier
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Eurasian Curlew
(h)Common Greenshank
Little Stint
Yellow-legged Gull
Baltic Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern

Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
(h)European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Willow Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
European Greenfinch
56

Violet Dropwing
Red-veined Dropwing
Broad Scarlet
Red-veined Darter
Slender Skimmer
Keeled Skimmer
Black Percher
Wandering Glider
Lesser Emperor
Vagrant Emperor

African Grass Blue
Painted Lady

Large Whip Snake
Sling-tailed Agama

Sea Daffodil

Green Turtle

September 26th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 25/09/2019

September 24th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 23/09/2019

September 20th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 19/09/2019

September 20th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 17/09/2019

September 20th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 16/09/2019

September 10th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 09/09/2019

September 07th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 06/09/2019

Bird is the Word

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