Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri & Troodos 08/02/2018
Griffon Vulture - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the 8th of February I had the pleasure of guiding Dennis and Gaye around Akrotiri and Troodos for the first tour of 2018. They both wanted to see the Troodos mountains and a good variety of birds. The weather report stated it would be partly cloudy that day, instead it was mostly cloudy, dusty and rained on and off from 10am onwards...which were not ideal conditions.
As soon as we left the hotel and for the Port there was over 10 Laughing Doves (recent colonizers to the island) all along the seafront strip. Arriving at Zakaki, highlights were Moustached Warbler and an obliging Penduline Tit and Common Kingfisher. A few Reed Bunting showed well also. Due to very bad maintenance to the site we were unable to see into the actual lake and so moved on.
At Ladies Mile a few Grey Herons were in the pools along with hundreds of Black-headed Gulls. Among them we managed to pick out Armenian gulls and a few Slender-billed Gulls, two of which were near summer plumage.
A Hen Harrier glided behind the pool for most of our stay here.
Unfortunately the Common Gull, Sandwich Tern and Mediterranean Gull that are usually present did not show ... but are species Dennis and Gaye see regularly in the UK so we moved on. On our way to bishops pool we saw a Kentish Plover, an extremely obliging Linnet sat next to the car shortly joined by another and then a Crested Lark. Easy birding :)
As soon as we left the hotel and for the Port there was over 10 Laughing Doves (recent colonizers to the island) all along the seafront strip. Arriving at Zakaki, highlights were Moustached Warbler and an obliging Penduline Tit and Common Kingfisher. A few Reed Bunting showed well also. Due to very bad maintenance to the site we were unable to see into the actual lake and so moved on.
At Ladies Mile a few Grey Herons were in the pools along with hundreds of Black-headed Gulls. Among them we managed to pick out Armenian gulls and a few Slender-billed Gulls, two of which were near summer plumage.
A Hen Harrier glided behind the pool for most of our stay here.
Unfortunately the Common Gull, Sandwich Tern and Mediterranean Gull that are usually present did not show ... but are species Dennis and Gaye see regularly in the UK so we moved on. On our way to bishops pool we saw a Kentish Plover, an extremely obliging Linnet sat next to the car shortly joined by another and then a Crested Lark. Easy birding :)
Slender-billed Gull - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
At Bishops pool the waterfowl numbers had dropped significantly since my last visit, no sign of any Pintail, but the other species were present but in small numbers. Star birds here were 3 Black-necked Grebe.
Moving on to the Gravel Pits with a quick stop on the way to check the Flamingos on the salt lake which also produced many Common Shelduck and also to check a small patch of shrubland for some good orchid species. We managed to find Orchis Syriaca, Ophrys Sicula, Ophrys Levantina, Ophrys Elegans (Endemic Sub-species) and Ophrys Cinerophilia all in the space of 5 minutes. We also heard the calls of Black Francolin and Chukar in the area but could not locate them mainly due to the waterlogged and dangerous terrain around the salt lake.
The gravel pits was sadly quite bare, I was hoping with the strong easterly winds the night before that something rare would have been blown in. All that was on offer was a Black-necked Grebe, some Meadow Pipit, A Black Redstart, Common Stonechat, a Song Thrush and Corn Bunting. We also found Ophrys Iricolour and The Giant Orchid here.
Moving on to the Gravel Pits with a quick stop on the way to check the Flamingos on the salt lake which also produced many Common Shelduck and also to check a small patch of shrubland for some good orchid species. We managed to find Orchis Syriaca, Ophrys Sicula, Ophrys Levantina, Ophrys Elegans (Endemic Sub-species) and Ophrys Cinerophilia all in the space of 5 minutes. We also heard the calls of Black Francolin and Chukar in the area but could not locate them mainly due to the waterlogged and dangerous terrain around the salt lake.
The gravel pits was sadly quite bare, I was hoping with the strong easterly winds the night before that something rare would have been blown in. All that was on offer was a Black-necked Grebe, some Meadow Pipit, A Black Redstart, Common Stonechat, a Song Thrush and Corn Bunting. We also found Ophrys Iricolour and The Giant Orchid here.
Flora for the day - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
We then headed towards Episkopi, stopping at the Ancient Curium (Roman Settlement) on the way for a coffee. We arrived at Kensington Cliffs and soaked in the amazing views. 4 Griffon Vultures were perched on the cliff face allowing great scoped views. A Peregrine Falcon swooped in chasing Rock Dove and a Long-legged Buzzard flew in and over the barracks. Here we came across a few Sand Crocus (romulea tempskyana). Gaye said she saw a small black bird flitting about on the cliff edge but we couldn't locate the bird before it disappeared. It could well have been a wallcreeper. On the rocks below we picked out a few Yellow-legged and Caspian Gull along with a group of Mediterranean Shag. We were then treated to a few extremely close fly-bys from a Griffon Vulture, around about 5 meters overhead showing the 8th largest flying bird in the world its true majesty.
Later Dennis and Gaye stated this was definitely the highlight of their tour.
Later Dennis and Gaye stated this was definitely the highlight of their tour.
 Griffon Vulture - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |  Sand Crocus - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved |
We then headed into the foothills in hope of seeing some Cyprus Warbler. The weather was not helpful at this point and it is possible that many of them had not returned to their territories yet and thus sadly we could not locate any.
On to Troodos we struggled to find a Short-toed Treecreeper but eventually got a few and also the brief call of a Wren sounded. Here we also saw hundreds of Endemic and Vulnerable Crocus (Crocus cyprius). Birding was very hard work in the mountains for some reason but the landscape was great with snow still in some places, plus our endemic Cedar Trees and beautiful Strawberry Trees. Not a song or mistle thrush in sight. Even the Coal Tits were in short supply.
There was an extremely large number of Chaffinch and Greenfinch though, at times we were surrounded by hundreds and whilst listening hard to the calls managed to hear and locate some Siskin and Crossbill. At Amiantos we didn't see hardly any birds except a Long-legged Buzzard at the highest altitude that I had ever seen one. Here we came across an Endemic Plant to Cyprus; Aphrodite's Spurge (Euphorbia veneris)
On the drive back I noticed a few large finch sitting at the top of a tree and so quickly pulled over ... Hawfinch! Gaye managed a brief view of a Jay on the drive back. At Platres there was a Common Buzzard ominously sat on a tree slightly above a group of Wood Pigeon sat on a telephone wire.
Approaching the Hotel we stopped to have a quick last look at a Laughing dove along the coastal strip in Limassol before calling it a day.
On to Troodos we struggled to find a Short-toed Treecreeper but eventually got a few and also the brief call of a Wren sounded. Here we also saw hundreds of Endemic and Vulnerable Crocus (Crocus cyprius). Birding was very hard work in the mountains for some reason but the landscape was great with snow still in some places, plus our endemic Cedar Trees and beautiful Strawberry Trees. Not a song or mistle thrush in sight. Even the Coal Tits were in short supply.
There was an extremely large number of Chaffinch and Greenfinch though, at times we were surrounded by hundreds and whilst listening hard to the calls managed to hear and locate some Siskin and Crossbill. At Amiantos we didn't see hardly any birds except a Long-legged Buzzard at the highest altitude that I had ever seen one. Here we came across an Endemic Plant to Cyprus; Aphrodite's Spurge (Euphorbia veneris)
On the drive back I noticed a few large finch sitting at the top of a tree and so quickly pulled over ... Hawfinch! Gaye managed a brief view of a Jay on the drive back. At Platres there was a Common Buzzard ominously sat on a tree slightly above a group of Wood Pigeon sat on a telephone wire.
Approaching the Hotel we stopped to have a quick last look at a Laughing dove along the coastal strip in Limassol before calling it a day.
Griffon Vulture - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
A great tour despite the weather, with a fantastic bird count for this time of year:
65
65
| Common shelduck Eurasian wigeon Common teal Mallard Northern shoveler Ferruginous duck Chukar (h) Black francolin (h) Little grebe Black-necked grebe Greater flamingo European shag Grey heron Griffon vulture Western Marsh harrier Hen harrier Common buzzard Long-legged buzzard Common kestrel Peregrine falcon Common moorhen Eurasian coot Kentish plover Yellow-legged gull Caspian gull Armenian gull Black-headed gull Slender-billed gull Rock dove Common Wood pigeon Eurasian Collared dove Laughing dove Common kingfisher | Crested lark White wagtail Meadow pipit East Mediterranean winter wren (h) Eurasian blackbird Song thrush Cetti's warbler Moustached warbler Chiffchaff Eurasian blackcap Sardinian warbler European robin Western Black redstart European stonechat Coal tit (p.a.Cypriotes) - Endemic sub-species Great tit Dorothy's (Short-toed) treecreeper (c.b.Dorotheae) - Endemic sub-species Eurasian penduline tit Eurasian jay (g.g.Glaszneri) - Endemic sub-species Magpie Eurasian jackdaw Hooded crow Common Reed bunting Corn bunting Common chaffinch Common crossbill (l.c.Guillemardi) European greenfinch Eurasian siskin European goldfinch Common linnet Hawfinch House sparrow |
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