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March 27th, 2018

27/3/2018

 

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD 5 day Tour 23-27/03/2018

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Cream-coloured Courser - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the 23rd I had the pleasure of guiding Maria and Ken for a 5 day tour. They both had an interest in all wildlife and wanted to incorporate some of the other biodiversity of the island, namely the flora.
The weather was dusty (Sands of Egypt and the Middle East) for most of the days with some high winds, making much of it quite a challenge.
Day one was situated in the lower Paphos sites. The highlights of the day included a large group of Spur-winged lapwings singing and displaying with a Eurasian Stone Curlew not too far away possibly sitting on an egg. 
A male and female Desert Wheatear were still lingering around allowing close views and photo opportunities, and a lone injured Woodlark was present.
We was treated to a migrating flock of Garganey closely followed by a mixed flock of little and cattle egret and a lone juvenile Pallas' Gull. 
The Laughing Dove were displaying/in song. Great photo opportunities were to be had with Red-throated Pipit and Red-rumped Swallow were coming down for nesting clay. But the star bird was a Cream-coloured Courser spotted earlier in the day by a local birder which showed well allowing decent photo opportunities from a coastal path.
We managed 55 species of bird, 7 species of butterfly including Eastern Dappled White and our Endemic Paphos Blue, 9 species of notable flora and 3 lizards, 2 of which are endemic.
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Desert Wheatear - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Desert Wheatear - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Spur-winged Lapwing - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the second day our destination was the Akrotiri peninsular. Highlights here included a pair of male Lesser Kestrels hunting and flying over very close to the car, a Griffon Vultures turned up after some waiting, a Black Francolin crossed the road allowing decent views and a recently arrived Woodchat shrike hunted shield bugs just meters from the car.
We also had Garganey nearby on the ground and some Glossy Ibis feeding. There seemed to have been a fall of wheatears, Northern, Isabelline and Eastern Black-eared were everywhere.
The day was quite overcast and there was periods of rain and strong winds making the day a little bit difficult. Due to this the Salt Lake was not accessible and another site was closed and so we missed out on some species.
Though we still managed 61 species of bird, 18 species of notable flora of which 7 are endemic and 5 orchids. 2 Butterfly species and 1 Dragonfly.
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Woodchat Shrike - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
The third day was situated in Larnaca and Agia Napa. Notable sightings here was Ferruginous Duck, Black-necked Grebe in summer plumage, Pallid Harrier flying in overhead, a very late migrating Jack Snipe, many Ruppell's Warblers showing well and possibly the first Whinchat of the year. Unfortunately Paralimni Lake was inaccessible due to a parade taking place which closed down the road. 
The star bird of the day was a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater sat nearby for a very long period of time. We managed 79 species of bird, 3 Dragonfly species and an Arum.
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On the fourth day we visited the Mountains. The drive up provided beautiful scenery and many Cyprus Wheatears calling and singing en route and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk most likely nesting nearby. We came across a group of Masked Shrike on the way and also Serin. We had an amazing 
encounter with a Cretzschmar's Bunting singing and feeding just meters from us. Due to the platform it was feeding pretty much eye level with us. 
We encountered a male Grey Wagtail singing, Dorothy's Short-toed Treecreepers provided fairly decent views as did the Coal Tits. The star birds here was a pair of Masked Shrikes that welcomed our presence close by as they went about
feeding and interacting. A surprise bird was a Hen Harrier flying over, and we also picked out quite a few Pallid Swift among the Commons. A male Goshawk provided decent but brief views flying over a dam and into some dense woodland. 
We spent some time around the Botanical Garden also for some flora. Then with time left over we returned to the Akrotiri Salt lake and attempted to access the area again which had thankfully dried enough.
We managed 54 species of bird for the day and an incredible amount of notable flora which included many endemics. 5 Butterfly species including the Eastern Baton Blue, a very hard-to-find species in Cyprus that was predated by a Jumping Spider
right infront of us. 
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Cretzschmar's Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Grey Wagtail - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Meiklie's Poppy - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Cretzschmar's Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Eurasian Siskin - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Masked Shrike - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Jumping Spider VS Eastern Baton Blue - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
The last day was spent in the Akamas region, visiting the Paphos foothills and rounding up the end of the tour with a treat visit to an Egyptian Fruit bat cave. This tour was mainly about the flora of which we managed many rare species and quite a few orchids. Highlights of the day bird wize was a Squacco Heron hunting Dragonflies, the car being surrounded by Yellow Wagtails and Serin in Display. We managed 35 species of bird, 7 Butterflies, 30 species of notable flora of which 7 are endemic and 12 Orchids.
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Ophrys Aphrodite - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Black-headed Wagtail - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Sling-tailed Agama - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Egyptian Fruit Bat - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

Common shelduck
Eurasian wigeon
Common teal
Mallard
Garganey
Northern shoveller
Common pochard
Ferruginous duck
Chukar
Black francolin
Little grebe
Black-necked grebe
Greater flamingo
European shag
Grey heron
Great egret
Little egret
Squacco heron
Cattle egret
Glossy ibis
Griffon vulture
Western Marsh harrier
Hen harrier
Pallid harrier
Eurasian sparrowhawk
Northern goshawk
Common buzzard
Long-legged buzzard
Lesser kestrel
Common kestrel
Peregrine falcon
Common moorhen
Eurasian coot
Eurasian Stone curlew
Spur-winged lapwing
Little ringed plover
Kentish plover
Black-winged stilt
Jack snipe
Common snipe
Black-tailed godwit
Eurasian curlew
Spotted redshank
Common redshank
Marsh sandpiper
Green sandpiper
Common sandpiper
Little stint
Dunlin
Ruff
Cream-coloured courser
Baltic Gull
Yellow-legged gull
Caspian gull
Armenian gull
Pallas's gull
Black-headed gull
Slender-billed gull
Rock dove
Common Wood pigeon
Eurasian Collared dove
Laughing dove
Great spotted cuckoo (h)
Little owl
Alpine swift
Common swift
Pallid swift
Eurasian Hoopoe
Common kingfisher
Blue-cheeked bee-eater
Greater short-toed lark
Crested lark
Woodlark
Barn swallow
Red-rumped swallow
Common house martin
White wagtail
Yellow wagtail
Grey wagtail
Tawny pipit
Tree pipit
Meadow pipit
Eurasian wren
Eurasian blackbird
Song thrush
Zitting cisticola
Cetti's warbler
Eurasian reed warbler
Eastern olivaceous warbler (h)
Eastern Bonelli's warbler
Eurasian blackcap
Lesser whitethroat
Rüppell's warbler
Sardinian warbler
Cyprus warbler
Spectacled warbler
Blue rock thrush
European robin
Common Nightingale
Whinchat
Common stonechat
Northern wheatear
Cyprus wheatear
Eastern Black-eared wheatear
Desert wheatear
Isabelline wheatear
Coal tit
Great tit
Dorothy's (Short-toed) treecreeper
Masked shrike
Woodchat shrike
Eurasian jay
Magpie
Eurasian jackdaw
Hooded crow
Cretzschmar's bunting
Reed bunting (h)
Corn bunting
Common chaffinch
European greenfinch
Eurasian siskin
European goldfinch
Common linnet
European serin
House sparrow
Spanish sparrow

126 Species

126
Ophrys kotschyi
Ophrys apifera
Ophrys iricolor
Ophrys Astarte
Orchis Fragrans
Himantoglossum Robertinum
Ophrys Morio
Oprhys Mammosa
Ophrys Alasiatica
Ophrys Sicula
Ophrys Aphrodite
Ophrys Elegans
Orchis Italica
Orchis punctulata
Orchis pyramidalis
Serapias Aphrodite
Serapias Vormeracea
Serapias Levantina

Akamas Tulip
Persian Lilly
Persian Buttercup
Anemone Coronaria
Blue Hounds Tongue
Lesser Star of bethlehem
Common Asphodel
Gladiolus triphyllus
Gladiolus italica
Alyssum akamasicum
Anchusa Azurea
Parentucellia latifolia subsp. flaviflora
Thompson's Spurge

Aphrodite's spurge
Pale Flax
Geropogon hybridus
Euphorbia valerianifolia
Valeriana italica
Reseda lutea
Paeonia mascula
Purple rock cress
Silene vulgaris
Muscari comosum 
Common hyacinth
Common henbet
Gagea sp.
Cyprus cedar
Strawberry tree
Meiklei's poppy
Cyprus thyme
Will's Wild Onion
Persian cyclamen
Spiny Golden Star
Viola Sieheana
Hairy Nightshade
Red Valerian
Dwarf Pansey (Viola kitaibeliana)
Chamomile (Anthemis tomentosa)
Centauri Aegyptica
Purple Mustard
Rumex Cypria
Rough Poppy
Common Poppy
Cyprus Donkey Thistle
Fagonia cretica
Veined Sainfoin
Shrubby Golden Drop
Arum dioscoridis
Rock Rose
Wild Asparagus
Sage (various species)
Samphire
Silene Colorata
cyprus chamomile (Anthemis Tricolor)
Leopoldia comosa (Tassel hyacinth)
Orobanche mutelii
Orobanche Alba Cuprea

Banded orb weever
Jumping spider (Mogrus neglectus)

Jewel Beetles (Anthaxia (Melanthaxia) griseocuprea)

Ameles heldreichi


Swallowtail Butterfly 
Paphos Blue
Long-tailed Blue
Red Admiral
Painted Lady
Clouded Yellow
Eastern festoon
Eastern Dappled White
Large White
Small White
Common Blue
Eastern Baton blue
Speckled Wood
Orange tip
Langs short-taile blue

Vagrant Emperor
Keeled skimmer
Red-veined darter
Blue emperor
Broad Scarlet
Blue-tailed Damselfly
Common Darter

Schreiber's Fringe-fingered Lizard
Sling-tailed Agama Lizard
Snake eyed Lizard
Troodos Lizard

Large Black Whipsnake

Egyptian Fruit Bat

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    Mostly all photos are taken with a
    - Canon 7D mkii (older photos with mk1)
    and a
    - Canon 400mm Ef-s USM l f5.6 Lens. 
    - no teleconverter.

    Macro: 
    Tamron sp 90mm f017
    (older: Canon sx50 HS)


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