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March 28th, 2017

28/3/2017

 

Cyprus Bird watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD Tour, Akrotiri 26/03/17

On the 26th I had the pleasure of guiding Eleanor around the sites of Akrotiri and Episkopi. Eleanor was happy to go with the flow and enjoy the birding with no target species aside Glossy Ibis of which unusually none have been seen so far this year. We started out at Zakaki and results were similar to the previous tour, only with Baillon's Crake staying out in the open for much longer and a fly by of the first reported Sand Martin of the year. There wasn't any Yellow Wagtails present but we saw many at the Salt Lake, where there was a very large number of waders, Dunlin, Little Stint, Kentish, Little and Common Ringed plovers, Ruff, Green and Wood Sandpiper, a Greenshank and a lone Eurasian Curlew a bit further out. Spectacled warblers were singing in the shrubs, and there was many Greater Flamingos on the Lake. In the distance towards the masts a small party of Gull-billed Terns flew across. At Lady's Mile a Hoopoe entertained along with an assortment of Pipits (Red-throated, Tree and Meadow) in a relatively small area. Baltic, Armenian, Caspian and Black-headed Gull were present, the Med gulls weren't in sight and yet again no slender-billed gulls nor any sign of the Marsh Sandpiper. We had very close views of a male Black Francolin that actually flew towards us in the car, possibly the best views I've ever had of the species ... within 5 meters! Bishops Pools provided great views of Black-crowned Night Heron and Squacco Heron of which we sat and ate our lunch infront of. The Gravel Pits was a little quieter than on the previous tour though we did find two Eastern Black-eared Wheatears that I missed previously, A Bimaculated Lark was singing for a short period, though couldn't be found on the ground nor in the sky. We then proceeded to Kensington cliffs where many Cyprus Warblers were singing and 3 Griffon Vultures flew over low on arrival. Then a quick trip into the foothills to get great views of Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Wheatear. Here we observed a European Serin in display flight, something I have never seen before (so was naturally the highlight of the tour for me). At this site we also managed to see orchids such as Orchis Syriaca and the "hard to find" Ophrys Israelitica (and we saw our Endemic Orchid "Ophrys Kotschyi" at the Gravel Pits earlier that day). So 80 species of bird, another successful tour with great company. 
Species:
Common Teal
Mallard
Garganey
Northern Shoveller
Ferruginous Duck
Black Francolin
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Great Cormorant
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Squacco Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Western Marsh Harrier
Common Kestrel
Water Rail (heard)
Little Crake
Baillon's Crake
Common Moorhen
Eurasia Coot
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Eurasian Curlew
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Little Stint
Dunlin
Ruff
Baltic Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Caspian Gull
Armenian Gull
Black-headed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Common Wood Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
Common Swift
Eurasian Hoopoe
Bimaculated Lark (heard)
Crested Lark
Sand martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
House Martin
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (Black-headed)
Tree Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Song Thrush
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler (Heard)
Eurasian Reed Warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Eurasian Blackcap
Lesser Whitethroat
Eastern Orphean Warbler
Ruppell's Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Common Nightingale (heard)
European Stonechat
Cyprus Wheatear
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
Great Tit
Eurasian Penduline Tit
Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Cretzschmar's Bunting
Common Chaffinch
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
European Serin
House Sparrow
80
Baillon's Crake Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Baillon's Crake - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Baillon's Crake Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Baillon's Crake - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Black-crowned Night Heron Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Black-crowned Night Heron - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Black-winged Stilt Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Black-winged Stilt - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Crested Lark Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Crested Lark - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Ruff Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Ruff - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
​Site's visited:
Zakaki Marsh, Lady's Mile, Akrotiri Salt Lake, Bishop's Pool, Akrotiri Gravel Pits, Kesington Cliffs, Souni Hills. 
Black-crowned Night Heron Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Black-crowned Night Heron - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Ophrys Kotschyi Endemic Orchid Cyprus Birding Birdwatching tours ecotours birdlife wildlife
Ophrys Kotschyi - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved

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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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