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May 24th, 2019

24/5/2019

 

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos + Akrotiri 19/05/2019

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Black Francolin - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the 19th I guided Paddy around the Paphos and Akrotiri sites. Target species were Roller, Bee-eater, Black-headed Bunting, Cretzschmar's Bunting, Little Owl, Little Bittern, Eastern olivaceous Warbler, Collared Pratincole and Calandra Lark but already stated there was no chance of Calandra lark outside of Larnaca, and the Collared Pratincole migration seemingly finished.
We started in the Foothills of Paphos for Black-headed Bunting of which we got many singing and some low down over the vin yards.
Picture
Black- headed Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Picture
Black- headed Bunting - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
We had one point where a Black Francolin was calling from some rocks less than 20 meters away to the left, a Black-headed Bunting and Zitting Cisticola on the wires infront of the car and a small party of European Bee-eaters land on the wires too infront of us, a bit of a surreal scene with many corn bunting and spanish sparrow also in sight. We managed great photo opportunities of the Black-francolin, enabling Paddy to get the closest shots of him calling ... and also the Black-headed Bunting. On our exit we saw two Long-legged Buzzards perched in a not too distant tree.
We dropped down to Minthis where a Hoopoe had a large Mole cricket in its beak on an olive tree presumably about to feed young but alerted to our prescense so we moved on so-as not to disturb its important duty.
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Eurasian Hoopoe - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
​At the lake we had a pair of Eurasian Hobbies presumably hawking dragonflies high up. We had many Corn Bunting singing here and an inquisitive Cyprus Warbler that showed well. There wasn't any Night Herons in their usual tree but we did get brief glimpses of a Garden Warbler which is a fairly scarce bird in Cyprus. On the green a pair of Hoopoes were fighting and also many Sling-tailed Agama lizards were clinging to the rocks. 
On the Minthis track we had a nice male Cretzschmar's Bunting in song and calling close by in a shrub but sadly an unfavourable light angle for great photos. 
Next we dropped down to Episkopi where we had a single young Peregrine Falcon sitting high on the rocks. In the valley we had great views and photo opportunities of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler that were flycatching on the tracks grassy edges and a very inquisitive Sardinian Warbler that was at times on the ground right next to the car. Here we also had Turtle Doves, Rollers, Cyprus Wheatear and a Spotted Flycatcher as well as many finch species. 
Our last stop in Paphos was Anarita Park for Little Owl. One was sitting above a boulder which we got great photo ops with and a pair of Red-rumped swallows flew low and close.
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Little Owl - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Red-rumped Swallow - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
​Rollers also showed very well here with some good photo opportunities. 
We then headed to Akrotiri with Little Bittern in mind. We went to an area of the salt lake where Little Bittern are presumed to be nesting and sat nearby in the car. After a lengthy wait both the male and female showed well catching fish. Eleonora's Falcon showed above the car briefly and Serin, Goldfinch and Reed Warbler came down to the water with chaffinch and bee-eater calling nearby.
Ladies Mile had Little Stint, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover and a few Curlew Sandpiper but no sign of the Broad-billed Sandpipers that were present recently. Little Tern were still plenty.
Our last stop was Kensington Cliffs where we had lengthy views of a Griffon Vulture on the cliff edge, Alpine Swifts, a 2nd year Peregrine Falcon and Eleonora's Falcons both flying at eye level and a few Shags on the far rocks bringing our day total to 56 species and all attainable targets met.
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Alpine Swift - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Peregrine Falcon 2cy - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
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Eleonora's Falcon - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Species List:

Chukar Partridge 
(A.c.cypriotes)     
Black Francolin    
Greater Flamingo
Little Bittern
Little Egret
European Shag  
Common Kestrel   
Eleonora's Falcon  
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon 
(F.p.brookei)
Griffon Vulture
Long-legged Buzzard     
Common Ringed Plover 
Kentish Plover    
Little Stint 
Curlew Sandpiper 
Yellow-legged Gull 
Black-headed Gull 
Little Tern     
Rock Dove 
Common Wood-pigeon   
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Little Owl
Alpine Swift   
Common Swift
European Roller   
European Bee-eater   
Eurasian Hoopoe 
Eurasian Magpie    
Eurasian Jackdaw   
Hooded Crow
Great Tit (P.m.aphrodite)
Crested Lark (G.c.cypriaca) 
Barn Swallow 
Red-rumped Swallow   
Zitting Cisticola  
Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler 
Garden Warbler 
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler 
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow 
Spanish Sparrow    
Common Chaffinch 
European Serin 
European Greenfinch (C.c.muehlei)      
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
Cretzschmar's Bunting 
Black-headed Bunting

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    (older: Canon sx50 HS)


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