Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri/Paphos 11/10/2019
White Stork - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the 11th I guided Sara and Garry around the Akrotiri and Paphos sites.
We started at Phassouri Marsh where a Glossy Ibis was feeding close to the road as well as many cattle egrets. A female Sparrowhawk swooped in low being chased by Hooded Crows, moorhen were darting around the pools and shrubs and a Great Reed Warbler was showing briefly in the reeds as well as Common Kingfisher.
We started at Phassouri Marsh where a Glossy Ibis was feeding close to the road as well as many cattle egrets. A female Sparrowhawk swooped in low being chased by Hooded Crows, moorhen were darting around the pools and shrubs and a Great Reed Warbler was showing briefly in the reeds as well as Common Kingfisher.
Common Kingfisher - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
On the way to the first hide we had fantastic views of many Black Francolin on both sides of the road, of which many were calling. We didn't see much at the hide aside Spur-winged Lapwing, and the scrape held little aside garganey and teal. A Juvenile Red-footed Falcon flew over us but didn't stick around. Just as we were leaving, a Great Egret flew in and then out again and a marsh harrier was patrolling the reed edge.
As we headed to the Gravel Pits Sara and Garry said to stop the car, and to the right were two White Storks quite close in the field. One had a damaged leg which may well have been shot (gun fire was heard prior), so I contacted the authorities. Not the nicest thing to happen during a tour.
After seeing some more Black Francolin, with some meters from the car we headed to the gravel pits which was full of newly arrived Stonechats, but not much else.
We didn't spend much time here and continued to the salt lake. Unfortunately the Greater Flamingos had abandoned their new nests, which had looked incredibly promising. There was quite a few newly arrived gulls on the salt lake, a few Slender-billed Gulls were here, a flock of Black-headed gulls ... plus some large gulls. We picked out Caspian Gull, Yellow-legged and a young Armenian as well as quite a few White-winged and Whiskered Terns that seemed quite active but not feeding nearby. There was also some distant ruff and a small party of Common Ringed Plover darting around ... likely trying to evade the Eleonora's Falcons hunting in the area.
We stopped for a coffee at Ladies mile and then checked the pools to find a pair of Temminck's Stint among the Little Stint, Kentish Plover and Ringed Plover.
As we headed back to the Akrotiri strip we was lucky in seeing a Hobby in a eucalyptus tree and even though we flushed it, it kept landing a few trees down.
Next stop was Kensington Cliffs where we had our lunch and then got close views of Eleonora's Falcons, unfortunately the Griffon Vultures were not around.
As we headed to the Gravel Pits Sara and Garry said to stop the car, and to the right were two White Storks quite close in the field. One had a damaged leg which may well have been shot (gun fire was heard prior), so I contacted the authorities. Not the nicest thing to happen during a tour.
After seeing some more Black Francolin, with some meters from the car we headed to the gravel pits which was full of newly arrived Stonechats, but not much else.
We didn't spend much time here and continued to the salt lake. Unfortunately the Greater Flamingos had abandoned their new nests, which had looked incredibly promising. There was quite a few newly arrived gulls on the salt lake, a few Slender-billed Gulls were here, a flock of Black-headed gulls ... plus some large gulls. We picked out Caspian Gull, Yellow-legged and a young Armenian as well as quite a few White-winged and Whiskered Terns that seemed quite active but not feeding nearby. There was also some distant ruff and a small party of Common Ringed Plover darting around ... likely trying to evade the Eleonora's Falcons hunting in the area.
We stopped for a coffee at Ladies mile and then checked the pools to find a pair of Temminck's Stint among the Little Stint, Kentish Plover and Ringed Plover.
As we headed back to the Akrotiri strip we was lucky in seeing a Hobby in a eucalyptus tree and even though we flushed it, it kept landing a few trees down.
Next stop was Kensington Cliffs where we had our lunch and then got close views of Eleonora's Falcons, unfortunately the Griffon Vultures were not around.
Eleonora's Falcon - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
Heading back to Paphos we stopped to see 2 Adult Bonelli's Eagles which glided towards us not so high.
Our first site in Paphos was Mandria, where the Laughing Doves showed well. We had smashing views of Red-throated Pipit right by the car and some good photo ops and on the way out we got another Bonelli's Eagle, this one being a second plumaged bird.
Lastly we headed to the Sewage Works, and saw Spur-winged Lapwing which weren't at their usual spots. Grey wagtail were briefly seen, one chasing the other through the bougainvillea and also one feeding with Yellow Wagtails on the alfalfa fields.
We finished up with 68 Species.
Our first site in Paphos was Mandria, where the Laughing Doves showed well. We had smashing views of Red-throated Pipit right by the car and some good photo ops and on the way out we got another Bonelli's Eagle, this one being a second plumaged bird.
Lastly we headed to the Sewage Works, and saw Spur-winged Lapwing which weren't at their usual spots. Grey wagtail were briefly seen, one chasing the other through the bougainvillea and also one feeding with Yellow Wagtails on the alfalfa fields.
We finished up with 68 Species.
Red-throated Pipit - Cyprus Bird Watching Tours Bird is the Word © Matt Smith All Rights Reserved
| Species List: Black Francolin Mallard Garganey Common Teal Greater Flamingo White Stork Glossy Ibis (h)Little Bittern Cattle Egret Grey Heron Great Egret Little Egret European Shag Common Kestrel Red-footed Falcon Eleonora's Falcon Eurasian Hobby Western Marsh Harrier Eurasian Sparrowhawk Bonelli's Eagle (h)Water Rail Common Moorhen Common Coot Spur-winged Lapwing Common Ringed Plover Kentish Plover Little Stint Temminck's Stint Ruff Armenian Gull Yellow-legged Gull Caspian Gull Black-headed 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 Eurasian Magpie Eurasian Jackdaw Hooded Crow Great Tit Crested Lark Barn Swallow Zitting Cisticola (h)Cetti's Warbler (h)Sedge Warbler Great Reed-warbler Willow Warbler (h)Blackcap Common Whitethroat Sardinian Warbler Common Stonechat House Sparrow Spanish Sparrow White Wagtail Yellow Wagtail (*Flava) Grey Wagtail (h)Tree Pipit Red-throated Pipit European Greenfinch European Goldfinch 68 |
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