Blog Posts

October 07th, 2019

7/10/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri, Paphos, Famagusta + North, Troodos 4 Day Tour 29+30/09 + 01+3/10/2019

On the 29th I guided Janet and Edward on a 4 day tour across Cyprus
The first day we set out to Akrotiri, at Phassouri Marsh where we got great views of Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Little Egret, Common Kingfisher and also brief views of Common Snipe and Black Francolin. Many ducks were flying in and out and I managed to spot an odd one in the crowd which turned out to be a female wood duck! Obviously an escapee.

Moving on to the Gravel pits we had a few Marsh Harrier on the ground and an Osprey flying low over us. At the oasis was a lone Ruddy Turnstone, a scarce species in Cyprus but no sign of the Bar-tailed Godwit that had been hanging around.

Moving into the Eucalyptus woodland we had a Honey Buzzard in a low tree, probably the same one seen before.
The salt lake held great numbers of Greater Flamingo and the Eleonora's Falcons were hunting here again. Slender-billed Gulls were showing again too.
Ladies Mile held small numbers of waders, Little Stint and Ringed Plover.
Bishop's Pool was unfortunately locked being a Sunday and so we ventured to the tower hide which was fairly quiet aside some groups of Honey Buzzard flying over and a lone Steppe Buzzard.

We did get a Pallid harrier fly in close to the hide. Also present was a Blue Emperor and a Large Marsh Horsefly. We had our lunch here and then ventured to Kensington Cliffs where we had great views of Eleonora's Falcon and Griffon Vulture plus the Green Turtle still showing in the bay.

Then we finished up the day at the Bee-hives where we saw Lesser Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, more Honey Buzzards and a Black Kite.
We managed 61 species for the day.

The second day we ventured to Paphos. We started at the Headland where the Whimbrel showed well and many flocks of Spanish Sparrow. A few Honey Buzzards flew in off the sea right where we were and also a Squacco Heron flew in close along the coast. The Greater Sand Plover was at the usual spot and we had great views and photo ops with it. The Kingfisher was hanging around again too.

We then ventured to the Sewage Works where we got great close views of Spur-winged Lapwing.
Our next stop was Mandria where we saw some Stone Curlew and a Black Francolin. We also got great views of Laughing Dove.

Moving up to Agia Varvara we stopped for a special butterfly species as Edward was keen on butterflies (so I added many stops to accommodate as many species), the smallest Butterfly in Europe, the Grass Jewel. None of the Little Owls were on show at Anarita Park though we did see a 1st Plumage Bonelli's Eagle. Moving through Episkopi we saw Cyprus Wheatear and at Minthis we had a Hobby hunting dragonflies very low and close.
Next we went up to Arodes where we saw Long-legged Buzzard. We searched this site for Levantine Leopard though was unsuccessful in finding this rare butterfly. Our last stop was to see Egyptian Fruit bats at a secret cave.
We got 50 species for the day.

On our third day we headed to the East of the island starting at Oroklini. Here we had a fair few sightings, a Marsh Harrier flew right up to the hide and on the water we had lots of Snipe, Garganey, Pintail, Shoveler, Teal, Mallard and a Temminck's Stint being the star bird. A Whiskered Tern was also feeding over the water.

Then we ventured to the north side of the island to Kukla Wetlands, an incredibly productive site this year, maybe the best on the island. At Kukla we had a Pallid Harrier on entry low over the fields and then later seen perched at the waters edge which we managed to get very close to. The usual waders were around the edge (Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper), we also had many Greater Flamingo up close to the waters edge providing incredible views though sadly a few people walked close to our car and inevitably disturbed them.

There was a large flock of Spoonbill present and also an Osprey came and fished right next to the car though sadly towards the sun.

Red-footed Falcon were on the ground close as well as Collared Pratincole. A lone Common Shelduck and Golden Plover were present and large numbers of Marsh Harrier were close at times. We even saw a young Bonelli's Eagle being mobbed by many lesser kestrel dive a Grey Heron without success. A few Northern Lapwings were still present as well as Whiskered and White Winged Tern .... getting the former close on the ground, at least one Great Crested Grebe was still present too and a young Peregrine Falcon though the Pelicans and Black Stork had left. A newly arrived flock of Red-throated pipit showed nice and close on the ground near us.

Maybe our greatest sightings here though were 3 Common Cranes and then 2 White Storks which were happy to feed meters from the car.

Wandering Glider dragonflies were in abundance here and also a few Vagrant Emperors, Slender Skimmers, a surprise Southern Skimmer and also a pair of Lesser Emperors mating. Small Desert Blue's were here in good numbers and a few Crimson-speckled Moth. We also saw an Oriental Hornet cannibalize another. As we left a dust devil formed.

We visited the Larnaca Salt Lake on the way back for Little Tiger Blue butterflies ... though we were too late, though we did get Lesser Fiery Copper.
We managed 76 species for the day.

Our last day was a trip up to the mountains. We started in Platres in hope of seeing a Cardinal butterfly nectaring, though we only got flight views. We had many sightings of Cyprus Grayling though and a small party of Coal Tit and Dorothy's Short-toed Treecreeper, Blackbird and a high flying Peregrine Falcon. We then headed to Trooditissa seeing a Griffon Vulture on the way and a few Cyprus Wheatear. At the picnic site we had many more Cyprus Grayling and also Brown Argus, no sign of Purple Hairstreak. A Goshawk flew over briefly and also a Jay showed well. A Migrant Hawker was present.
Prodromos was quite dissapointing for both birds and Butterflies, though we did get a Hobby here.
We then headed to Livadi tou passia where we ate our lunch. Sadly there was a group of motorcross people here and very little wildlife.
At the next picnic site we had a small group of Crossbill in a tree but flushed due to a car going past fast, we also had a single one sitting high in a tree. Willow Warbler were showing and we had fleeting glimpses of Wren and a Sylvia warbler type that went down as unknown but likely a lesser whitethroat. A tree pipit showed quite well in a tree for a decent period.
We visited the Botanical Garden where we had great views and photo ops with many Hummingbird Hawkmoths.

We then headed to Tzelefelos Venetian Bridge seeing a Sparrowhawk dive for prey and on the ground for a while. At the bridge we saw Catocala coniuncta sat on my foot and many Grey Wagtail attacked their reflection in the car side mirrors.
Our day total was a low count of 30 species. Bringing our 4 day tour to 112 Species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge (a.c.cypriotes)
Black Francolin
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Common Shelduck
Common Teal
Garganey
*Wood Duck
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Greater Flamingo
White Stork
Eurasian Spoonbill
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Squacco Heron
Great Cormorant
European Shag (p.a.desmarestii)
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon (f.p.brookei)
Osprey
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Pallid Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Northern Goshawk
Long-legged Buzzard
Steppe Buzzard
Bonelli's Eagle
Water Rail
Common Coot
Common Moorhen
Black-winged Stilt
Eurasian Stone Curlew
Common Crane
Northern Lapwing
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Eurasian Golden Plover
Greater Sand Plover
Whimbrel
Common Snipe
Common Redshank
Common Greenshank
Marsh Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Little Stint
Temminck's Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Collared Pratincole
Yellow-legged Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Common Swift
Alpine Swift
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Red-backed Shrike
Eurasian Jay (g.g.glaszneri)
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit (p.m.aphrodite)
Coal Tit (p.a.cypriotes)
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark (g.c.cypriaca)
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
(h)Eurasian Reed-warbler
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Whinchat
Spotted Flycatcher
Northern Wheatear
Cyprus Wheatear
Eurasian Blackbird
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Eurasian Wren (t.t.cypriotes)
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Dorothy's Short-toed Treecreeper (c.b.dorothea)
Tree Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Greenfinch (c.c.muehlei)
European Goldfinch
Red Crossbill (c.c.guillemardi)
Corn Bunting
112

Blue-tail Damselfly
Common Darter
Red-veined Darter
Red-veined Dropwing
Broad Scarlet
Slender Skimmer (copula)
Southern Skimmer
Lesser Emperor (copula)
Blue Emperor
Vagrant Emperor
Wandering Glider
Migrant Hawker

Common Blue
Long-tailed Blue
Small Grass Blue
Grass Jewel
African Grass Blue
Small Desert Blue
Brown Argus
Lesser Fiery Copper
Large White
Small White
Clouded Yellow
Wall Brown
Cyprus Meadow Brown
Oriental Meadow Brown
Wall Brown
Speckled Wood
Painted Lady
Swallowtail
Cleopatra
Cardinal
Cyprus Grayling
Eastern Rock Grayling
Pygmy Skipper

Crimson-speckled Flunky/moth
Catocala coniuncta
Hummingbird Hawk Moth

Drimia aphylla
Pygmy Carlina
Sternbergia lutea
European Plumbago
Colchicum Troodi

Tiger beetle - Calomera littoralis winkleri

Large Marsh Horsefly
Deerfly - Chrysops relictus
Oriental Hornet Cannibalism
Antlion sp.

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

Green Turtle

October 07th, 2019

7/10/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri + Paphos 1 Day + 1/2 Day Tour 27+30/09/2019

On the 27th and 30th I guided George and Lorna on a day and a half birding tour around Akrotiri and Paphos.
On our first day we set out to the Akrotiri Peninsular with Phassouri being our first site. In the Tower hide car park we had great views of a Roller, some Bee-eater and a pair of Gull-billed Tern flying over. As we ventured round to the main hide we was treated to a few Black Francolin next to the road.

As we approached the next hide a Great Reed Warbler showed in some vegetation on the opposite side, as well as Red-backed Shrike and Whinchat.

At the main hide Spur-winged Lapwing showed in the distance and large groups of Mallard and Garganey were landing behind the reeds. A Marsh Harrier swooped in and put up a party of White Winged and Whiskered Tern with one Whiskered still in its summer plumage. Water Rail briefly showed at the waters edge and Sedge Warbler. Common Kingfishers were darting around with one flying right up to the hide. A large party of Greenshank kept buzzing around the hide sounding alarm calls, coming very close at times.

A few Glossy Ibis were on the ground as well as many Little and Cattle Egret with a few Great Egret and Grey Heron flying over. We also had a European Honey Buzzard fly over us low which must have been roosting in a nearby tree.
We then continued to the gravel pits, seeing a few more Black Francolins on the way. At the oasis pool a Bar-tailed Godwit was at the waters edge, a scarce bird for Cyprus and likely the same bird I found flying in the area the day prior. Quite a few Turtle doves were flying from bush to bush here.
Next we ventured into the Eucalyptus woodland and got fantastic views of a Honey Buzzard in a low tree right infront of the car.

Near the Salt lake edge from the north we got great views of a pair of Greater Short-toed Lark.
We continued to the run-off side of the salt lake and watched the thousands of Greater Flamingo nearby. Eleonora's Falcon were hunting here and a few Honey Buzzards flew over high. Yellow wagtails were moving about here as they were at Phassouri earlier but not much else seemed to be visiting the area so we moved on.

We stopped at the Environmental Center where many Red-rumped Swallow were flying over low.
A quick visit along ladies mile produced Common and Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint and Kentish Plover, quite a poor selection of waders for this time of year. Bishop's Pool held little aside a Whiskered Tern, a newly arrived Common Teal and Shoveler.
We stopped at the Tower Hide for lunch and got to see the Bee-eaters coming down to bath.

We finished up the day at the Bee-hives getting Pallid Swift, more Honey Buzzards, a ring-tail Harrier, Hobby, Red-footed Falcon and many Marsh Harriers with a pair of Spotted Flycatcher making some strange noises in the orchard behind us. No sign of the Levant Sparrowhawk, Lesser Spotted Eagle and Booted Eagle that I had seen the day before here which must have went straight through.
We managed 66 species for the day.

The half day tour was in Paphos. We started at the headland and got amazing close views of the long staying Whimbrel and also a single Greater Sand Plover.

A Common Sandpiper was feeding in the rocks nearby also and a Kingfisher showed a few times on the rocks during our stay. Lorna put us on to 3 newly arrived Great Cormorant as we approached the corner point.
We continued to the Sewage Works as Lorna and George wanted closer views of Spur-winged Lapwing and sure enough got them.

Red-throated Pipit had arrived at the area but we could only manage flight views.
At Mandria we had great close views of Laughing Dove and also great views of Eurasian Stone Curlew in their usual field.

Northern and Isabelline Wheatear were present on the field and Greater Short-toed Lark were heard and not seen. Some newly arrived White Wagtail showed well on the fields too.
We ventured in land to cut across Episkopi to Minthis hills in hope of seeing Long-legged Buzzard and Bonelli's Eagle on this route, unfortunately we didn't but got great views of Cyprus Wheatear.
Minthis hills wasn't great for life, but we did see Eurasian Hobby's hunting dragonflies very close at times and flushed a small party of Corn Bunting.
We finished the half-day tour with 48 species totaling 82 Species overall.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Garganey
Common Teal
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Greater Cormorant
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
European Honey-buzzard
Western Marsh Harrier
Ring-tailed Harrier
Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Eurasian Stone Curlew
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Greater Sand Plover
Whimbrel
BAR-TAILED GODWIT
Common Greenshank
Little Stint
Ruff
Yellow-legged Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Common Wood-pigeon

European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Pallid Swift
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Red-backed Shrike
Masked Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Willow Warbler
Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Great Reed-warbler
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Whinchat
Spotted Flycatcher
Northern Wheatear
Cyprus Wheatear
Isabelline Wheatear
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Tree Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Corn Bunting
82

September 26th, 2019

26/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 25/09/2019

On the 25th I guided Paul and Fiana around the Akrotiri and Troodos sites.
We started at Phassouri Marsh car park where quite a bit was flying over, Garganey, Mallard, Grey Heron, Bee-eaters, Whiskered and White-winged Tern and various Egrets. A Whinchat was showing on the reeds nearby. We then ventured to the main hide, seeing a pair of Black Francolin crossing the road infront of us nice and slowly, providing great lengthy views.

Spur-winged Lapwing were showing on the ground and we had views of a Common Kingfisher and a Sedge Warbler. Glossy Ibis and Great Egret flew over and huge flocks of Mallard were coming down into the pool. We also had plenty of Turtle Doves flying over here.

On the other side of the marsh near the gravel pits there was only one Red-footed Falcon showing, a male though.
We then checked out a Eucalyptus woodland for roosting raptors and only managed to see a single Honey Buzzard in the trees. Blackcap were calling and showing in the small bushes and plenty of Bee-eaters were perched in the trees.
We then ventured to the Salt Lake, seeing the many Flamingos and some Eleonora's Falcons hunting with some even sitting in some trees. We had a small party of Yellow Wagtail on a puddle and a juvenile Citrine Wagtail was among them. Plenty of Spectacled Warbler were showing in the bushes.
Next stop was Kensington Cliffs, we was lucky to get a good kettle of Honey Buzzard as we arrived, also two Griffon Vultures were in the air, one being mobbed by plenty of Eleonora's Falcon, and we had an ellies meters away on the cliff too. The Green Turtle was still showing in the bay and as we left an Osprey flew over.
We admired some of the pygmy carlinas and then proceeded up to the mountains. In Platres we had great views of two Cyprus Wheatear and I had distant views of Treecreepers though Paul and Fiana could not get on to them. Coal tit were showing well here too as well as our endemic Cyprus Grayling butterflies. At Livadi tou Passia we were treated to mouth watering close views of a female collared flycatcher (the first I had ever seen in Autumn) and close encounters with a Cyprus Jay and a very brief view of a wren. Colchicum Troodi was flowering in abundance here.
We stopped to have our lunch and then left back to Limassol, seeing a stunning Masked Shrike and fleeting views of a Cyprus Warbler. We finished with 69 species for the day.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Osprey
European Honey-buzzard
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Ring-tail Harrier
Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Snipe
Yellow-legged 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
Masked Shrike
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Coal Tit
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Eurasian Wren
Dorothy's (Short-toed) Treecreeper
Whinchat
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
Collared Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Citrine Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
69

Cyprus Grayling
Large White
Painted Lady
Wall Brown
Speckled Wood
African Grass Blue
Millet Skipper
Humingbird Hawkmoth

Lesser Emperor

Pygmy Carlina
Colchicum Troodi

September 24th, 2019

24/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 23/09/2019

On the 23rd I guided Ian around the Akrotiri Sites.
We started off at Phassouri where we had brief views of Water Rail and good views of Gossy Ibis, Little Egret and Spur-winged Lapwing as well as Black-headed Wagtail. A Honey Buzzard took up on our arrival and a pair of Whiskered and White-winged Tern where flying in the area as well as some snipe and 2 Ruff. We also had good views of a male and female Black Francolin on the marsh. Round the back heading to the gravel pits we had great views of Red-footed Falcon in the trees and on the ground.
The gravel pits was still very much quiet as was last time, we did manage to spot 3 Tawny Pipit on the ground and a Turnstone still feeding around the oasis.
We then ventured to the Salt Lake. Glossy Ibis, Greater Flamingo and some Spoonbill were on the salt lake as well as long lines of Grey Heron and Sleder-billed Gull. Some of the Slender-billed Gull took up and flew quite close to us. Pallid Swift and various hirundines were flying over and we managed to get on a rare Little Swift here. We only saw around 8 Honey Buzzard here high up and decided it was not the point that the raptors would come down for a drink and so we continued to Bishop's Pool. On the way we saw Crested Lark and Red-backed Shrike plus many Bee-eaters and a small party of Chukar, we didn't check the pools at Ladies Miile as we was tipped off that nothing much was on the water.
As we approached Bishop's Pool a Honey Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Steppe Buzzard were not too high in a small kettle.

Sadly we didn't see any more large raptors at Bishop's Pool though we did get good views of a Blunt-nosed Viper crossing the road close, a Black Francolin meters from the car laying down and also the usuals on the lake.

Next we ventured to the tower hide, having a look on the gravel pits again on the way. Not much was happening at the tower hide and so we headed to kensington cliffs where finally a few Griffon Vultures were on show. We had Eleonora's close on the cliff and many in flight and admired some of our endemic pygmy carlina thistles here and the adult Green turtle still in the bay.

We stopped here for our food and then headed back to Phassouri to the Bee-hives area in hope of some raptors. Here we got many Red-footed Falcon, a disappointing number of Honey Buzzard for this time of year, a Hobby and also a Black Kite. We finished the day with 68 species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Steppe Buzzard
Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Snipe
Eurasian Curlew
Ruff
Turnstone

Baltic Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Pallid Swift
LITTLE SWIFT
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
Northern Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
Tree Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
68

September 20th, 2019

20/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 19/09/2019

On the 19th I guided Hillary and Ian around the Akrotiri sites. Our day started at Phassouri where Grey Heron and Glossy Ibis were flying over and the trees were full of European Bee-eaters at their roost. A European Roller seemingly wanted some attention by landing in the tree next to the car on arrival.
We headed to the main hide where 4 Common Snipe flushed on our arrival and Spur-winged Lapwing were walking with us down the path to the hide. Marsh Harrier were hunting frequently and small groups of mallard and garganey were taking up every now and then. From the hide we saw Red-backed Shrike and Whinchat close and fleeting glimpses of Water Rail and Common Kingfisher. Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler showed well at times here. Every time a Marsh Harrier flew over it put up a Whiskered Tern and a group of Greenshank. As we exited the site a female Red-footed Falcon flew in close towards us providing great views and a Golden plover type flew over the hide ... which seemed quite early and though I was suspicious that it may be a Pacific, the record photos showed that it was in fact a European.
As we ventured to the Gravel Pits there was many European Turtle-Dove flying over, with some coming down for water.
The gravel pits was again very low on life aside quite a few Marsh Harrier on the ground and a distant Hoopoe and so we continued to the Salt Lake.
The usuals were at the Salt Lake though new additions were Pallid Swift overhead and a small group of Baltic Gull. A Spoonbill was seen very briefly flying into the runoff channel and not re-emerging. Only a few Honey Buzzard flew over here so we tried to find an area with better raptor activity.
We headed to Bishop's Pool and found a nice shady place to view the sky. As we entered the gates a Sparrowhawk flew out of a nearby tree, sadly not a levant but still a welcome sight. There wasn't too much activity in the sky aside Marsh Harrier, a small group of Black Kite and seemingly a fair group of Red-footed Falcon up high. We checked on the water and new additions included Northern Shoveler. On the opposite site we flushed a Little Bittern and had quite a sizable kettle of Honey Buzzard with a Montagu's Harrier among them.
We then ventured to Ladies Mile for the waders which didn't seem to be present, only getting Kentish Plover and Little Stint plus Lesser Grey Shrike in the area and then headed to the Tower Hide which was very poor aside a brief viewing of a Common Kingfisher.
As we were heading to Kensington Cliffs I spotted a Chameleon in the road and so we stopped to help it across and got some photos of it.
Eleonora's Falcons were showing at Kensington, with some close on the cliff face but again no Griffon Vultures seemed to be present though the Green Turtle was still happily in the bay. We ended the day with 67 species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill
Little Bittern
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Western Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
European Golden Plover
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Snipe
Common Greenshank
Little Stint

Yellow-legged Gull
Baltic Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Alpine Swift
Pallid Swift
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Willow Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
67

September 20th, 2019

20/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 17/09/2019

On the 17th I guided Shay and Natalie around Akrotiri.
We started out at Phassouri where there wasn't overly too much on show aside the European Bee-eaters and a distant pair of Golden Oriole sitting at the top of a eucalyptus tree. Lesser Whitethroat were heard here but not seen. We did manage brief views of a Common Kingfisher and a few Red-backed Shrike.

We ventured through the Gravel Pits seeing a few Whinchat as we passed through, but seemed quite devoid of life aside that so we quickly moved on to the salt lake seeing a few Black Francolin and a Redstart en-route.
The salt lake held the large number of Greater Flamingo as well as a few yellow-legged and slender-billed gull. Groups of Great, Little and Cattle Egret were still present. There didn't seem to be too much activity so we decided to re-locate again. We ventured to Bishop's Pool where a decent kettle of Honey Buzzard were at the entrance along with an Osprey. Heading in to Bishop's pool we had Garganey and Mallard on the water as well as many Little Grebe. Willow Warbler showed well and there was a stream of raptors flying over. We even had a group of 6 Black Kite together. Honey Buzzard numbers were around 80. As we were leaving a Cyprus Hare darted across the road.

We did a quick check at Ladies Mile and got very close to some Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint and a few Turnstones. A European Roller showed nice and close on a low wire nearby and Spectacled Warbler were heard.

Our next site was Kensington Cliffs where we saw many Eleonora's Falcon with one perched quite close, unfortunately the Griffon Vultures were not around but a large male Green Turtle was showing well in the bay.

Our last stop was back in Paphos at the Sewage Plant where we saw some more whinchat, a pair of Ruff, Spur-winged Lapwing and also another Osprey, but this one flew in quite close to us bringing about a nice final sighting of the tour.

We managed 61 species for the day.

Species List:

Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Osprey
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Western Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Long-legged Buzzard
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Little Stint
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Ruff
Yellow-legged Gull

Slender-billed Gull
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
Willow Warbler
(h)Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
(h)Spectacled Warbler
Common Redstart
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit
61

September 20th, 2019

20/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 16/09/2019

On the 16th I guided my friend Allen around Akrotiri. Allen has taken multiple tours with over the past few years and chose Autumn to get some raptors and hopefully some more lifers.
As we set out early many Stone Curlew were calling from a field nearby the hotel. We started out at Phassouri where many Bee-eaters and a Great Reed Warbler showed nicely. A few Grey Heron and Glossy Ibis flew over as well as a medium flock of Black-crowned Night Heron that passed us twice. Marsh Harrier were hunting nearby and a small party of Spur-winged Lapwing were not too far off. Sardinian Warbler, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and a Red-backed Shrike were showing in the bushes and trees. Water Rail and Little Bittern called from the reeds but were unfortunately not seen. A Whiskered tern fed over the pool for quite a few minutes and we also had small groups of White-winged Tern and Turtle Dove flying over a few times as well as European Roller that was flying around and perching a few times.

Our next stop was the Salt Lake where nearly 8000 Greater Flamingos were showing close with Yellow-legged and Slender-billed Gull among them and a small party of Glossy Ibis. Great, Little and Cattle Egret were also on the lake including a large party of Grey Heron as well as Mallard, Garganey and Coot. A Greater-short-toed Lark was scurrying around some meters from us from our view point. Eleonora's Falcon and Marsh Harrier were hunting in the area not too far away.
We then moved on to the Gravel Pits where a Masked Shrike showed briefly as well as many Whinchat. There was many European Honey Buzzards flying over and we even managed to get quite a few on the ground close. We ended up with nearly 200 for the day. We was told that we just missed a Bar-tailed Godwit on one of the pools here. We heard a curlew call in the distance but was unable to see it.

We then headed back on ourselves to Ladies Mile to get some waders after hearing of a Broad-billed Sandpiper being sighted, we saw Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint, Kentish Plover, Common and Little Ringed Plover quite close but the bb sand must have moved on. A pair of Tree Pipit flew over here and identified on call.
We then finished up the day at the Phassouri Bee-hives where we had a few Black Kite and Montagu's Harrier (Black Kite being a target for the day), some more Honey Buzzard, most of the hirundines and best of all a pair of Lesser Kestrel and a Short-toed Eagle.

We finished up with 79 species for the day.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
(h)Little Bittern
Black-crowned Night-heron
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
European Honey-buzzard
Black Kite
Short-toed Snake-eagle
Western Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Steppe Buzzard
(h)Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
(h)Eurasian Stone Curlew
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
(h)Eurasian Curlew
(h)Common Greenshank
Ruddy Turnstone
Little Stint
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Yellow-legged Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Sandwich Tern

Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
European Roller
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Masked Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Great Reed-warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Tree Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
79

September 10th, 2019

10/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 09/09/2019

On the 9th I guided Dennis around Akrotiri.
We started out at the entrance to Phassouri tower hide where Bee-eaters were flying over-head and Lesser Whitethroat were showing in the bushes. A Wood Sandpiper called from a distance.
On the Salt Lake we managed to find an adult Demoiselle Crane at the waters edge and got fantastic views of that. A probable Pallid Harrier was a little way away but spooked as we tried to get in closer to get an accurate ID. We also flushed a few Greater Short-toed Lark here, saw a Hoopoe and heard a Sectacled Warbler nearby.
We then headed round to the run-off. The Curlew wasn't in sight but the Flamingo's were there as usual and the small party of Glossy Ibis. In the distance there was a big line of Grey Heron and a giant mixed flock of little and cattle Egret with a small party of Black-winged Stilt. There was a few Mallard and Garganey on the water as well as a small party of coot. Yellow Wagtail were flitting around and we had a fly-over Montagu's Harrier and many Marsh Harrier.
Next we continued around to ladies mile, seeing a female Black-francolin en-route (A target species). There was plenty of Lesser Grey Shrike here and one had even caught a Scorpion.

A few Red-backed Shrike were also knocking about here as well as a few Northern Wheatear. On the small puddles of water we got Common Ringed Plover and Little Stint, but the majority of birds here were Kentish Plover aside two young Black-winged Stilt and a single Glossy Ibis very close. We heard a Common Kingfisher call out near zakaki though we did not see it.
A quick drive around the Gravel Pits produced a Tawny Pipit, a few Whinchat, many European Rollers and a few Turtle Doves in flight.

We checked Phassouri and found another female Black Francolin, there wasn't much infront of the hide due to the reeds being vastly overgrown, though we ventured around the side to get a view of the scrape where a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and a Greenshank were, and also 3 Spur-winged Lapwing and a Spotted Flycatcher a bit further down.
Our next stop was Bishop's Pool and at the entrance we saw a kettle of around 80 Honey Buzzards, mostly adults not too high up.

We stopped to have our lunch at Bishop's Pool and the only other birds of note here was a Purple Heron, Green Sandpiper Calling out and a White-winged Tern. Cetti's and Willow Warbler called from the trees and another Montagu's Harrrier flew over as well as some more Honey Buzzard and Marsh Harrier. I got a txt about 20 Spoonbill just arriving on the salt lake, but Dennis wasn't too fussed to see them and so we ventured to Kensington Cliffs. We got great views of Eleonora's Falcon here, mostly in flight but some perching on the cliffs and trees. We also saw 3 Griffon Vultures, though they did not fly in close.

On the drive back a Long-legged Buzzard was low over the motorway and that brought our total to 69 Species.

Species List:

Black Francolin
Mallard
Garganey
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
European Honey-buzzard
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
(prob)Pallid Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Long-legged Buzzard
(h)Water Rail
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Demoiselle Crane
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Greenshank
(h)Green Sandpiper
(h)Wood Sandpiper
Little Stint
Yellow-legged Gull
Slender-billed Gull
White-winged Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
European Roller
(h)Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
(h)Willow Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
(h)Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch

69

Large Whipsnake
Schreiber's Fringe-fingered Lizard

African Grass Blue
Painted Lady

Tiger Beetle

Blue Emperor
Lesser Emperor
Slender Skimmer
Wandering Glider
Red-veined Darter
Violet Dropwing

Cyprus Scorpion

Sea Daffodil

September 07th, 2019

7/9/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 06/09/2019

On the 6th I guided Brian around the Akrotiri sites for my first tour of autumn. I had met Brian out here before when he was on an orchid tour with a friend, and had been friends on social media for quite some time.
We set off early morning to the Salt Lake to check for any late parties of Demoiselle Cranes. Unfortunately none had roosted overnight though we had a good view of many Greater Flamingos and Slender-billed Gulls. A Lesser Grey Shrike was moving around the bushes next to us which we got great views of. Bee-eaters were flying high overhead.
We moved around to the run-off side. Water levels weren't so good but the dryness enabled us to get very close to a Eurasian Curlew feeding through the salt flats, a fairly scarce species in Cyprus. Small parties of Spectacled Warbler were in the shrubs and more Lesser Grey Shrikes. A pair of Hoopoe flew in close to the car but vanished in the shrubland. On the Salt Lake many of the Greater Flamingo were very close and many of their nesting mounds were visible.

They were joined by many coot, Little Egret and a few Glossy Ibis as well as a few Herons hiding behind the shrubs. Eleonora's Falcons were hunting over the salt lake as well as quite a few Marsh Harriers. Here we also had some Slender-billed Gulls and many Yellow-legged Gulls. Small groups of Yellow Wagtail were darting around but small waders were absent from the area. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of Raptors on the ground here as it is a favoured roosting spot, though the close ups of the Curlew more than made up for it.
We then headed to the Gravel Pits. Here we got close to a pair of Hoopoes and a Red-backed Shrike wasn't too far away and Chukar Partridge moving along the rocky ledge.

A couple of Willow Warblers were flitting around by the church. There wasn't a bird to be found around the water bodies and so we ventured to Phassouri, seeing Whinchat, Turtle Dove and Spotted Flycatcher en route.
Many Cattle Egret were around the cattle, and at the main hide a pair of Whiskered Terns took up from somewhere nearby. A Greenshank called and then it was fairly quiet. A pair of Zitting Cistcola were feeding their young quite close to the path. A bit further up a Marsh Harrier was on the ground next to some Hooded Crows.

We entered the tower hide which was fairly dissapointing, only seeing one Reed Warbler, a few Turtle Dove and a few Marsh Harrier.
Our next destination was Bishop's Pool in hope of seeing some migrating raptors there. There wasn't so much on the water aside some Little Grebes, Moorhen and Garganey. There was a single Ferruginous Duck there but only seen briefly. Eleonora's Falcon frequently patrolled the water, a Grey Heron and many Turtle Doves were moving around too. Overhead some Marsh Harrier flew over and also a young Pallid Harrier.
Next stop was Kensington Cliffs where 3 Griffon Vultures were seen on arrival and another on the cliff face. Many Eleonora's Falcons were flying around not far from us and one dark morph perched on the cliff face meters from us. Right below us from the cliff face a very large adult Green Turtle was swimming in the shallows. We headed inland a bit and had our lunch.

We then ventured to zakaki to a dragonfly site as Brian is very keen on dragonflies. Here we got to see Wandering Glider, Broad Scarlet, Black Percher, Slender Skimmer, Violet Dropwing, Red-veined Dropwing and Lesser Emperor. Earlier at the Salt Lake we saw Red-veined Darter and Vagrant Emperor also.

Our last stop was at Ladies Mile where quite a few waders were on the small pockets of water, including Kentish and Ringed Plover and also Little Stint. We stopped to see some Sea Daffodils and then finished the tour, seeing Laughing Dove and Baltic Gull on the way back.
We managed 56 species for the day, which is not particularly the best count for this time of year and odd that not a single Honey Buzzard or Black Kite was seen.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Mallard
Garganey
Ferruginous Duck
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Pallid Harrier
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Eurasian Curlew
(h)Common Greenshank
Little Stint
Yellow-legged Gull
Baltic Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Whiskered Tern

Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
(h)European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Willow Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
European Greenfinch
56

Violet Dropwing
Red-veined Dropwing
Broad Scarlet
Red-veined Darter
Slender Skimmer
Keeled Skimmer
Black Percher
Wandering Glider
Lesser Emperor
Vagrant Emperor

African Grass Blue
Painted Lady

Large Whip Snake
Sling-tailed Agama

Sea Daffodil

Green Turtle

May 25th, 2019

25/5/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - 6 Day Tour - Upper Paphos, Lower Paphos, Akrotiri, Troodos, Larnaca, Paphos Forrest. 15-17th + 20-22nd/05/2019

From the 15th I guided Allen on a 6 day tour around the island. I had done a few tours for Allen previously and this time we set out at a different time of year to see some of the sites he had not previously seen, and birds ofcourse. It was going to be a difficult tour numbers wise considering spring migration had practically finished by this point.
On the first day we concentrated on the upper Paphos sites. We started at a Bonelli's Eagle site where I had taken Allen before, this time we had much better and closer views of Bonelli's Eagles perched and in flight.

Dropping down to Epsikopi the Cyprus Scops Owls seemingly completely abandoned their roost tree as noted with my previous tour which is a shame. Approaching the monolith we had a young Great Spotted Cuckoo on the wires with a magpie. We were treated to the whole family party of Peregrine Falcons flying over and perching. the adult did a food pass with one of the young in flight on entry which was great to see.

We then headed up Kathikas and got the Black-headed Buntings with some very low down on the path verge and many Turtle Doves in the area.

Cretzschmar's Bunting were nowhere to be seen on the Minthis track, nor heard for that matter.
Next we headed up to Evretou Dam seeing Long-legged Buzzard in flight on the way.
Evretou water levels were incredibly high, as we approached the shallow end a baby black whip snake crossed the road infront of us, Allen not being too keen on snakes was not so happy and the irony being we were to see many more during our tours.
European Bee-eaters flew over head as we approached the water as well as many Common and Pallid Swift, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow and House Martin. At first there didn't seem to be much life around on the water, then we got on some Wood Sandpipers and Common Sandpipers on the waters edge and later some Little Stints. Squacco Heron emerged from the waters edge as well as a few Grey heron. In the distance we could see Little Egret and went in closer to see more of the furthest area we could get to. To our surprise a Eurasian Bittern was standing next to the Little Egret and then slowly retreated into the vegetation offering views from time to time. An unusual bird to see at this time of year. The only waterfowl we managed was a pari of Mallard and a Moorhen. We then ate our lunch in the Evretou quarry overlooking a pair of Rollers and shared the area with near adult Large Whip Snake meters from where we was sitting. The Samaras Valley was unfortunately off limits due to a rock slide on the track so our chances of Golden oriole, Cretzschmar's Bunting, Black-headed Bunting and Goshawk for the day diminished.
We finished the day with 46 species.

On the 16th we visited the lower Paphos sites. We started off at the Lower Ezousas River. Here we had Wood Sandpiper and Ruff at the bridge as well as a Squacco Heron. A bit further down we found a track to the river edge where we had immense views of a Squacco feeding right next to the car with perfect light behind us for some excellent photo opportunities.
Even further down river we had many Spur-winged lapwings and also flushed a Purple Heron. Maybe the oddest sighting was a Northern Shoveler on the river bank extremely close which flew a few circles around us and landed again with a Peregrine Falcon sitting on a pylon nearby watching.

A Great Reed Warbler was singing from the dense reed but unfortunately didn't show and a Redshank was calling, presumably flying over though we did not see it.
On to the Sewage Works we had a female Black-headed Bunting sitting on the wires, possibly just in off the sea. A group of European Bee-eater were here on the wires and also many Turtle Doves.
Many of the lower sites were devoid of life after so we headed to a few other higher sites after a quick visit to Agia Varvara where we had great photo opportunities with some young Zitting Cisticola.

Heading towards the Nata valley we had a Long-legged Buzzard low in flight over the road. At the bridge we had an adult Black-crowned Night Heron eating a frog and a brief view of a Stone Curlew on the river edge. We then finished up at Asprokremnos Dam where many Squacco Heron were in the shallow corner and a Marsh Harrier came in to land. We finished the day with 48 Species.

On the 17th Allen and I set out to Akrotiri. We started the day at Phassouri where there was little life at the first two hides. Further down inside the fenced area we had Glossy Ibis feeding close to the road and a few Squacco Heron, Ruff and Spur-winged lapwings in the distance.
At the Rabbit Shed pools there were more ruff and also Black-winged Stilt and Spur-winged lapwing seemingly annoyed at our presence probably indicating nesting in the area, so we didn't stick around. Great Spotted Cuckoo called from the distance and a Sedge Warbler sung nearby from a bush. Many Common swift were buzzing our heads here coming down for water with a few pallid Swift among them.
Moving onto the Gravel Pits we had great views and photo opportunities of a Black Francolin on the road, here we also got some Spotted Flycatchers, a female Red-backed Shrike and a late Whinchat plus many Sardinian Warblers and Zitting Cisticolas.
Next we headed to Ladies Mile where we had great views and photo opportunities of a pair of Broad-billed Sandpiper, many Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stints. The non migrating Black-headed gull was still present along with a few Yellow-legged Gulls and also many Little terns were still around of which I imagine many will nest this year due to the high water levels.

At the salt lake we had a Great Reed Warbler in song and also a pair of Little Bittern feeding very close to the car which was Allen's highlight of the day (as well as the Broad-billeds ofcourse). We even had a glimpse of a baby Eastern Montpellier Snake.

We went to Bishop's Pool and had our lunch. We only saw a single Ferruginous duck here, a group of Night heron flew in and landed in the Eucalyptus tree which was a treat. We scanned through the hirundines on the wires and spotted a few Sand Martin, probably the last of this season.

Our last stop was Kensington Cliffs where we had lengthy views and photo opportunities with Alpine Swift buzzing our heads and also Eleonora's Falcon. Two Griffon Vultures flew in low and took off a few times further along the cliffs. We ended the day with 64 Species, a good count for this time of year.

On the 20th Allen and I ventured to the Troodos Mountains. On the way we had some great views of Cyprus Wheatear, Cyprus Warbler, Masked Shrike and Black-headed Bunting as well as seeing Corn Bunting and hearing Cretzschmar's Bunting. A target species was Common Nightingale, which although we heard many we never got a view of one which was unfortunate. We had a quick look at the start of the Kalledonia Trail for Grey Wagtail which were vacant. We did see many Serin, Blackbird and a Spotted Flycatcher here as well as Two Cyprus Jays feeding next to the car. A Golden Oriole sung briefly in the distance.
We then headed to the square where we had phenomenal views of Common and pallid Swift at their nesting chalet. We even got views of them perched which is not something you see every day!

There was no sign of Woodlark around in the area so we moved on.
Our next stop was Livadi tou Passia picnic site. We had a Dorothy's Treecreeper in a tree right next to us but was proving very difficult to get a clear view. Cyprus Coal tits sounded but unbelievably we also didn't managed to actually see one which is very peculiar, something that I have not experienced before on my previous visits to the mountains of this highly populous species. The Crossbills were also no-where to be seen or heard even at almyrolivado.
We moved down to the Botanical Garden where previous years Blue Rock Thrush have held territory of which I had seen a male some weeks back. Also they were vacant from the site and no Crag martin were feeding in the area like they usually do also. By this point I was starting to think the luck just wasn't on our side today, as can happen from time to time.
We got lengthy views of Wren and great views of Cretzschmar's bunting on the return journey, plus a Roller in flight over the diarizos river and a Chukar in the road with many chicks and also a goat herder with about a thousand goats crossing the road. We even scared a Blunt-nosed Viper off of the road on foot, where it likely would have been run over.

We finished the day with 44 species.

On the 21st we headed to Larnaca. Just before we departed from the hotel a Eurasian Hobby was up high watching over the many hirundines in the air. We started out at Menou checking through the pools. We saw many Black-winged Stilt and even managed to pick out some of the chicks. A few Wood Sandpipers moved around Little tern were feeding over the water quite close, one had been banded. A small group of Greater Flamingo were on the far side. Towards the residential area we had a Laughing Dove on the wires and a Hoopoe flew across the road.
Approaching the Sewage Pool hide we had some Spectacled warbler and a pair of Red-backed shrike at the entrance along with the many usual Crested Lark and a distant flock of Glossy Ibis up high. Black Francolin were calling but we didn't see any.
On the water there was a lot of Mallard with ducklings, and many Spur-winged Lapwing around the waters edge. At the pools further down a pair of Spur-winged Lapwings were with two chicks and another pair of Red-backed Shrikes were showing well.

We browsed through the Salt lake only seeing some Little Egret. On the airport side we had a small party of Avocet on the far side and around 60 Greater Flamingo.
Our last stop was Oroklini which held little at the first hide aside Little Grebe, Moorhen and Coot all with chicks plus a few Ferruginous Duck. Due to road works we had to take a major detour to get to the second hide where we had great views of Laughing Dove and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler sitting infront of the hide, and two female Red-crested Pochard in the distance and a Black Francolin also showing from afar.

A large Family party of Barn Swallows often landed in the bare tree in front of the hide and a surprise appearance of a Little Bittern which also flew in front of the hide. We visited the coast for some food and then headed back to Paphos managing 48 species for the day.

On our final day, Allen and I did a varied tour of coastal, forest and salt pans as apposed to plans for Agia Napa and Famagusta. We started out on the lower Ezousas river to see if anything else had moved through. The Wood Sandpipers had all left but the Spur-winged lapwings presumably nesting along the river were still about and also the Purple Heron was showing well providing great photo ops. A single Squacco Heron showed but distant.

Allen wanted to see the Little Owl that we missed at Anarita Park before, and so we visited there. The Little Owl was showing but not in the usual spot, and the extreme amount of midges in the area was uncomfortable. We moved up to higher ground seeing the Red-rumped Swallows low on the way and then had great views of a pair of European Roller.
We then ventured all the way to Kannaviou Dam via the Monastery. Allen spotted a Black-headed Bunting on the way.
At the entrance to the Dam we had a pair of Serin come quite close to us on the fence and the whole dam wall was full of Cyprus Wheatear.

There didn't seem to be anything on the water though aside a Blunt-nosed viper on the very far side which looked to have a catch.
As we left the site I noticed a large raptor sitting in a nearby shrub. A Long-legged Buzzard, showing incredibly well and allowing Allen to snap some shots. We then entered the Samara valley seeing many Spanish Sparrows nesting and also quite a few Masked Shrikes. We took a stroll along the road and saw a few Turtle Doves, as we watched Spanish Sparrows nesting in a Pine tree suddenly loads of them shot out and a male Eurasian Sparrowhawk landed in the tree that we was standing under and then flew out.. seemingly without a catch. Breeding Sparrowhawk numbers are incredibly low in Cyprus and this was a treat to see. We also saw a few Cyprus Jays here.
We then moved up into Panagia to a picnic site in hope of getting views of Cyprus Coal Tit and Dorothy's Treecreeper ... when I got a txt through from my mate Tony about two Terek Sandpipers at Akrotiri Salt Lake, a Cyprus Rarity. Allen said "forget the Coal tits, lets go", and so we did. We had a glimpse of Cretzschmar's Bunting and Linnet on the drive back to the motorway and a Stone Curlew that flew over the road.
We arrived at the Salt Lake after a fair drive and both of the Terek Sandpipers were sitting on a small island accompanied by a sickly looking Greenshank. We stood next to Tony's car and observed them for a decent amount of time, of which they flew up and did a few circles and back again before eventually flying off north.

We also had quite a few Great Spotted Cuckoos here, one of which Allen managed to get quite close to on foot and snap some great shots. We searched the salt lake in hope of some marsh terns that we just couldn't seem to get. After spending some time trying to see the Little Bitterns again we called it a day managing 62 species. This brought our total species count to 100 species.

Full species list:

Chukar Partridge (a.c.cypriotes)
Black Francolin
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Red-crested Pochard
Ferruginous Duck
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Eurasian Bittern
Little Bittern
Black-crowned Night-heron
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Little Egret
European Shag (p.a.desmarestii)
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon (f.p.brookei)
Griffon Vulture
Western Marsh Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Long-legged Buzzard
Bonelli's Eagle
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Eurasian Stone Curlew (only seen by guide)
Black-winged Stilt
Pied Avocet
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
(h)Common Redshank
Common Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
TEREK SANDPIPER
Common Sandpiper
Little Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Broad-billed Sandpiper
Ruff
Yellow-legged Gull
Black-headed Gull
Little Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove

Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Little Owl
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
European Roller
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Masked Shrike
(h)Eurasian Golden Oriole
Eurasian Jay (g.g.glaszneri)
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
(h)Coal Tit (p.a.cypriotes)
Great Tit (p.m.aphrodite)
Crested Lark (g.c.cypriaca)
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
(h)Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler (a.s.fuscus)
(h)Great Reed-warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Eurasian Wren (t.t.cypriotes)
Dorothy's (Short-toed) Treecreeper (c.b.dorothae)
Eurasian Blackbird
(h)Common Nightingale
Whinchat
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

100

Other wildlife of note:

Blunt-nosed Viper
Large Whip Snake
Eastern Montpellier Snake

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

Cyprus Water Frog

Pyramid Orchid
Orchis Sancta
Neotinia Maculata

Arum Dioscoridis

Poppy of Troy

Painted Lady
Clouded Yellow
Small White
Large White
Bath White
Paphos Blue
Common Blue
Syrian Swallowtail Butterfly
Hermit (ssp larnacana)
Mallow Skipper
Lulworth Skipper

Common Darter
Red-veined Darter
Violet Dropwing
Broad Scarlet
Common Blue-tail Damselfly
Odalisque
Banded Demoiselle
Lesser Emperor
Blue Emperor

Macaronius owlfly

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October 07th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri, Paphos, Famagusta + North, Troodos 4 Day Tour 29+30/09 + 01+3/10/2019

October 07th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri + Paphos 1 Day + 1/2 Day Tour 27+30/09/2019

September 26th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 25/09/2019

September 24th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 23/09/2019

September 20th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 19/09/2019

September 20th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 17/09/2019

September 20th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 16/09/2019

September 10th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 09/09/2019

September 07th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri 06/09/2019

May 25th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - 6 Day Tour - Upper Paphos, Lower Paphos, Akrotiri, Troodos, Larnaca, Paphos Forrest. 15-17th + 20-22nd/05/2019

Bird is the Word

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