Blog Posts

October 25th, 2019

25/10/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half-day Tour Paphos 25/10/2019

On the 25th I guided Mark and Christine on a half day tour around Paphos.
We started at Mavrokolympus Dam in hope of some Cyprus Warblers still being around. There was a few though they weren't showing overly well, which isn't uncommon for this time of year. A Cyprus Wheatear flew in and landed next to us for a fair amount of time, so both Endemics in the space of a few minutes.
Sardinian Warblers and many Stonechat were present and also a group of Chukar showed very well close to the car, with one sitting on top of a rock some meters from the road. There wasn't anything on the water and as we were walking back I spotted a female Common Redstart which showed very well for a lengthy period of time. European Robins were calling with some very brief views and a male Spanish Sparrow showed very well in a nearby bush.
We then headed to the Sewage Plant for the Spur-winged Lapwing, of-which 20-30 birds were showing (though none of the Northern Lapwings were present that I had seen recently). At the entrance we was greeted with a group of Water Pipit next to the road and at the irrigation puddles were White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail and Spanish Sparrow.

The Alfalfa field held many Red-throated Pipit and a few Tree Pipit also took up. Just before we left a Common Buzzard shot low over the tree line being mobbed by a big group of Hooded Crows.
Next we headed to Agia Varvara seeing a Long-legged Buzzard perched and in flight causing confusion due to the fact the white rump wasn't visible on this one, but various factors ruled out Common or Steppe Buzzard.

We got great views of Common Snipe and Grey Wagtail plus some Pintail and a single Garganey on the pools. Reed Warblers were showing at the ford, Cetti's and Great Reed Warbler called in the distance. A pair of Wandering Glider dragonflies were in copula at the ford also which is a very uncommon sighting in Cyprus. A Green Sandpiper kept flying over but would not settle. Plenty of finches seemed to have arrived in the area recently, with good numbers of Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Serin.
A quick stop at Anarita Park produced a single Finsch's Wheatear on winter territory, and then we finished up at Mandria seeing Skylark, Yellow-wagtail, many Northern Wheatear and a Falcon species very high up that could well have been a juvenile Saker.
We finished the half day with 49 Species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
(h)Black Francolin
Northern Pintail
Garganey
Common Kestrel
Common Buzzard
Long-legged Buzzard
(h)Water Rail
(h)Common Moorhen
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Snipe
Green Sandpiper
Yellow-legged Gull
Common Wood-pigeon
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Eurasian Skylark
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler

Eurasian Reed-warbler
(h)Great Reed-warbler
Willow Warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
European Robin
Common Redstart
Common Stonechat
Northern Wheatear
Finsch's Wheatear
Cyprus Wheatear
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Tree Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Water Pipit (*Caucasian Water Pipit)
European Serin
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
49

October 14th, 2019

14/10/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri/Paphos 11/10/2019

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.

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.

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.

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

October 12th, 2019

12/10/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half Day tour 6/10/2019

On the 6th I guided Winfried and Nilga around Paphos for a half day tour. With the Endemics in mind we set out to Mavrokolympus Dam. It was quite a cloudy morning so the light wasn't the best.
On entry we located a few Cyprus Warbler though they weren't showing overly well though a Blackcap was being unusually confiding. A Eurasian Hobby called and then shot over and Chukar called in the distance and then later seen.
As we headed further down a Kingfisher was heard from the dam itself, on the shrubs we had quite a few Cyprus Wheatear and Cyprus Warbler showing well, along with many Sardinian Warbler and a Willow Warbler. Red-backed Shrike were also present as was a single Spotted Flycatcher. Flocks of Spanish Sparrows were pouring in and feeding.
We then continued to the Sewage Works where we got fantastic views of Spur-winged Lapwing and Turtle Dove.
Then at Mandria we had incredible views of many Laughing Doves right next to the car, a Hoopoe in flight and on the ground, many Northern Wheatear in the plowed fields along with Tawny Pipit and Tree pipit but no sign of Red-throated Pipit which are usually the common species at this time.
We finished the half day with 36 species and all targets met.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Common Kestrel
Eurasian Hobby
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
(h)Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark

Barn Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Northern Wheatear
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (*Flava)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
Tree Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
36

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

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October 25th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half-day Tour Paphos 25/10/2019

October 14th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Akrotiri/Paphos 11/10/2019

October 12th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half Day tour 6/10/2019

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

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