Blog Posts

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

May 24th, 2019

24/5/2019

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

On the 19th I guided Paddy around the Paphos and Akrotiri sites. Target species were Roller, Bee-eater, Black-headed Bunting, Cretzschmar's Bunting, Little Owl, Little Bittern, Eastern olivaceous Warbler, Collared Pratincole and Calandra Lark but already stated there was no chance of Calandra lark outside of Larnaca, and the Collared Pratincole migration seemingly finished.
We started in the Foothills of Paphos for Black-headed Bunting of which we got many singing and some low down over the vin yards.

We had one point where a Black Francolin was calling from some rocks less than 20 meters away to the left, a Black-headed Bunting and Zitting Cisticola on the wires infront of the car and a small party of European Bee-eaters land on the wires too infront of us, a bit of a surreal scene with many corn bunting and spanish sparrow also in sight. We managed great photo opportunities of the Black-francolin, enabling Paddy to get the closest shots of him calling ... and also the Black-headed Bunting. On our exit we saw two Long-legged Buzzards perched in a not too distant tree.
We dropped down to Minthis where a Hoopoe had a large Mole cricket in its beak on an olive tree presumably about to feed young but alerted to our prescense so we moved on so-as not to disturb its important duty.

At the lake we had a pair of Eurasian Hobbies presumably hawking dragonflies high up. We had many Corn Bunting singing here and an inquisitive Cyprus Warbler that showed well. There wasn't any Night Herons in their usual tree but we did get brief glimpses of a Garden Warbler which is a fairly scarce bird in Cyprus. On the green a pair of Hoopoes were fighting and also many Sling-tailed Agama lizards were clinging to the rocks.
On the Minthis track we had a nice male Cretzschmar's Bunting in song and calling close by in a shrub but sadly an unfavourable light angle for great photos.
Next we dropped down to Episkopi where we had a single young Peregrine Falcon sitting high on the rocks. In the valley we had great views and photo opportunities of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler that were flycatching on the tracks grassy edges and a very inquisitive Sardinian Warbler that was at times on the ground right next to the car. Here we also had Turtle Doves, Rollers, Cyprus Wheatear and a Spotted Flycatcher as well as many finch species.
Our last stop in Paphos was Anarita Park for Little Owl. One was sitting above a boulder which we got great photo ops with and a pair of Red-rumped swallows flew low and close.

Rollers also showed very well here with some good photo opportunities.
We then headed to Akrotiri with Little Bittern in mind. We went to an area of the salt lake where Little Bittern are presumed to be nesting and sat nearby in the car. After a lengthy wait both the male and female showed well catching fish. Eleonora's Falcon showed above the car briefly and Serin, Goldfinch and Reed Warbler came down to the water with chaffinch and bee-eater calling nearby.
Ladies Mile had Little Stint, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover and a few Curlew Sandpiper but no sign of the Broad-billed Sandpipers that were present recently. Little Tern were still plenty.
Our last stop was Kensington Cliffs where we had lengthy views of a Griffon Vulture on the cliff edge, Alpine Swifts, a 2nd year Peregrine Falcon and Eleonora's Falcons both flying at eye level and a few Shags on the far rocks bringing our day total to 56 species and all attainable targets met.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge (A.c.cypriotes)
Black Francolin
Greater Flamingo
Little Bittern
Little Egret
European Shag
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon (F.p.brookei)
Griffon Vulture
Long-legged Buzzard
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Little Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Yellow-legged Gull
Black-headed Gull
Little Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Little Owl
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
European Roller

European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit (P.m.aphrodite)
Crested Lark (G.c.cypriaca)
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Garden Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Common Chaffinch
European Serin
European Greenfinch (C.c.muehlei)
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
Cretzschmar's Bunting
Black-headed Bunting

56

May 24th, 2019

24/5/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos + Akrotiri 13/05/2019

On the 13th I guided Nigel around the Paphos and Akrotiri sites for his 50th Birthday. Nigel is a regular to Cyprus and wanted to see some of the lesser known sites and also an Egyptian Fruit Bat cave.
We started out in the Foothills of Paphos, at a Bonelli's Eagle Territory. Surely the Bonelli's Eagles didn't disappoint, though they were a bit more distant than usual and not on their favoured perches. Nigel gave me permission to use some of his stunning photos that he managed to get below:

Bonelli's Eagle - Nigel Bell ©

European Serin were showing well here and also a young Long-legged Buzzard flew in, which we went in for a close look due to its unusual stance, laying on the ground. Through the photos we could not see any sign of injury however on evaluating the shots when I got home it did show a minor injury likely to be from another raptor, but definitely not something that would hamper its flight or survival.

We moved down to Episkopi where we had a glance of a young Great Spotted Cuckoo and plenty of Cyprus Wheatear. The Cyprus Scops Owls were not at their roost and seemed to have moved on, possibly a failed nesting attempt. A recently fledged Peregrine Falcon was showing quite low on the rocks, but we didn't get to see the adults.
We then moved up to Kathikas for Black-headed Bunting. We got to see many, mostly in song.

Black-headed Bunting - Nigel Bell ©

We had a quick look around Pano Arodes where we was treated to many European Rollers on the wires and many hawking insects up high which is something I had not witnessed before. We dipped into a gorge as it was a site Nigel wanted to see for future reference. Cyprus Wheatears and Long Legged Buzzards were showing well here, plus a fly-by from an Eleonora's Falcon. We had good views of a male Red-backed shrike on the way out and a few Spotted Flycatcher.

Red-backed Shrike - Nigel Bell ©

Spotted Flycatcher - Nigel Bell ©

Lastly we visited Minthis Hills for Creztschmar's Bunting. They were not being very showy but we got good views of one and good views of Corn Bunting. We visited the Lake also which has changed vastly due to construction of buildings and tarmac roads. We found a Night Heron roosting in its usual tree and some Hoopoe en-route and then we visited the Egyptian fruit bat cave at the undisclosed site.

Then we headed to Akrotiri. We visited the Rabbit shed Pools which is mostly dry now. There we had Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Black-winged stilt and Spur-winged Lapwing. The only thing of note at the Salt Lake run-off was a group of Greater Flamingo close over the mound, with one seemingly building a nest mound with an egg.
Our last stop was Ladies Mile where quite a few Broad-billed Sandpipers were showing well with the Little Stint and Common Ringed Plovers plus a small party of Little Tern bringing our total to 66 Species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge (A.c.cypriotes)
(h) Black Francolin
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Black-crowned Night-heron
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Eleonora's Falcon
Peregrine Falcon (F.p.brookei)
Long-legged Buzzard
Bonelli's Eagle
Common Moorhen
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Greenshank
Wood 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

Great Spotted Cuckoo
(h)Little Owl
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
European Roller
European Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Red-backed Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
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
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
(h)Common Chaffinch
European Serin
European Greenfinch (C.c.muehlei)
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
Cretzschmar's Bunting
Black-headed Bunting

66

May 09th, 2019

9/5/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - 3 Day Tour - Paphos, Akrotiri and Larnaca 06+07+08/05/2019

On the 6th I guided Manfred on a 3 day tour around Paphos, Akrotri and Larnaca.
Starting out in Paphos (on a very dusty day) we headed to Kathikas in hope of getting Black-headed Bunting, in which we saw a migrating Marsh Harrier on the way. Indeed we saw many in song showing high on the wires and low in the vegetation. Heading to Pano Arodes we got great views of a pair of Roller near the entrance to the village. There wasn't overly much life at Arodes, though we did see a beautiful leucistic Long-legged Buzzard perching close by and also hunting in a valley quite close to us.
We then dropped down to Minthis hills for Cretzschmar's Bunting of which we managed to locate one singing.
Heading further down we had one of the Cyprus Scops Owl at the roost showing very well. Arriving at the Peregrine Falcon site, one adult was just flying off, but we was treated too great views of 3 of the fledgling chicks.

In the valley we had great views of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in song and Rollers at their nesting ground.
We then headed to Anarita Park, seeing plenty of Roller and Cyprus Wheatear en route.
At Anarita Park we had great views of Cyprus Warbler and also a Little Owl. There was many Kestrels hunting together, very similar behaviour to Lesser Kestrels, though they were common's after a good look through. Red-rumped Swallows were flying low and sadly no Red-footed Falcons were around still.
Agia Varvara held no water birds, but we did get Spotted Flycatcher, Eurasian Hobby and recently colonized Laughing Doves here.
We didn't see much at Mandria, just some Greater Short-toed Lark, a Whinchat and also a Black Francolin calling from a bush nice and close.

A surprise was a Black-headed Bunting showing very close in some vegetation.
We finished up at the Sewage Plant seeing Spur-winged lapwing, Black-winged Stilt and a Glossy Ibis, managing 47 species for the day.

On the 7th we set out to Akrotiri.
Our first site was Phassouri. Serin and Chaffinch were singing and calling at the entrance, and a few Turtle Dove moving around in the orchard.
Many Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egret and Squacco Heron were on the marsh, and a Great Reed Warbler sung in a clump of reeds next to the car.
At the Rabbit shed pools we had common and pallid swift coming down for water, Bee-eaters overhead and a calling Great Spotted Cuckoo. On the water we had many Wood Sandpiper and Common Sand Piper. Kentish Plover were showing close as were Little Stint and a pair of Temminck's Stint. Ruff, Spur-winged lapwing, Black-winged Stilt and a pair of Greenshank were also present.
After a quick look around the Gravel Pits we headed to Ladies Mile. Ladie's Mile held good numbers of Little terns plunging into the water and resting on the salt flats. We had many Little Stint here and also 8 Broad-billed Sandpiper which would be Manfred's star bird of the 3 day tour.

A pair of Curlew Sandpipers landed nearby also providing great views in their stunning summer plumage.
We then went to the run-off which was fairly quiet. We didn't pass the mound entrance part of the salt lake as the Greater Flamingo were very close to the edge with many courting, so we watched those from a concealed point and then headed back.

We stopped at Zakaki Marsh, and despite being told there was a pied kingfisher there, we didn't see it ... which is unsurprising considering how overgrown the reeds have become. A pair of Black-crowned Night heron flew in to the pool but that was the only species of note here.
Then we headed to Bishop's pool for Ferruginous Duck. At the entrance there was many European Bee-eaters showing very well. On the pool there was little, but we managed to find 2 Ferruginous duck and many Little Grebe with dabchicks. A Golden Oriole flew over in the distance, we couldn't find it in the fur trees it went down to but did flush a Long-eared Owl.
Next site was Kensington cliffs, where we had fantastic views of Griffon Vulture, Alpine Swift and Eleonora's Falcon.

We stopped at Asprokremnos dam on the way back and saw a Baltic gull among the Yellow-legged Gull in the dam. We finished the day with 67 species.

On the 8th Manfred and I went to the Larnaca sites. As we were driving along the motorway out of Paphos we came across a few small flocks of Glossy Ibis on the move.
We started in the Menou area, getting coffee en-route and seeing Eurasian Stone Curlew.
Greater Flamingo, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing and Little Terns were on the pools and a Common Cuckoo flew low over the car ... a nice welcoming. We also scoped a pair of Slender Billed Gull.
As we headed to the hide we had smashing views of Spectacled Warbler. On the sewage pools there was only Mallard and a few Common Sandpiper. Heading towards the sewage plant we had views of Common Ringed Plover and Kentish plover on the beach and a single Caspian Gull. A Black Francolin showed well very close to us on a hay stack, calling for a lengthy amount of time.
A disappointing number of species so we headed to Oroklini, which was also low on species, but we did get great views of Laughing Dove and distant views of a female Red-crested Pochard.
We decided to visit Achna, from which the shallow end was off limits due to very high water levels. We ventured around the side of the dam from the main entrance, seeing Grey Heron, Squacco Heron, Little Egret and a Roller, but not much else.
We barely saw a bird at the Aquaduct (just a Marsh Harrier) and the Salt Lake was devoid of life.
We headed back to Paphos and stopped at Agia Varvara in hope of seeing a Great Spotted Cuckoo. We didn't manage to but we did see many Wood Sandpiper nice and close, and also a White Wagtail. We finished the day with 56 species bewildered in not seeing more Tern species for this time of year.
Our total for the 3 day tour was 93 species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge (a.c.cypriotes)
Black Francolin
Mallard
Red-crested Pochard
Ferruginous Duck
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Glossy Ibis
Black-crowned Night heron
Squacco heron
Grey Heron
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon (F.p.Brookei)
Eleonora's Falcon
Western Marsh Harrier
Long-legged Buzzard
Eurasian Griffon Vulture
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
Eurasian Stone Curlew
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Little Stint
Temminck's Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Broad-billed Sandpiper
Ruff
Yellow-legged Gull
Caspian Gull
Baltic Gull
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Little Tern
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove

(h)Great Spotted Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
Cyprus Scops Owl
Little Owl
Long-eared Owl
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
European Bee-eater
European Roller
Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Golden oriole
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit (P.m.aphrodite)
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark (G.c.cypriaca)
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
(h)Sedge Warbler
(h)Great Reed Warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Blackcap
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
(h)Tree Pipit
Common Chaffinch
(h)European Serin
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
Cretzschmar's Bunting
Black-headed Bunting

93

April 28th, 2019

28/4/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos 27/04/2019

On the 27th I guided Jules around the Paphos sites. Jules had done a fair bit of birding at the popular sites and used my service to find a few of the species that had evaded him i.e Bonelli's Eagle, Cretzschmar's Bunting and Black-headed Bunting.
We set out straight to the foothills where we got incredible views of Bonelli's Eagles perching not far away for lengthy times and also flying low, a great start to the day. A Hoopoe showed well as we left the site and many Serin were in song.
Next we headed to kathikas for Black-headed Bunting, we actually found quite a few and got great views and photo opportunities with them. As we left the site a Black Francolin showed close at the side of the road.

We then had a look around Pano Arodes which proved great for Common Cuckoo (including a hepatic morph) and Great Spotted Cuckoo.

Then we traveled to Neo Chorio for Cretzschmar's Bunting. Unfortunately none actually showed, called or sung here which is unusual though we got great views of many Cyprus Warbler, Cyprus Wheatear and hundreds of Blackcap. Pied and Spotted Flycatcher were in the area on the way to the picnic site and a Eurasian Hobby flew close overhead.

We swept through Androlikou in hope of getting a late Eastern Bonelli's Warbler and was unsuccessful with that, though we did see the local Masked Shrike, brief views of a Wood Sandpiper flushed from a pool and some great views of Ortolan Bunting.
We stopped for some food and then continued back to Paphos to check out Minthis Hills for Cretzschmar's Bunting. They took a long time to show, though we had a Common Rock Thrush nearby to keep us occupied until they finally presented themselves.

We stopped at a Cyprus Scops Owl roost on the way to Episkopi and saw two sitting close together. At Episkopi we had views of one of the Peregrines on territory. Moving into the valley we managed to get a view of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, something Jules wanted to see as his only other sighting of the species was a scruffy one.
As we headed back we stopped for a young Chameleon crossing the road, which we helped and snapped a few photos of too. Targets achieved, not the highest bird count but some great species and fantastic views. 47 Species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Common Kestrel
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon
Bonelli's Eagle
Wood Sandpiper
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
Cyprus Scops Owl
(h)Little Owl
Common Swift
Eurasian Hoopoe
Masked Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Barn Swallow
Common House-martin

Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Blackcap
Lesser Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
Whinchat
Cyprus Wheatear
Common Rockthrush
Spotted Flycatcher
European Pied Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Tree Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
European Serin
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
Ortolan Bunting
Cretzschmar's Bunting
Black-headed Bunting

47

April 24th, 2019

24/4/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half-day Tour - Paphos 23/04/2019

On the 23rd I guided Pat and Les around the Paphos sites for a half-day tour.
We started out at the Paphos Sewage Plant where we managed great views of Barn Swallows, Red-rumped Swallows and Sand Martins perched and feeding over the alfalfa fields accompanied by Common Swifts. A Masked Shrike showed well as did some Common Whitethroat, a Northern Wheatear and our target here; The Spur-winged lapwings were meters from the car and a favourite species for the day. We had small groups of Purple Heron migrating overhead at a few times and also a surprise Great Spotted Cuckoo, presumably one about to leave the island as this is not their habitat.

As we were heading to Agia Varvara I noticed a Red-footed Falcon hovering over a field in Acheleia, so we parked to watch the female for a lengthy time at close range and even put up a Stone Curlew. Next stop was Agia Varvara where we was greeted at the entrance by a Woodchat Shrike in the same bush I had seen one on my previous few tours. Leading to the pools we had a Chukar on the pathway and a Purple Heron. On the pools we had a few Great Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler plus a Squacco Heron showing nicely. At least 7 Wood Sandpiper were in the pools, and countless whinchats in the area. Sadly all the crakes seemed to have left the area, and the Little Bittern didn't show itself. As we were leaving the site a Golden Oriole darted out of a tree and flew into an orchard.

We then ventured to Asprokremnos Car park in hope of some flycatchers where we only managed to see a single male Collared Flycatcher and not much else so we moved on quickly just sweeping past the village of Mandria for some Laughing dove on the way to Timi.
At Timi we had great views of Common and Wood Sandpiper, various Yellow-wagtails, Little and Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Spotted, Pied and a single Semi-collared Flycatcher and also we had a Heuglin's Gull fly along the coast and a smart male Common Redstart meters from the car. We finished the half-day managing 60 species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
(h)Black Francolin
Glossy Ibis
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon
Common Moorhen
Eurasian Stone Curlew
Spur-winged Lapwing
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Heuglin's (Siberian) Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Common Swift
Woodchat Shrike
Masked Shrike
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow

Great Tit
Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
(h)Savi's Warbler
(h)Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Great Reed-warbler
Blackcap
Common Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
(h)Common Nightingale
Common Redstart
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
European Pied Flycatcher
Collared Flycatcher
Semi-collared Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (Flava, Thunbergii)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch

60

April 19th, 2019

19/4/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos 18/04/2019

On the 18th I guided Christer and Bengt for a full day tour around the Paphos sites.
We started out at Agia Varvara. En-route we had a Great Spotted Cuckoo fly low tawards the car on the B road which was a good start. At Agia varvara we was greeted by a Woodchat Shrike posing close to the car for a lengthy period, and also a Black Francolin sitting low in a tree. On the pools we had great views of many Little Crakes but not much else was around aside whinchat. As we left the site we had nice close lengthy views of a Spotted Flycatcher.
We moved up into Anarita Park which was also fairly quiet aside many whinchat. We had some great views of a Marsh Harrier and a Male Montagu's Harrier. A small part of Red-rumped Swallows flew around us very low down with one entering its nesting tunnel with food. None of the Cyprus Warblers were willing to show although we did get a brief view of a female Eastern Subalpine warbler as a consolation.
Moving further inland we saw quite a few Cyprus Wheatear heading in to Episkopi and also quite a few Turtle Doves. We even had some great views of an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler sitting on the power lines singing away and many chukar on the ground.
After viewing the Peregrine Falcons on their territory we moved up to the Cyprus Scops Owl roost and got fantastic views and photos of a pair.
We then moved through Minthis seeing many Corn Buntings and a few Cretzschmar's Buntings on territory. Moving on through Armou we had great views of a pair of Hoopoes close to the car but sadly no Long-legged Buzzards.
The Paphos Sewage Works produced little aside the Spur-winged Lapwings and many tree pipits and Spanish Sparrows so we moved on quickly to Timi where Wood Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtails, Collared and Pied Flycatcher and Cattle + Little Egret were showing. We had our Lunch here.
We then tried our luck at Anarita Masts for Cyprus Warbler but again they were reluctant to show, though we did see an Eastern Black-eared Wheatear here as well as an Ortolan Bunting and Spectacled Warbler. Mandria was unusually quiet though we managed to pick out a pair of Northern Wheatear, a Hoopoe, Laughing Dove and a Great Spotted Cuckoo and got lucky with a field of Stone Curlew.
Our last stop was Asprokremnos Dam car park seeing a 1st plumage Bonelli's Eagle en-route, though being short on time by this point we didn't have a very productive time here. We finished off with 66 species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Little Grebe
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Western Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Bonelli's Eagle
Little Crake
Common Moorhen
Eurasian Stone Curlew
Spur-winged Lapwing
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Yellow-legged Gull
Baltic Gull
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Cyprus Scops Owl
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
Eurasian Hoopoe
Woodchat Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow

Great Tit
Crested Lark
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Common House-martin
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Blackcap
Common Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
Eastern Subalpine Warbler
Spectacled Warbler
Whinchat
Northern Wheatear
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
Cyprus Wheatear
Spotted Flycatcher
European Pied Flycatcher
Collared Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail (Flava, thunbergii)
Black-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit
(h)Red-throated Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Common Linnet
Corn Bunting
Ortolan Bunting
Cretzschmar's Bunting

66

April 17th, 2019

17/4/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half-day Tour - Paphos 17/04/2019

On the 17th I guided Jenny and Elizabeth around the Paphos sites for a half day.
We started out at the Paphos Sewage Plant where many hirundines were feeding above the fields. We had great views of Barn and Red-rumped Swallow, Sand Martin in flight and sitting close on the wires. Also Common, Pallid and Alpine Swift were flying low. Many Tree Pipits and Spanish Sparrows were in the trees and moving around. A pair of Spur-winged Lapwings were foraging for food meters from the car and along the ezousas river we had a Marsh Harrier hunting along the edge. A Sedge Warbler sang on top of a shrub next to the road as we left.

Our next stop was Agia Varvara. As we entered the site a Woodchat shrike sat in a bush very close to the car enabling brilliant views and we had flight views of a Black Francolin. The pools weren't as productive as previous days though there were still many Little Crakes showing nicely and a Little Bittern briefly before crawling into the reeds and out of view. A Great Reed Warbler sang continuously right next to where we parked but never showed. Quite a few Whinchat were showing nicely in the area as were Common Whitethroat. The Common Kingfisher made an appearance landing in dry sticks not far from where we were standing and a Corn Bunting also perched very near to us.
As we left the site we had a brief view of a Black Francolin sitting on a concrete block and then flew right infront of the car, probably the same one we saw on the way in. In the orchard there was a few Spotted Flycatcher and many more Whinchat.
We continued on to Asprokremnos Dam car park. At the entrance a small group of European Bee-eater were sitting on the wires, a target species for the day. Our other target was Golden oriole but sadly none were showing in the car park or the previous sites that we had visited where they usually turn up, though we did see many Wood Warbler and a pair of Collared Flycatcher. A European Turtle Dove was sitting at the top of some distant trees.

Our last stop was at Timi where we had great views of a male Pied Flycatcher and many Cattle and Little Egrets. Wood sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and a single Little Stint were on the water and a showy Ruppell's Warbler meters from us. We finished the half day with 53 species.

Species List:

Black Francolin
Little Bittern
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Common Kestrel
Western Marsh Harrier
Little Crake
Common Moorhen
Spur-winged Lapwing
Little Ringed Plover
Wood Sandpiper
Little Stint
Yellow-legged Gull
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Pallid Swift
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Woodchat Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit

Crested Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
(h)Cetti's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
(h)Great Reed-warbler
(h)Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Wood Warbler
Blackcap
Common Whitethroat
Ruppell's Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
(h)Common Nightingale
Whinchat
Spotted Flycatcher
European Pied Flycatcher
Collared Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Tree Pipit
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Corn Bunting

53

April 17th, 2019

17/4/2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos + Akrotiri 15/04/2019

On the 15th I guided Rick and Dot around the Paphos and Akrotiri sites, the weather was overcast, windy at times and not good for photography.
We started by checking a few of the Paphos sites before heading to Akrotiri as there was a few scarce species that would be easier to get in the morning. So our first site was Agia Varvara where we managed to see many Little Crakes, both male and female and also briefly a Spotted Crake. The Baillon's Crake seemed to have left its favoured pool which was drying out and sadly we couldn't find it. Though we had smashing views of Little Bittern and Common Kingfisher. A Savi's Warbler was reeling and a Great Reed Warbler singing away but we didn't manage to see either. We got great views of a Great Spotted Cuckoo perched in a tree as we left.
Then we headed to Mandria in hope of seeing the Female Caspian Plover that had lingered for a few days. Unfortunately that was no-where to be seen, but there was a smart Collared Pratincole in the field instead.
We then headed to Akrotiri stopping at the Rabbit Shed pools first and seeing many Glossy Ibis and Cattle Egret on the way. There didn't seem to be as many waders around as there previously was. We had common snipe, Kentish and Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Wood and Common Sandpiper and some ruff here as well as quite a few Black-winged Stilts and a pair of Spur-winged Lapwing. There was also some Black-headed Wagtails that were very distant, plus Tree and Red-throated Pipit flying over us and a Peregrine Falcon. The pair of male Garganey were still present providing great views at times and we had close but brief views of Black Francolin here.
We continued to the Salt lake stopping at the Environmental Center. Here we saw the Greater Flamingo's doing their courtship dance, and also saw a pair mating. The Slender-billed Gulls were no-where to be seen on the salt lake and so we continued to Ladies Mile which was fairly quiet and after seeing some young Armenian, Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls we moved on.
The Griffon Vultures didn't show again at Kensington Cliffs, though we had some great views of Alpine Swift.
Heading back into Paphos we stopped to have our Lunch at Timi Picnic site and then made our way up into the foothills to see the Cyprus Scops Owls at their roost and then the Peregrine Falcons on their territory. A quick browse around Anarita Park produced some Cyprus Warblers but not much else. Lastly Rick and Dot really wanted to see Stone Curlew so we stopped in at a specific part of the sewage works and managed to see two. As I dropped them back at their villa we had a small group of European Bee-eaters flying overhead to finish the day managing 72 Species.

Species List:

Chukar Partridge
Black Francolin
Garganey
Greater Flamingo (2 copulating)
Glossy Ibis
Little Bittern
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Little Egret
European Shag
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Little Crake
Spotted Crake
Common Moorhen
Eurasian Stone Curlew
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Common Snipe
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Little Stint
Ruff
Collared Pratincole
Armenian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Caspian Gull
Rock Dove
Common Wood-pigeon
European Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Great Spotted Cuckoo

Cyprus Scops Owl
Alpine Swift
Common Swift
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater
Woodchat Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Hooded Crow
Great Tit
Crested Lark
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
(h)Savi's Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
(h)Great Reed-warbler
(h)Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Cyprus Warbler
(h)Common Nightingale
Whinchat
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
Cyprus Wheatear
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
White Wagtail
Black-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Common Chaffinch
European Serin
European Greenfinch
European Goldfinch
Corn Bunting

72

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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

May 24th, 2019

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

May 24th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos + Akrotiri 13/05/2019

May 09th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - 3 Day Tour - Paphos, Akrotiri and Larnaca 06+07+08/05/2019

April 28th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos 27/04/2019

April 24th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half-day Tour - Paphos 23/04/2019

April 19th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos 18/04/2019

April 17th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Half-day Tour - Paphos 17/04/2019

April 17th, 2019

Cyprus Bird Watching Tours - BIRD is the WORD - Tour - Paphos + Akrotiri 15/04/2019

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