Army Ornithological SocietyArmy Ornithological Society Blog
SPTA West
It is still very wet with roads flooded and bournes full. Tilshead and Shrewton have traffic lights in place to control traffic through the floods. The tracks are covered in mud from armourd vehicles and tanks are about. I have been out twitching especially the Red-flanked Bluetail which was not too far away. I even drove to Cepe Country Park for the Leser Yellowlegs after watching a Bittern at Blashford Lakes. I finished the day with Hawfinch at Blackwater Arboretum. Yesterday during the Hen Harrier survey I added Merlin to this year's list of birds. At NZ Farm a firefight put off quite a few birds from flying direct including a Hen Harrier but afterwards a Short-eared Owl did not deviate. The previous day a Short-eared Owl flew low right past me at Vedette 6. At Thorncombe Farm a Woodcock and 2 Snipe were flushed and another Woodcock was flushed at Grant's Farm. In the wood a male Bullfinch gave fantastic views and 3 Goldcrest were flitting around at the entrance into the woods by the valley track. There were 18 species on the walk despite the very strong winds. There are hundreds of Fieldfares and Starlings scattered across the Plain and Golden Plover are still present as are Lapwings. A drive around woods and hedgerows at midnight did not attract a Long-eared Owl and all the surveys conducted suggest that they are not present but I am sure there has to be one somewhere. The area is so large that not all of it is covered and all this rain does not help by limiting nights out.
Tweet of the Day
BBC Radio 4 has been running an excellent series called Tweet of the Day since 6 May 13. Each 2 minute programme, broadcast at 0558 hrs every weekday, starts with a birdsong or call followed by a short talk about the bird by a well-known presenter/sound recordist.
Not a Radio 4 listener? Too early in the morning for you?
Never mind! With the assistance of modern technology you can still catch up with this first-rate series by listening to the episodes at your leisure either using the BBC's iPlayer or downloading the podcasts to your preferred device.
CommentsCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 9 Feb 14
Great Crested Grebes at Akhna Dam
* Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
It’ll soon be light enough to get to Akhna Dam on a Monday after work but not quite.
On Tuesday I visited the Larnaca area and there appears to have been mass exodus of Wildfowl from the sewage works as numbers were greatly reduced and no Geese were evident. A drive along Spiro’s Beach revealed 2 fishing and plunge diving Sandwich Terns and a Marsh Harrier over the Airport Fields. On the South Pool, a Heuglin’s Gull was present amongst the other white headed Gulls and 14 Shelduck were present. Moving on to the North side of the Salt Lake, the gull roost was looking healthy but other than a Mediterranean Gull there wasn’t much of interest. As I walked along by the hide a Reed Bunting sat atop a reed but sadly that was the highlight of the day.
An enjoyable couple of hours was spent at Cape Greco on Wednesday where a number of decent birds were seen but not any early migrants. On route to Ayia Thekla a field near the road revealed the presence of 15 Golden Plovers, a Stone Curlew and 3 Lapwings. At Ayia Thekla, I quickly located 4 Greater Sand Plovers with Kentish Plovers and a couple of Dunlin. I moved onto Kermia Beach where not surprisingly a pair of adult Audouin’s Gulls were still in residence and in the sea offshore, drifting east a pair of Great Crested Grebes which is unusual. A wander around the Cape Greco produced a couple of Linnets and further on a pair of Cyprus Warblers, Spectacled Warbers and Sardinian Warblers. The male Blue Rock Thrush continued its winter stay as did the female light-throated Finsch’s Wheatear. A Common Buzzard was at the rubbish tip as I returned to the car. On the way home I drove around the back of the Ay Nik camp area close to the buffer zone. The first Fan-tailed Warbler of the month was noisy and a Common Buzzard drifted overhead. As I searched the edge of the Mesaoria Plain, I sighted a dark falcon that perched on a clod of earth. I scoped it and the heavy streaking on the breast and small bill with distinct creamy supercillium identified the bird as a fairly large dark female Merlin - a difficult bird to catch up with in Cyprus and one that’s easily missed off year list even though they winter in small numbers. An early Swallow was on the wires in Vrysoulles as I returned home.
In the afternoon, I drove to the North and at Clapsides Beach a Temminck’s Stint and Redshank were in a muddy channel and a Grey Plover with 15 Golden Plovers was on the rocks. At Gulserin 136 Greater Flamingos were feeding and 7 Shelducks were present but not much else. I stopped a the Fresh Water Lake South on the way home but nothing out of the ordinary was present. On the 6th Feb, I drove to Akhna Dam in the afternoon and a female Sparrowhawk was chasing a flock of c100 Starlings with 3 Great White Egrets around the dam. A Cetti’s Warbler gave itself up eventually and 13 Swallow passed over the dam. I located the Great Crested Grebe* only to find a second bird the Grebes posed perfectly in the setting sun reflection* - I almost got emotional. On the 7th I wasn’t feeling too special so stayed in and watched the Bucket List – what a great film. The 8th saw a day out in Nicosia with Deb but on the way home 19 Golden Plovers were in fields at Pervolia. I eventually located Petounta Point, having not been there before it was a recce for the AOS trip – it looks like a great place for some early morning sea watching and a real migrant trap. On Sunday I was busy with work so couldn’t get out.
Highlights of the Week: A female Merlin was a good find.
Look Forward: The search for early migrants and firsts for the year has commenced.
If you are planning a visit or require more info please feel free to contact me at: birder639@yahoo.com
Mark Easterbrook
CommentsCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 2 Feb
Spotted Redshank at Oroklini Coast
*Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
On the 28th I visited the north to find the usual species at Clapsides beach including a Grey Plover, 5 Ringed Plovers and 14 Kentish Plovers. Gulserin held good numbers of Teal and a couple of Redshanks amongst the Spur-winged Plovers whilst the highlight at Fresh Water Lake South were 2 Great White Egret – not what can be described as an epic start to the week by any stretch of the imagination. On Wednesday, having not been to Akhna Dam for a while a visit was due. No sooner had I put my bins up, I got onto an adult Little Gull*, a new bird for me at the site and my 198th for Akhna Dam. 11 Reed Buntings flushed – somewhat of a record count and on the water I managed a distant shot of a Great Crested Grebe* – a scarce winter visitor. A Water Pipit and male Blackcap were worthy sightings.
In the hope of finding some early migrants I visited the Cape Greco Rubbish Tip area on Thursday. Not the most aesthetically pleasing place you’ll ever visit (and the AOS will), but it does turn up the birds. Last Spring I saw 6 species of Wheatear in a morning! On this occasion it was situation normal with 3 Blue Rock Thrushes, 2 Black Redstarts and several Song Thrushes. 17 Starlings were strange for the site and a Long-legged and Common Buzzard were predictable for the time of year. At Ayia Napa Sewage Works birds were at a minimum, however, my first orchids of the year with the early flowering Fan-lipped* and Giant*, with the rare Caspian Butterfly Orchid, showing leafs.
At Akhna Dam on Friday, a Swallow was hawking the water and the Great Crested Grebe was still present. 3 Wigeon were also still there with 2 Great White Egrets, although to be honest it was a fairly dull affair. When I returned home there was an email from Colin Richardson reporting a Rock Bunting in the north at Five Finger Mountain and a Red-fronted Serin at Anarita Park. I decided to go for the Rock Bunting on Saturday and await news of the Serin for a possible trip on Sunday. Deb went with me to the mountains in the north, a site that I will visit again as it has lots of potential for migrants. After about an hour or so, I could hear a Bunting but I couldn’t find it. Descending the steep slope, I caught site of a bird with white outer tail feathers and as it perched on a bush, I got my scope on it for about 15 seconds. With an unmistakeable head pattern it was a young male Rock Bunting – result, a Cyprus “tick”. 2 Black Redstarts and a male Cyprus Warbler were noted with commoner passerines. We drove along the mountain road towards Esenteppe and at a viewpoint got another couple of year ticks with a Wren and the difficult to find these days, pair of Raven. Driving back to Famagusta, I stopped at Guvercinlik plains and amongst the numerous Skylarks and Crested Larks were 3 Calandras and a flushed Black Francolin female. The Famagusta Wetlands held little of interest so I returned home to negative news of the Red-fronted Serin, so I’d made a good decision with the Rock Buntings.
On Sunday, driving past Akhna Dam 7 Starlings and a ringtail Hen Harrier flew over me. At Oroklini Coast, the first Spotted Redshank* of the year posed for the camera, a Little Egret fed and numerous Black-headed Gulls loafed. Dropping Deb at the dreaded JUMBO, I checked the newly found drain and in it was a revelation, 6 Temminck’s Stints, 6 Little Ringed Plovers – the first for the year, 2 Teal, a Spur-winged Plover, Cattle Egret and a Snipe. I proceeded to Oroklini Marsh where 4 Pintails (3 males) were the highlight. A Bluethroat was present and my first 8 House Martins of the year were amongst good numbers of Swallows. In the Larnaca gull roosts, at least 9 Armenian Gulls, 2 Siberian Gulls, a Baltic Gull and large numbers of Caspian Gulls with 3 Mediterranean Gulls were present with the usual C600 Shelduck. On the edge of the salt lake, waders were well represented with Little Stints, Dunlins, Redshanks, Kentish and Ringed Plovers and a single Sanderling was a good find. A male Peregrine fed on a freshly caught wader and a ghostly male Hen Harrier quartered the cereal fields. At the Sewage Works, 11 Black-necked Grebes were present, 2 in breeding plumage but in windy conditions viewing was difficult. I returned via Akhna Dam where at least 100 Spanish Sparrows roosted and 2 Swallows were present.
Highlights of the Week: A Cyprus tick was a good start to the year with a couple of very scarce wintering Rock Buntings.
Look Forward: With Swallows, House Martins, a couple of waders and Great Spotted Cuckoo being reported, Wheatears must arrive soon.
If you are planning a visit or require more info please feel free to contact me at: birder639@yahoo.com
Mark Easterbrook
CommentsCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 26 Jan 14
Common Crane at Phasouri Reed Beds
* Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
Tuesday brought another Great Black-headed Gull hunt which ended in failure. I did however see Audouin’s Mediterranean, Baltic and Siberian along with good numbers of Armenian, Caspian and Yellow-legged all in the various regular Larnaca roosts. Only 1 Greater White-fronted Goose was present at the sewage works along with a pair of Gadwalls and Wigeon. The Little Grebe count totalled 172 and the Black-necked Grebes 21. 7 immature Flamingos were present with 13 adults on the salt lake – a huge reduction from a couple of weeks ago. In the Larnaca Airport Fields, 2 Red-throated Pipits flushed calling and 5 Chukars ran across the field. Circa 400 Golden Plovers were on the Airport Pools South but no Stone Curlews. The hide at Larnaca Salt Lake provided views of Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaffs and a male Blackcap, with a Reed Bunting in the bushes close by and c30 Starlings flying to roost in the reeds. C600 Shelduck remained on the north side of the lake but there was little to write home about. So the end of a fairly unproductive day came to a close.
On Wednesday, as I walked to the Admin Office a Serin was heard singing and then seen in a conifer – my first of the year. In the afternoon I visited the Ayia Napa Football Pitches and Sewage Works area primarily to search for singing Cyprus Warblers and to check out the orchid progress. The rare Caspian Butterfly Orchid is coming through and should be in flower when the society visits if anyone is interested but no Giant or Fan-lipped Orchids were showing. The lagoons held a Common Sandpiper, however save for a Common Buzzard not much was about.
On Thursday, I took a day’s leave and visited the Limassol area. First stopping at Finikaria on the north side of Germasoia Dam. I flushed a couple of Jack and Common Snipes, 2 Grey Wagtails were present with a couple of Water and Meadow Pipits with several Linnets being noted. At Zakaki Marsh a Common Buzzard and a female Black Redstart showed well but there was little of interest amongst the Black-headed Gulls, however the first 2 fly-by Barn Swallows of the year were seen with another at Phasouri Reed Beds later in the day. I progressed to Akrotiri Salt Lake where good numbers of commoner waders were feeding actively which included a Sanderling which was a bonus bird for this time of year. At Phasouri, I connected with the over wintering 1 CY Common Crane* but there was no sign of the Bittern or Penduline Tits. At Kurio Stadium in Episkopi (famed as the easiest place on the island to see Cyprus Warblers), none were present – a bit worrying! On the nearby Happy Valley cliffs 2 Griffon Vultures perched and above me a Long-legged Buzzard hovered and a Common Buzzard drifted. A stop at Larnaca Airport Pool South on the way home to check the gull roost revealed 2 adult Siberian Gulls, a Green Sandpiper and C350 Golden Plovers. 6 Ruffs were at the Sewage Works with the usual suspects.
On Friday, Deb and I travelled to Paphos for the weekend, (£52, half-board for 2 nights), for that price, you can’t go wrong. I walked the headland prior to booking in and saw 83 Golden Plovers and a Kingfisher and then convinced Deb that we should “watch the sun go down” by the Shipwreck Coast. Whilst “watching he sun go down”, I found a Dunlin with a massive bill, looking like a Curlew Sandpiper (alpine race dunlins are a pooh trap for the unwary), another Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper and as dusk approached, remarkably the difficult to catch up with, wintering Whimbrel landed to the right of us – a good bird to get for the year. We booked in and happiness prevailed!
On Saturday, I had arranged to meet Colin Richardson at Paphos Headland and Deb and arranged to go shopping with Colin’s wife (obviously). At the headland, the Whimbrel was present (so much for being difficult), 4 Greater Sand Plovers were there when they weren’t yesterday, (I’m hoping their winter stay will last for the AOS visit) and c70 Golden Plovers stood motionless on the rocks. No early migrants were encountered and no Turnstone – the target bird for the day. We moved along the coast to Kalafos Beach, where a Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper were present. We scanned the promontory and I found a lone Turnstone – result, and another good one for the year list. By now and unusually it was raining heavily and I was as wet as a …… (wait for it)……Otter’s pocket. We drove to Mandria where several Sardinian Warblers were looking bedraggled along with a couple of Bluethroats*, one of which posed for the camera amongst the stinking, discarded rotting onion remains. Several Chiffchaffs were also there and in the surrounding fields, good numbers of Skylarks, Linnets, Chaffinches and 5 Red-throated Pipits. At the nearby Paphos Sewage Works. A cracking male Hen Harrier was mobbed by a Hooded Crow, 7 Spur-winged Plovers were very active and a Blackcap male was seen. 3 Wood Lark did a flyby as they called before we moved on to Kouklia Soakaways. At the soakaways, a couple of Moustached Warblers called and one eventually gave great views. Above us, a couple of Long-legged Buzzards and a Common Buzzard soared and in the stream a Grey Wagtail revealed its presence as it called. Asprokemnos Dam Wall had a showy Blue Rock Thrush male in attendance and this ended the day as we were thoroughly soaked. We ate out with Colin and Sylvie in the evening at a local taverna where the food was excellent.
Returning home on Sunday, I had to take care of a bit of admin at Mandria for the AOS tour, finding a suitable location for lunch one day. This achieved I also recce’d Anarita Park locating the target, a beautiful male Finsch’s Wheatear. I really hope it stays around for the tour, but it may not be that easy. Also on the scree slope was a male Blue Rock Thrush and a Little Owl. Driving to Akrotiri, I scoped another eatery for lunch during the tour so job done, I returned home via Finikaria once more. Here, I eventually caught up with the resident Crag Martin flock, which were feeding high above the hills that numbered 15+. A very pale Long-legged Buzzard added to the enjoyment along with a Common Buzzard. Tipped off by Keith and Raija Howard, wintering from Finland, I searched an area of scrub finding 4 Sardinian Warblers, a Black Redstart, singing Serin, 6 Song Thrushes and eventually my first male Cyprus Warbler of the year. I was very pleased not only to see one but to find another location for the impending AOS trip should I need it. Finally, I stopped at Larnaca and saw an adult Audouin’s Gull, 13 Black-necked Grebes with one approaching breeding plumage, complete with “ears” and an immature Black-winged Stilt. I drove home eventually coming to rest at the local restaurant for a roast beef dinner – a perfect end to an enjoyable weekend!
Highlights of the Week: A couple of good year birds with a Whimbrel and Turnstone, a Common Crane and eventually a Cyprus Warbler.
Look Forward: Hunting for early migrants next week and the hunt for the Great Black-headed Gull continues.
If you are planning a visit or require more info please feel free to contact me at: birder639@yahoo.com
Mark Easterbrook
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