Army Ornithological SocietyArmy Ornithological Society Blog
SPTA West
It is now well into January and the bournes on Imber are in full spate. It was not that long ago that the Berrill through Imber was in flood. I wisely turned off onto American Road as I drove into the village as did 4 minibuses of Afghans. The water was getting deeper and though my car is used to muddy and wet tracks this was worse than driving landrovers throuh Icelandic rivers. At Chitterne the road was closed and some person has put up a sign under the village name "Twinned with Atlantis". Tilshead had become a ford and half the road was closed with a line of sand bags down the middle to prevent too much water crossing the road. Everywhere the ground is saturated and all rain just runs straight off fields and springs are in full flow. I did take a break from the Plain with the AOS trip to Norfolk which proved to be a good day despite the weather. On the Sunday I went to the bird spectacular at Snettisham which truly was. I then popped back to Titchwell where I missed Lapland Bunting by minutes but did add Water Rail, Rock Pipit and Brambling. Back home I also visited Blashford Lakes (Red-crested Pochard and Black-necked Grebe) as well as wasting half a day on Southampton water looking for Velvet Scoter but did bag Long-tailed Duck at Hayling Island. In between I have managed some time on the Plain though the tanks are back which restricts which areas I can walk in. There are plenty of raptors around especially Buzzards. In addition the chances of seeing Short-eared Owl, Peregrine, Merlin, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk are good. There are Hen Harriers about however the Centre is still the favoured area. There were 500+ Linnet at the Lavington Vedette and 500+ Golden Plover at Gore Cross. Ravens are commonplace and they are putting on a great spectacle as they tumble through the sky. It has been very windy for a few weeks and where there are sheltered spots, flocks of tits have been found along with Goldcrests and Reed Buntings. There was a flock of 200+ Corn Buntings near the Tilshead Water Tower whilst Stonechat and Yellowhammer are spread across the Plain. This weekend is the RSPB Garden Birdwatch so I shall spend some time on that before heading out.
CommentsCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 12 Jan 14
Little Egret at Oroklini Coast on 16 Jan
* Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
On Tuesday with nothing at Akhna Dam to speak of I headed off to Oroklini. Immediately on my arrival, a first winter Little Gull flew across in front of me and continued to hawk the marsh. 48 Greater Flamingos were present with a Marsh Harrier and 39 Lapwings and a Redshank were in the surrounding fields. Since the sight has altered and water is now flowing in Cattle Egrets have also begun to roost again with c120 being present.
On Wednesday it was necessary for me to travel to Troodos for a meeting. On the way up I saw 2 Mistle Thrush and a scarce Goldcrest at Giant Junipers Picnic Site. 2 difficult wintering species in Cyprus and good to get in the bag early in the year. Coal Tits were present along with Great Tits. After the meeting in the afternoon, I visited Leivadia Tou Pasha Picnic Site where I found a Crossbill atop a tree, another Mistle Thrush, 4 Blackbirds and a Robin. Stopping in Troodos village on my return a Short-toed Treecreeper was adjacent to the Environmental Centre and the roasted, bacon peanuts at the nut stall were excellent. On the 16th at Oroklinin I photographed a Little Egret* whilst working my way through the gulls without luck.
I had arranged to meet Colin Richardson on Friday to travel to the north and meet with Jeff Gordon, a previous Cyprus recorder and ex serving member of the Army. I stopped at Akhna Dam where a Great White Egret, 12 Cormorant and 35 Spur-winged Plovers were present before meeting Colin at Oroklini, where a Black Francolin called. We moved to the coast where the Little Egret was still present along with a flyby Shag and 3 Sandwich Terns arrived as we were departing. We met Jeff at Demrahan roundabout in the north and visited the nearby Demrahan Pools, where a Green Sandpiper, 4 Teal and 2 Marsh Harriers were present. A high-pitched call alerted me to the presence of a Red-throated Pipit and we scoped 2 examples one with a fairly rufous throat. At Haspolat (Mia Melia) Sewage Works we saw c40 Spur-winged Plover and 4 Redshanks before the birders nightmare – a puncture. Stopping to change the wheel and needing air, Jeff and Colin continued in the area whilst I sorted it. They saw over 100 Ferruginous Ducks with good numbers of Pochard and 2 Gadwalls before we met up again and headed off to Famagusta. Stopping about 10km short to visit some ploughed fields which are good for Larks we had great success with flocks of Calandra Larks totalling c70 and in excess of 250 Skylarks. As we left the area 2 Golden Plovers were in the fields.
Clapsides Beach is always worth a visit and careful scanning of the rocks and beach was rewarded with a Curlew, 3 Grey Plovers, 6 Ringed Plovers, 4 Kentish Plovers, a Redshank, Greenshank Little Egret and the biggest surprise was a single Greater Sand Plover. Further on at Gulserin Pond 25 Flamingos and 2 Shelduck were present but little else of interest. We finished the day at the Fresh Water Lake South where good numbers of Cattle Egrets came to roost with a single Little Egret and 2 Great White Egrets. 2 Common Gulls, a juvenile and 1st Winter were good records, with a Siberian (Heuglin’s) Gull also flying through. 19 Cormorants were present and c30 Starlings flew to roost but the biggest event was 19 Night Herons (8 Adults and 11 1st and 2nd calendar year) flying from their day roost to start feeding.
On Saturday I attended a KUSKOR (Turkish Group) field trip in the north. Prior to meeting up with them, I visited Kanli Dam near Nicosia and found the previously reported Great Crested Grebe, 6 Pochards and a Great White Egret. Meeting the group we moved to Serdarli Dam, where a female Marsh Harrier and several Chiffchaffs were noted. In the fields Stonechats, Corn Buntings and larks were present. 18 Wood Larks flew in and as I was leaving, I stopped to photograph a Calandra Lark* with at least 2 others in song flight and displaying. –breeding starts early in Cyprus. Stopping at Clapsides once more, 2 Grey Plovers were present with 5 Curlews and a Cormorant. A 4th winter Caspian Gull floated by and 8 Golden Plovers flew onto the rocks. At Gulserin Pond nothing much had changed from the previous day but a Water Rail was out in the open as was a Bluethroat.
We again finished the day at Fresh Water Lake South where I flushed a Common Sandpiper and found 2 Ruff hiding under a tamereisk. As we continued to watch, 2 Marsh Harriers and 2 Common Buzzards were seen and as I watched, another raptor rose, and although head on to me, I could see 2 white spots on the shoulders. I waited for the bird to turn before alerting the group to a pale phase Booted Eagle. Finally, after a couple of weeks, I had caught up with the bird that had been reported since the first week of the month. A January record of a Booted Eagle is a very rare occurrence indeed and it’s possibly 1 of the birds that was at Akhna Dam in late November which is over-wintering.
On Sunday, I visited Cape Greco in the afternoon and although I could hear Cyprus Warblers (which is good news), I couldn’t see one but did see several Sardinian Warblers and a couple of Greenfinches. At the Army Camp cliffs, the female Finsch’s Wheatear was still present with a couple of Black Redstarts, Stonechats, a small covey of Chukars and handful of Spectacled Warblers. On the way home, at the Ayia Napa Police Station, a male Peregrine flew over the road heading west and keeping the year list ticking along at 116.
Highlight of the Week: Large flocks of Calandra Larks and a pale phase Booted Eagle in the North and the 1w Little Gull at Oroklini Marsh.
Look Forward: A weekend in the Paphos area at the weekend should produce a few interesting year birds.
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 12 Jan 14
Armenian Gull at Lady's Mile
Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
With photo opportunities being sparse this week, I have included a bit of a Gull fest with links to the Gulls mentioned in the text.
Monday the 6th and back to work – that was a shocker from the locker! So no birding and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms. I busied myself sorting the admin out for the forthcoming AOS tour of Cyprus in March and it’s all going well and easier than I thought it would be – no good will come of it and I’m waiting for the spanner in the works.
On Tuesday, I completed the accommodation admin for the AOS trip so that was a weight off my mind and proceeded to the north. At Clapsides Beach it was on with the winter visitors as an adult Audouin’s Gull, Caspian Gull, Grey Plover, Curlew and a couple of Grey Herons were in residence. Later at the Fresh Water Lake South, 23 Cormorants was a good count with 2 Great White Egrets and a Chiffchaff making appearances.
A trip to the local patch at Akhna Dam on Wednesday and not much was doing, 3 Great White Egrets and 7 Grey Herons alighted as I arrived and a Redshank flushed. Passerines were in short supply and the pipits have reduced in numbers quite dramatically. It appears that on 1st January, everything changes almost overnight – very curious. Caught short and needing to conduct a “shovel recce”, I ventured to an area of the dam that I don’t usually visit to find a suitable recce site. In doing so, I found 4 Reed Buntings and my first male Bluethroat of the year – a stroke of luck! Bluethroats become quite difficult after November when the main passage has finished, with the winter visitors becoming difficult to locate unless they call which is what this one did and obligingly sat on a dead snag for me.
I travelled to the Larnaca area on Thrursday but there wasn’t much of note on any of the pools but Armenian, Caspian, Yellow-legged and Black-headed Gulls were present in good numbers. The only thing breaking it up were the now long-staying Geese at the sewage works along with the 7 Ruddy Shelduck and a couple of adult Mediterranean Gulls. Perhaps the only thing of interest was 3 adult Heuglin’s Gulls on the salt lake with Hen and Marsh Harriers continuing around the sewage works.
On Friday I ventured over to the north and at Gulserin Pond the Flamingos had increased to 154, give or take a few. 6 Curlews were present and a Water Rail strutted its stuff in the open by the Spur-winged Plovers. I moved to the Fresh Water Lake South for dusk and this produced my first Common Kingfisher of the year. Circa 300 Cattle Egrets and a Great White Egret roosted and a Common Sandpiper called and flew across in front of me. Saturday brought another hunt for the Great Black-headed Gull in the Larnaca area which again proved fruitless. However, at the north end of the salt lake a Green Sandpiper flushed and a Temminck’s Stint was amongst the Little Stints, Dunlins, Kentish Plovers and Ringed Plovers. An adult Mediterranean Gull was roosting, 4 Corn Buntings flew over and a female Black Francolin flushed from the undergrowth. The Geese, Black-necked Grebes and Lapwings were still present at the sewage works.
On Sunday, with a tip off from the north I visited Kalkanli Wetland, also known as Akdeniz Wetland or Agia Eirini depending on your political preference which as you know, I care little for as birds, as far as I am aware, are not constrained by political boundaries? In any event the wetland had good numbers of wildfowl including c350 Pochards, (a species that is difficult in the south), c40 Ferruginous Ducks, Shovellers, Teal, Wigeon, Coots, 3 Little Egrets and the highlight 11 Tufted Ducks. Content I returned to the Larnaca area where I’d arranged to meet Colin Richardson at the sewage works. I stopped at the north side of the salt lake and heard and then saw a Bluethroat which are difficult at this time of year and a Common Buzzard drifted overhead. Many of the same species were in evidence at the sewage works but 5 Gadwall, 3 drakes and 2 ducks was the best count yet. 9 Curlews flew over and on the Airport Pool South, 3 Audouins’ Gulls (2 adults and 1 3rd Winter) were unusual for the site. A Long-legged Buzzard kept the year list ticking over and on the way home at the Salt Lake an adult Baltic Gull and 2 Siberian Gulls roosted with the more common Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls. Furthermore, at Oroklini Marsh on the way home, a pair of Red-crested Pochards was good to catch up with and incremented the year list to 105. A Great White Egret, c50 Cattle Egrets and 3 Pintails were also present
Highlight of the Week: It may be surprising to know that Tufted Ducks are somewhat of a prized species in Cyprus.
Look Forward: A day’s leave on Friday to go birding with Jeff Gordon and Colin Richardson over the north and a KUSKOR field trip on Saturday should prove productive..
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 5 Jan 14
Stonechat at Larnaca Salt Lake North on 1 Jan
* Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
On the 30th, I went out with a UK Birder - Simon Buckingham - in a quest to get a handful on the wish list. As it was we found 4 of the 5 required species including a mal Finsch’s Wheatear at Anarita Park, Moustached Warbler at Bishop’s Pool, a pair of Bonelli’s Eagles at Asprokremnos Dam with a year tick for me in the form of 3 Great Crested Grebes and numerous Armenian Gulls on Lady’s Mile.
A Reed Bunting was a good Cyprus wintering species at Phassouri Reed Beds as was a female Pochard at Bishop’s Pool. A couple of Sandwich Terns loafed at Lady’s Mile and a male Blue Rock Thrush was at Anarita Park. We quickly stopped at Kensington Cliffs on our return to Limassol in the hope of a chance Wallcreeper but as is the norm it was unproductive. We did however see a couple of Long-legged Buzzards, 4 Griffon Vultures and a Sparrowhawk,. Thanks to Simon for a good day out – it’s always nice to go out birding with a like minded individual rather than being on your own.
I stopped at Larnaca Sewage Works on the way back, where the Greylag and White-fronted Geese remained with the usual Black-necked Grebes. 5 Curlews on the Airport Fields were a surprise as they have been quite scarce so far this winter. On New Years’ Eve, I visited Akhna Dam briefly where 5 Great White Egrets was a good count and at Ay Nik, a Little Owl was the last bird of the year. The year closed with a list of 268 including all identifiable sub-species and forms (Wagtails & Bluethroat). More are possible as I missed some note-able and fairly easy birds – the Near Year beckons.
New Year’s Day! The race was on and the day ended in a fairly respectable 71 species as opposed to 74 last year. All the usual common species were in their regular haunts but 3 Pintails at Oroklini was as good find, whilst a Marsh Sandpiper at Larnaca Sewage Works was exceptional. Circa 250 Golden Plovers and a male Hen Harrier were at Larnaca Airport Pools South and on the North pool, 28 Dunlin and 5 Pintails. The Geese and wildfowl remained at the sewage works with the Greylag being a good one to get on the ’14 list. At the north end of Larnaca Salt Lake, 3 Reed Buntings were a good sighting with c30 Common Snipe being expected and a single Jack Snipe being a bonus. With nothing else to photograph, I succumbed and grabbed a shot of a nice male Stonechat* for the BLOG. Gulserin Pond in the north held good numbers of Dunlins and Little Stints but nothing exceptional but a Common Gull amongst the Yellow-legs, Caspians and Black-headed Gulls at Fresh Water Lake South was a great find.
On the 2nd, I visited the coast at Ayia Thekla racking up Greater Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Common Sandpiper and on the way a flock of 32 Stone Curlews in ploughed fields. At Kermia Beach a lone adult Audouin’s Gull kept the total ticking over. At Cape Greco Army Cliffs, a female Finsch’s Wheatear was a result, a male Blue Rock Thrush sang and the usual resident sylvias were present but alarmingly no Cyprus Warbler which was a surprise.
Having missed a couple of Great Black-headed Gulls already, I did a tour of the local haunts. None were present at Larnaca Sewage Works or salt lake although the first Siberian (Heuglin’s) Gull of the winter was a consolation. 8 Mediterranean Gulls were roosting on the salt lake with 1 2nd winter and 6 Ruffs were amongst the Lapwings at the sewage works. I drove to Limassol for a look but only Armenian Gulls were present. I met up with Colin Richardson and we did a tour of the Limassol sites, seeing Moustached Warbler, Water Rail, Pochard, Ferruginous Ducks, Grey Wagtail and an immature Bonelli’s Eagle at Bishop’s Pool. A Sparrowhawk flew over the road on the way to Phassouri Reed Beds which were fairly unproductive whilst I was there. Colin stayed around for a couple of hours and had some luck seeing a Bittern, Common Crane and an amazing sighting of a Great Snipe which was probably the first January record!
Saturday the 4th and an early morning visit to Gulserin Pond in the north produced an adult and a 1st winter Common Gull amongst the Black-headed Gulls. Common Gull is a difficult species in Cyprus and always good to catch up with as it is by no means an easy species to see every year. At Akhna Dam a Greenshank, Greenfinches, Spanish Sparrows were additions to the list whilst another 2 Ruffs appeared to indicate that a small movement of the species had taken place. The 3 Wigeon (1 drake) remained in situ. With still no Great Black-headed Gull in the bag I visited the coastal sights again where I added a Curlew at Silver Beach in the North and another 9 at Larnaca Sewage Works in the afternoon. 3 Gadwall and a Grey Plover were on the lagoons and a female Hen and Marsh Harrier harassed the wildfowl. The first week of the year ended on 96 species, 4 less than last year – note to self, “Must Try Harder”!
Highlight of the Week: A good start to the 2014 list and good to find the first Siberian Gull of the winter with Common Gulls in the north.
Look Forward: I’m desperate to catch up with a Great Black-headed Gull and a few outstanding wintering species.
If you are planning a visit or require more info please feel free to contact me at: birder639@yahoo.com
Mark Easterbrook
CommentsSPTA West
It is the last week of the year and the Plain has been basking in sunshine, well some of the time. The main roads are open as well as Imber Church and the village has been packed and chaotic with cars parked on both sides of the road as far as the bridging site 1. I shall however start on the Centre as the annual murmuration of Starlings is back in force. This year they are being very secretative and have estabished a roost in the centre of the impact area just south of Chirton Gorse. I found them by following a flock and driving down the track between Redhorn Vedette and Bombard (not brilliant for cars). There were 3 main groups and the bushes were packed. In addition I saw 3 Peregrines that had finished hunting for the evening and were flying away. Last Sunday I led a walk for the Wiltshire Ornithological Society to the north and west of Imber Village. There were 46 of us and we had a very pleasant walk in the sun. On the Plain that day was a massive cycling event, a running event, geo-caching group plus motorcross. Then there were all the visitors to the church so it was very busy. Fortunately we were on our own out on the training area and though there were not many birds we did see 29 species. There were no big flocks of thrushes but there was one of Goldfinches. In addition we saw Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Redpoll, Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk, Woodcock and Stonechat to mention a few. The previous day I had also seen Great Spotted Woodpecker and Reed Bunting on the route. Alas there was not a Hen Harrier nor a Short-eared Owl. I did see them that afternoon however at bridge crossing 3. I popped out this afternoon to the eastern side of the Warminster Danger Area and though I did not see the key wintering birds there were plenty of other birds especially in some of the scrub and gorse that has not yet been removed. One of my favourite warbler sites by Gurkha Track is being scrubbed out and soon there will be little scrub left. The winter bournes are not yet running though there are plenty of puddles and the ponds are full. Despite lots of visitors, away from the major routes the area remains wild and a haven for wildlife. Happy New Year.
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