Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 2 Jun
Jay at The Persephone Trail – Troodos on 29 May.
* indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view or click on the link.
Monday and a bank holiday continuing in the North with a shave and a great lunch before heading home. On Tuesday morning I visited the Larnaca area. With the lake drying out quickly the Greater Flamingos have departed and passage waders appear to have all but passed through. Breeding Black-winged Stilts and Spur-winged Plovers were much in evidence with the latter having 4 chicks present. A pair of Black-headed Yellow Wagtails (feldegg) appear to be breeding and a pair of Purple Herons flushed from the reeds. A little further out on the salt lake on an island, a pair of Little Terns were present and are likely to breed. As I was departing 5 Ruff flew in and as I was reaching the car, I noticed 2 small blue butterflies which turned out to be Small Desert Blues*, hardly surprising given the profusion of the host plant present – a new butterfly for me.
I drove to the Larnaca Sewage Works area where the usual breeding waders, Little Grebes, Mallards and Coots were present. 4 Little Terns flew out to see and a pair of lingering Northern Shovellers were a good month tick. A little further along which was of a bit more interest were a pair of Curlew Sandpipers on Spiro’s Pool along with a Kentish Plover and 5 Little Terns. On the buoys offshore 6 Shags were sat. After a bit of shopping we went home via Akhna Dam where 16 (a good count) Little Egrets were seen. Also present was a Roller, a Squacco Heron, a couple of Fan-tailed Warblers and an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. I proceeded to the other side of the dam to conduct the Dragonfly survey.
On Wednesday, it was necessary for me to travel to Troodos for an overnight stay to conduct some Troop Commander duties. It did allow me a little time to go for a walk in the afternoon around the nearby Persephone Trail. Always a good place to see the mountain specialities, I was very successful. Jays were obvious along with the usual suspects and I managed to get a month tick with 2 calling, flyover Crossbills. Of the summer breeders, a pair of Masked Shrikes and a Hoopoe was seen as was a couple of Cyprus Wheatears. Very interesting was a Scops Owl calling at 1530, although it remained well hidden. Also of interest were some new orchids. With the season being a long one in Cyprus, although the lowland species have now finished the mountain species show from May to August. With this in mind I saw 3 new species, 2 in full flower and 1 in bud. Violet Limodore* (Limodorum arbortivum) was quite stunning although Lesser Butterfly Orchid* (Platanthera holmboei - the same one as in the UK) was not so impressive. A rarer species the Dense-flowered Helliborine (Epipactis condensata) was also present but not yet in flower. There was another present which I photographed but I am currently unsure of its ID – it could be one of two, so knowing where it is, I’ll wait for it to develop in the next 6 weeks. I returned home the next day and finished last week’s blog which was long overdue, before flaking on the settee in the heat (there’s nothing else for it during the summer afternoons).
On Friday afternoon with the cleaner arriving at lunchtime, we decided to get out of the house; so to Cape Greco, some birding and a Cyprus Special sandwich – what better combination to kick the weekend off. In any event the birding was a bit dull with only a Turtle Dove being present but the sandwich was a joy as usual. A stop at Sotira on the return journey was a little more rewarding with 3 Purple Herons and 2 Grey Herons flying from the reeds.
Saturday and June already. I visited Akhna Dam noting nesting Swallows in the village and a couple of flyover Rollers along with the commoner species required to kick start the month list. Akhna Dam held 3 Rollers, a good number of Little Egrets still with 15 being on view along with at least 4 Squacco Herons. At least 5 Eastern Olivaceous Warblers were singing with 2 being seen and Fan-tailed Warblers (Zitting Cisticolas) were very vocal as they bounced around in front of me. In the North in the afternoon at Gulserin Pond a lone Greater Flamingo was my first ever June tick for the species and at least 10 Glossy Ibises were feeding. Of most interest was a pair of Slender-billed Gulls that looked like they could be attempting to breed. The Black-winged Stilts and Spur-winged Plovers all had chicks at the remaining Famagusta wetland sites and a couple of Squacco Herons were at Fresh Water Lakes North and South. At the South lake at least 10 Glossy Ibis chicks were seen but were outnumbered by the throng of Cattle Egret juveniles. The heaving mass of Common Swifts continue above the quarters every evening at Ay Nik which is quite a spectacle as they nearly part your hair in the garden.
On Sunday and forced to go to Mr Pound in the North (it should actually be called Mr 4 Turkish Lira), to benefit from the “too good to miss” lady’s sandals extravaganza, having finished we headed to Koprulu Dam. From my usual spot I couldn’t see much of interest, so I drove around to the East of the dam and climbed up on the banks of the dam. Immediately I saw 3 adult Spoonbills, and eventually 3 female Red-crested Pochards, 3 drake Ferruginous Ducks, a Squacco Heron and a Reed Warbler. I returned home to watch the cricket and was mightily depressed as England were thrashed by New Zealand – not a good way to end the week.
Highlight of the Week: Not much about except for resident breeders.
Other Interesting Finds: 2 Small Desert Blue butterflies at Larnaca Salt Lake and a couple of new Orchids in the Troodos area.
Look Forward: A quiet week to look forward to so I may be able to get out a bit more.
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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