Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 14 Dec
A year ago this week Little Bustard at Geri in the Buffer Zone.
No play on Monday and a brief visit to Akhna Dam on Tuesday produced a Reed Bunting that was the first for the site this winter. 7 Redshanks, 7 Dunlins and a Temminck’s Stint were present with 2 Grey Herons and 41 Coots, however 20 Water Pipits was a good count with a similar number of Meadow Pipits and White Wagtails. C60 Corn Buntings were in the fields with a handful of Stonechats in various places but that was about it on a wet, dull and thundery day.
On Wednesday the 9th I visited Gulserin Pond, which now has water once more. 28 Flamingos were present along with a handful of Spur-winged Plovers and a Snipe. A sizeable Black-headed Gull flock was roosting and 3 Redshanks fed along the edges of the water. Moving onto Clapsides Beach, nothing was on the marsh, however, on the rocky outcrop looking from the beach a flock of at least 100 Golden Plovers were roosting with 3 Grey Plovers foraging amongst the rock pools. A good flock of Dunlins also roosted and on the beach, Kentish Plovers, Ringed Plovers and a few Little Stints ran around. A single curlew was in the surf and a Slender-billed Gull was the only gull that was present. Silver beach also had 21 Flamingos present along with a lone Golden Plover. I stopped at Fresh Water Lake North, which looks like an excellent site but it’s very difficult to get into a position to view anything. Anyway, I found a pile of rubbish and balanced on top with my scope and found some good birds but there must be lots of occurrences that go unrecorded here. Wildfowl were in good numbers including, Pintails, Widgeon, Shovelers, Teal and Mallards. 38 Greater Flamingos were present and a good winter count of 8 Black-winged Stilts was notable.
My final stop of the day was Fresh Water Lake South. Always worth a visit and probably the best wetland on the island at the moment, notwithstanding the potential of the North Lake. Herons were the flavour of the day with 2 Great White Egrets, 9 Grey Herons, 14 Night Herons, 2 Little Egrets and c450 Cattle Egrets which were joined by the 2 wintering Glossy Ibises. A couple of Kingfishers chased each other, c600 Starlings flew to roost and a couple of Snipe hid in the undergrowth. Finally a good count of 66 Cormorants roosted in the eucalyptus and a Water Rail was heard.
The rest of the week was a washout due to heavy rain, work commitments, seasonal festive activities, the inevitable hangovers and Deb’s Birthday on the 14th, so consequently the longest period without any birding since being on Cyprus commenced.
Highlights of the Week: In a week full of dulls and personal inactivity, wintering Grey Plovers and a Slender-billed Gull were good records.
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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