Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 8 Feb 15
Female White-headed Duck at Mia Milia Sewage Works on 7 Feb
February has arrived, Swallows are well and truly in and a couple of Swifts have also been seen – migration is underway! A singing Serin and a mobile Black Redstart on camp brightened the day and in the evening, with the light improving, I managed to get to Fresh Water Lake South for half an hour. That said, there wasn’t much there. 5 Swallows passed overhead, 53 Cormorants came to roost and along with the c350 Cattle Egrets, the 2 Glossy Ibises remained faithful and roosted with them. The significance being that I’ve seen Glossy Ibises in every month of the year of Cyprus; they are not usually known to overwinter. A couple of Cetti’s Warblers were very audible, however that was about it for the day.
A bit of shopping in Paralimini on Tuesday allowed me to visit the lake and Ayias Trias. At the coast, 2 adult Audouin’s Gulls* loafed and posed for the camera. What a beautiful Gull they are! Anyway, there were no Plovers on the rocks surprisingly so we went and did the shopping before looking at Paralimni Lake. The 9 Ruddy Shelducks were still present amongst the c150 Greater Flamingos and 1 Great White Egret fed on the fringes. Circa 30 Swallows were hawking over the lake – they have arrived! 18 Ruff flew over the lake and as I scanned I saw 4 Wood Sandpipers, obviously early migrants and a Common Snipe. 3 Water Pipits and 2 Meadow Pipits flushed and I could hear several Cetti’s Warblers. A single Black-winged Stilt appeared and before I left the Grey Herons numbered 11 and the Little Egrets 6.
A mid week visit to Cape Greco provided 2 female Finsch’s Wheatear in their usual wintering haunts by the sea caves and under the Army Post Cliffs. 2 male Blue Rock Thrushes were also there along with 1 Black Redstart. A male Sardinian Warbler was vocal as was a male Peregrine that passed overhead, pausing briefly above the cliffs. Chukars were much in evidence as were Song Thrushes – good to see and surprised there are any left alive after the recent round of mindless Cypriot slaughter. On to Ayia Thekla and after much searching and 2 Little Egrets, I found my quarry in the form of 9 Greater Sand Plovers, the largest count this winter.
On Thursday, dropping Deb in Larnaca and picking up the US birder I headed off to the usual sites. 4 Black-necked Grebes on the sewage works were of interest but nothing much else was doing. 6 Ruffs were on the Airport Pool South and several Swallows passed overhead. On the main salt lake a nice adult Slender-billed Gull was with the many Black-heads. At the north end of the lake, Water Pipits, Meadow Pipits, a female Marsh Harrier and the usual waders and although a wintering Green Sandpiper was present the Marsh Sandpiper had moved on.
On Friday, a quick visit to the north produced 14 Pintails at Gulserin Marsh with c150 Greater Flamingos and at Silver Beach a Greenshank and 17 Shelducks. On to Fresh Water Lake South where a single drake Ferruginous Duck loitered and 8 Yellow-legged Gulls passed overhead on the way to roost. With it being fairly quiet I left before the roosting birds started to appear.
Saturday was a KUSKOR field trip and we met at Five Finger Mountain (Besparmak (TU) or Pentydactylos (GR)) – so many names for 1 place – crazy but that’s the politics of birding in Cyprus. We continued to what is known as Kyrenia Rock, a viewpoint at Alevkaya. Here we first heard and then saw the pair of breeding Ravens – a rare sight indeed these days and they were joined by a male Peregrine. In the nearby conifers, a Great Tit, 2 Goldcrests and a pair of Sardinian Warblers. I also saw my first 2 Cleopatras of the year. We met the remainder of the group at Demirhan Roundabout and continued to the nearby pools. The fields contained Corn Buntings, Skylarks and at least 8 Calandra Larks. A Bluethroat was near a muddy, wet semi-pond and was joined by a singing Chiffchaff and a lone Song Thrush. As Fan-tailed Warblers displayed, a stunning male Hen Harrier quartered in the distance. Erecting a couple of Roller nest boxes, a male Peregrine passed overhead at Mia Milia Sewage Works. The lagoons contained the usual wildfowl with good numbers of Pochards being present – not common in the south. We came to a lagoon that contained what appeared to be the majority of wildfowl. A pair of Gadwalls, several Shellduck, Pochards and many Mallards. In amongst the Shovelers, I paused to see a female White-headed Duck – amazed, I got the rest of the group onto it and took some record shots as it was a little distant for my camera – all the same the images saved me a thousand words on the rarity report. Submitted, it turns out that it’s the 15th record since the 1980s of a species that has become increasingly scarce in recent years. Happy with that I heard a Moustached Warbler singing and as I left the site 4 Spur-winged Plovers took flight. As I drove the road to the Fresh Water Lakes, I passed a Great White Egret in a flooded field at Pirhan.
I stopped at the north lake first and 22 Redshanks were present with c60 Spur-winged Plovers, amongst them were 2 Ruffs. A Great White Egret alighted with 2 Grey Herons and my first female Sparrowhawk of the year passed to my left. I once again rejoined the group at the south lake where a couple of Marsh Harriers flew to roost. With good numbers of Cattle Egrets coming to roost, they were soon joined by 62 Cormorants, c2500 passing overhead and the last to arrive the pair of Glossy Ibises. 2 Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper and a Reshank were on the far bank and a pair of Spur-winged Plovers appeared to be looking to nest.
On Sunday a brief visit to Akhna Dam before going shopping produced a Cormorant, Marsh Harrier, c30 Corn Buntings and the regular Little Owl. On the platforms off Dhekelia Power Station 5 Shags loafed. The end of a productive week which finished with a roast dinner and my first beer of 2015 – Dry January was extended due to its success, but alas the draw of a cold KEO became irresistible!
Highlights of the Week: A Female White-headed Duck and 9 Greater Sand Plovers was a good count with Audouin’s Gulls always being a treat when posing for the camera.
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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