Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 12 Apr 15
Caspian Plover at Mandria on 11 Mar and a Hooded Wheatear at Cape Greco on 11 Mar.
Bank Holiday Monday and a planned visit to Troodos and Limassol occurred with Caitlin the US birder. We stopped briefly in the Larnaca area but didn’t manage to find any Red-necked Phalaropes. We continued to Zakaki Marsh near Limassol Port and immediately saw a male Little Crake. Numerous Reed, Sedge and Cetti’s Warblers were very vocal and a Great Reed Warbler flew across the front of the hide. 6 Ferruginous Ducks were present and another Little Crake, female was found as we walked along the edge of the reeds next to the road. 8 Slender-billed Gulls were on the pools at Lady’s Mile along with 5 Greenshanks and 6 Black-winged Stilts. Akrotiri Salt Lake was quite quiet with only Black-winged Stilts and Ruffs being present but on the way in we saw a Woodchat Shrike, several Linnets and a Northern Wheatear and on exiting a found an Eastern Black-eared Wheatear. Phassouri Reed Beds produced a Common Buzzard and another female Little Crake but the highlight was a pair of Squacco Herons. A Kingfisher alighted from the reeds as a Hoopoe flew past and numerous Common Snipe rose from the reed beds.
On the way up to Troodos many Cyprus Wheatears were seen along the road and at Amiantos a male Blue Rock Thrush flew up from the ground and landed on a nearby rock. The first stop was Giant Juniper Picnic Site where at least 4 pairs of Masked Shrikes were on territory. Coal Tits were soon seen as were a couple of Jays but Short-toed Treecreepers, although heard remained elusive. A small flock of finches were a mix of Siskins (10+) and Serins but the biggest surprise was Hawfinch perching briefly in front of us. Wrens were also heard but not seen. At Levadia Tou Pasha Picnic Site, more of the same with another Hawfinch but we did manage to see, and Caitlin photographed a Short-toed Treecreeper which was a lifer for her. Chaffinches were numerous but yet no Crossbills were seen at the site which is unusual. In Troodos village we stopped for lunch at the Ben Nevis restaurant (recommended for a kebab) but not before we stopped to see 8 Pallid Swifts weaving in and out of the buildings. More were seen at the Jubilee Hotel after lunch and a Masked Shrike was at the top of Mount Olympus. We left the mountains “Crossbill-less” which was a great pity. On the way down we saw 2 Red-rumped Swallows at Mandria and another 2 at Episkopi but the Griffon Vultures weren’t present unfortunately.
At a small pond at the back of Phassouri Reed Beds at the beginning of the track to Akrotiri Gravel Pits there was a fair collection of waders including a Spotted Redshank, Ruffs, Wood and Green Sandpipers, Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers, Snipe and a few Greenshanks. The Yellow Wagtails were worth a look, containing Blue-headed, Black-headed, a supercilliaris hybrid and my first 2 Grey-headed (thunbergi’s) of the year. There being nothing further and dipping on the Temminck’s Stint that had been in JUMBO drain the previous day, I dropped Caitlin at her apartment after a productive day.
On the 7th, I visited Koprulu Dam in the north – what a fantastic wetland this is turning into! Circa 110 Greater Flamingos were still present and 2 Spoonbills were also typically sleeping, they were later joined by a pair of Great White Egrets. 2 male Red-crested Pochards were skulking in the reeds and although Wildfowl numbers had greatly reduced, c30 Garganeys (mostly drakes) were quite obvious. 16 Glossy Ibises took off from the reeds as a female Marsh Harrier passed overhead and 2 Red-throated Pipits called as they went. 4 Stone Curlews flushed from the fields as I drove by and from the raised bank and reed beds, numerous Reed, Sedge and Cetti’s Warblers could be seen and heard. 3 Great Reed Warblers were heard with one being seen and a pair of Great Spotted Cuckoos chased each other. A Quail called from the field and I watched at least 6 Calandra Larks displaying above the fields. A familiar call alerted me to the passage of 4 Collared Pratincoles, that looked a little like Black-wings in overcast light but a glimpse of some red underwing revealed their true identity. A Spotted Redshank called as it flew over and a female Little Crake was seen on the reed edge. The pools were full of Ruff and Black-winged Stilts and a pair of Gadwalls was a good record to finish with. 2 Flamingos were at Fresh Water Lake North with a Glossy Ibis and some commoner waders as I returned home.
During the afternoon of the 8th I visited the Larnaca area once more. On the airport north pool a collection of waders consisting of Ringed Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Dunlins and Little Stints were present. Once more no Red-necked Phalaropes were present, however on the south pond 41 Greater Flamingos and c20 Ruffs were present with a reduced number of Black-winged Stilts. The sewage works once more had 2 Ferruginous Ducks present and on the adjoining fields 3 male Black Francolins strutted their stuff. Stopping at Oroklini on the way home, the drake Red-crested Pochard was hiding in the vegetation and a single Marsh Sandpiper was visible from the south hide. On the north pool a single Black-headed Gull lingers on with a 1st winter Yellow-legged Gull also being present. Akhna Dam was a bit more lively with a good collection of Herons consisiting of 1 Little Egret, 14 Cattle Egrets, 3 Grey Herons, 1 Squacco Heron, 10 Night Herons complemented by 38 Glossy Ibises. As I drove around 2 Green Sandpipers flushed, a Lesser Whitethroat moved through the tamarisks and them most obliging Common Cuckoo* I’ve ever come across posed for the camera. At home c50 Common Swifts were very vocal over the quarter area.
On Thursday afternoon in a strong south westerly wind, I headed for Cape Greco. With only a Northern and Isabelline Wheatear with a couple of Yellow Wagtails being around the fields, it felt fairly quiet. That said, I decided to speculate and do a bit of sea watching – usually very frustrating and unproductive on the south coast of Cyprus. My luck was in, after about 10 minutes a pair of unmistakeable shapes, arcing over the waves in bounding loops, getting blown quickly east were a pair of Yelkouan Shearwaters – a year tick and not an easy bird to find at the best of times. Job done, I visited the pines where it was a little less windy. I connected with a male Pied Flycatcher and then a female. A Hoopoe and 4 Tree Pipits flushed and in the pines, in windy conditions a Lesser Whitethroat and Wood Warbler showed briefly. As a good man once said “Not exactly heaving” – John Sanders c1998. I continued to Ayia Napa Sewage Works where it was much the same story. I firstly encountered a Masked Shrike, and then saw and heard 2 Eastern Bonelli’s Warblers, which are still hanging on and one was singing. A Tree Pipit flushed from the grass to a nearby bush, perching and drawing my attention to a female Redstart that was nearby. That done, it was over for the day. The wind was increasing and I had to get home and book flights and hotels etc for my forthcoming trip to Turkey, Fethiye, Istanbul, Gallipoli and Troy starting on 18 April and it’s the start of my draw down! Some would say I’ve been doing that for the last year – how dare they?
Late on Thursday the news of a pair of perhaps breeding and coming to drink Black-bellied Sandgrouse, at Akrotiri and a Terek Sandpiper, were good but further news of a male Caspian Plover at Mandria was exciting, however, with work commitments there was no way of getting there on Friday morning. In any event, no new Cyprus birds but difficult year birds, it has to be said – Roll on retirement!
On Friday Akhna Dam held its firs singing Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, tail pumping in the usual way and at Vrysoulles on the way home a Little Owl was present in the usual place which was the first time in a while. In the late afternoon prior to going for dinner with Caitlin, Deb and I visited the Larnaca area briefly. Still no Phalaropes but a breeding plumaged Curlew Sandpiper with Little Stints was a good year bird. The south airport pool had 7 Marsh Sandpipers amongst the numerous Ruffs and Stilts and at the sewage works there’d obviously been a large movement of hirundines, with c120 Sand Martins, c40 Swallows and c50 Common Swifts all feeding furiously over the lagoons. As I passed the south pool on the way to dinner, 3 Squacco Herons flushed from a small wet area opposite. The surprise on the north pool as I looked again was a breeding plumaged Greater Sand Plover of the Crassirostris (Caspian/Iran) sub-species. This sub-species unlike the regular wintering Columbinus has a very large and obvious bill.
The following day, I rose and left the house about 0900 in an attempt to see the Black Flamingo (apparently the only one in the world) at Akrotiri Salt Lake, in any event it had moved on. However, as I left the house I phoned Colin Richardson who confirmed that the male Caspian Plover* was still present at Mandria. I drove at break neck speed and with empty roads arrived an hour and forty minutes later at 1050. Several people were looking for the bird without luck. Eventually, the bird rose from a furrow on the field and performed perfectly. Usually a confiding species preferring to walk away rather than run, it allowed for some very close photos. Always a good bird to get in Cyprus, as I didn’t see one last year and a cracking male to boot! I continued back to Akrotiri and met Colin Richardson who’d earlier had a Dotterel on the Salt Lake which had left soon after heading north. A small scrape has developed at Akrotiri Gravel Pits which is attracting a good variety of waders. 3 Marsh Sandpipers and 3 Spotted Redshanks (2 in breeding plumage) were amongst the commoner waders and a single Black-tailed Godwit was also present. We watched Little Ringed* and Kentish Plovers* and a single Common Redshank also put in an appearance. A Marsh Harrier cruised by and then out of nowhere a pair of Hobbys were hunting, fresh in from the sea, an excellent moment and the first of the year. We continued around the Gravel Pits finding a Whimbrel*, 4 Short-toed Larks, a Linnet and 9 migrating Baltic Gulls above us. Back at the pond, a couple of Whinchats, a Woodchat Shrike and a Lesser Whitethroat appeared before we moved onto Phassouri Reed Beds. Here, 4 Squaccos, Little Egrets and Cattle Egrets were outnumbered by c25 Glossy Ibises. A Kingfisher called and perched whilst Reed and Sedge Warblers flitted about the reeds and whilst looking a female Little Crake was seen. Perhaps the biggest surprise was a pair of adult Starlings in the reeds before we headed off to Zakaki Marsh to complete the day. On arrival a Common Sandpiper was with Wood Sandpipers and a couple of Squaccos eventually showed. Several Sand Martins were over the marsh and it wasn’t long before we located the target bird below the hide in the reeds – a cracking male Baillon’s Crake, soon followed by a little less exciting male Little Crake. A breeding plumaged Spotted Redshank flew in and a Purple Heron flew over the hide towards Akrotiri Reed Beds. I departed to the song of Reed and Sedge Warblers and arrived home after a pretty good day.
On Sunday, having not visited Cape Greco since Thursday, off I went. On arrival, it was depressing quiet. 7 Red-rumped Swallows flew in off the sea and a Beeater was heard, which didn’t sound quite right – of course it was a Blue-cheeked explaining why it sounded a bit strange for a European. Suddenly, there was a bit of activity and Joe Donaldson, one of the Irish birders was shouting he’d found a Wheatear with a red tail. We rushed over and soon enough we’d relocated the bird and watched it and assumed it was a Red-tailed (Kurdish) Wheatear. Later our mistake became apparent when studying photographs and texts and it became obvious that the bird was in fact a female Hooded Wheatear* – still a great bird though and increased the year list to 231. The pines were fairly quiet but we did find a male and female Pied Flycatcher and a couple of Redstarts. At Ayia Napa Sewage Works, the same story, 2 Eastern Bonelli’s Wabler, 4 Ortolan Buntings and a Masked Shrike. As we headed towards Ayia Napa Football Pitches, a Woodchat Shrike sat proudly on a lookout post and a pair of Eastern Black-eared Wheatears (dark throated form) showed well. Paralimni Lake held little to write home about and later in the day 5 Black-tailed Godwits were the highlight at Akhna Dam, ending a very good week.
Highlights of the Week: A good week eventually. 2 Yelkouan Shearwaters and a very posy Common Cuckoo were good moments. However, they were surpassed by a male Caspian Plover at Mandria and a female Hooded Wheatear at Cape Greco.
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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