Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 12 May
Zitting Cisticola at Akhna Dam on 6 May.
* indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view
A bank holiday Monday and an extra day’s leave on Tuesday is always a good start to the week. We departed Troodos Station to the sounds of Swifts overhead and made our way down the river valleys towards Paphos, stopping on the way to look for butterflies and seeing the ubiquitous Cyprus Wheatears and hearing a Cretzchmar’s Bunting, in its familiar V for Victory song. Without much to talk about we continued onto Kensington Cliffs where a single Griffon Vulture was seen with 4 Eleonora’s Falcons also being noted – Year “tick”. Pausing once more at Lady’s Mile, 23 Little Stints, a Ruff and a Ringed Plover was all that was present with a White-winged Black Tern over Zakazi Marsh. We continued home and ate our dinner in the north which consisted of some excellent, traditional Turkish fare – Iskender Kebab.
On Tuesday, I visited Akhna Dam early and managed eventually after months of trying to get a good picture of a Zitting Cisticola (Fan-tailed Warbler, if you prefer). Also present were a few Wood Sandpipers, Ruffs, a Roller, a Little Bittern and several other commoner passerines. We visited the Fresh Water Lake South in the North noting another Little Bittern, a couple of what appear to be breeding Glossy Ibises and a few Squacco Herons amongst the Cattle Egret colony. Clapsides highlight was a Greenshank and 1 lone immature Greater Flamingo remained at Gulserin Pond. Before returning to work on Wednesday it was the traditional trip to the Turkish Barbers for the full monty. Feeling young and refreshed, we had lunch did some last minute shopping and returned home. At the border crossing point I photographed a Swallow* that was nesting for the gallery. I then decided to drink too much with my sister which resulted in Wednesday being a write off after returning from Troodos. Similarly, on Thursday it was a Silver Lunch in the Mess – need I say more, however I did manage to steel an hour to go and photograph and see an Oriental Meadow Brown* which was a new butterfly for me.
With the family departing on Friday, I was tied up with the emotional farewells etc but managed to get to Akhna Dam in the evening to console myself. Interestingly a Golden Oriole has been calling in the mornings behind the house for about 2 weeks now – so more investigation required. At Akhna Dam a couple of extravert Little Bitterns*, at least 8 Little Egrets, 5 Ruffs, 4 Wood Sandpipers, a single Little Stint and 2 Curlew Sandpipers* were present. On the way home I visited a rocky outcrop in the local village where a Barn Owl had been reported. As I arrived at c50 Beeaters rested on wires and the 4 Kestrel chicks were still present although a lot bigger than previously and looking like they were ready to fledge. In another crack in the rocks, the Barn Owl* was present in a potential nest hole. The Barn Owl is a very nocturnal species in Cyprus and rarely seen during daylight, so to get any sort of record shot was a real bonus. I have only ever previously seen the species as fly overs when I’ve been in the car.
Saturday was a bit grim with not much happening, but Beeaters were still around the house and a Golden Oriole with an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler could still be heard from the house. As we drove to Larnaca for an Inidan, (curry not person), 17 Purple Herons were over Akhna Dam. On Sunday, a few Beeaters were on wires in the village and after completing some shopping, I did the Dragonfly survey at Akhna Dam and flushed a Little Bittern and saw a pair of Black-winged Stilts, 3 Spur-winged Plovers and at least 7 Little Egrets. I checked a site for Small Desert Blues on the way home but none have emerged yet. With a thunder storm looming and not much moving we had a BBQ for dinner and that concluded the week.
For pictures of birds with a * please click on the following Flickr links:
- Swallow at Black Night Border Crossing – Famagusta.
- Barn Owl at Vrysoulles (record shot in poor light).
- Little Bittern at Akhna Dam.
- Curlew Sandpiper at Akhna Dam.
- Oriental Meadow Brown at Ayios Kendeas Monastery.
Highlight of the Week: Hmmm – struggling at the moment, but the Barn Owl was an interesting and unexpected find.
Other Interesting Finds: The Oriental Meadow Brown very similar to the Cyprus Meadow Brown was interesting to finally ID one and note the differences.
Look Forward: With no visitors planned for the summer – if you want a last minute holiday, now’s the time, settling back into the routine will be difficult.
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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