Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 16 Jun
House Martin at The North Face Ski Lift, Mount Olympus on 16 Jun.
* indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view or click on the link.
With no chance of any birding on Monday although Swift numbers have increased over Ay Nik, Tuesday quickly followed. Monday 10th June – a year to the day since I arrived and saw my first House Sparrow. The rolling year produced 262 species and identifiable forms (Yellow Wagtails and Bluethroats). A good total with 18 new species added to the Cyprus list and 1 life bird; a Saker, which was the only predicted lifer I expected to get during the tour. The current year list stands at 241 and so far I haven’t seen less than 100 species in any single month. With some good photographs of many scarce and infrequent visitors to the UK and range restricted species in Europe – it’s been a productive year. Added to that I’ve seen 26 species of Dragon and Damselfly, 43 species of Butterfly and 35 species of Orchid. All in all a busy year which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed except for the mindless poaching and hunting which continues unabated.
On Tuesday I was unable to get out so I visited Akhna Dam on Wednesday and it remained very quiet. A Roller was seen as I arrived along with 2 Little Egrets, a Squacco Heron with 2 Eastern Olivaceous Warblers being heard. As I drove around the site – it has now dried out sufficiently, I found a Green Sandpiper, that was perhaps an early returning migrant. With little else on offer I returned home. With Deb at a partners’ lunch on Thursday, after dropping her off, I watched the cricket. With the powered steering belt snapping on the car, life was turning decidely "crappy".
On Friday afternoon we travelled to Troodos for a 24 year dining out, which was an excellent dinner with Beef Wellington - my favourite. Washed down with lots of Red and some decent Port, I did manage to resist over indulding as I had a meeting on Saturday at 1000 to look for some Orchids. Saturday arrived and with a bit of a fuzzy head we mangaed to find Dense-flowered Helliborine (Epipactis condensata) in bud, Cyprus Helliborine (Epipactis troodi) in bud and 3 very difficult to find Crimean Orchids (Dactylorhiza iberica). The usual Troodos specialities were seen with Jays * being very obvious and vocal in stark contrast to the first few months of the year. A calling Turtle Dove was also heard although the Scops Owls have now stopped calling. On Sunday we had arranged to meed Dave & Ros Sparrow, the Cyprus Dragonfly Recorder and his wife in an attempt to find a Dragonfly that I really wanted to see. In the Dhiarizos Valley we firstly saw many Indigo Dropwings *(Trethemis festiva), a new one for me which was a very good looking species. Then, eventually the target, a cracking male Small Pincertail * or Green-eyed Hooktail (Onychogomphus forcipatus), with its impressive claspers what a cracking looking species. Also in the valley a juvenile Wren and 2 adults representing a range extension. As we drove back via a different route, a Cretzchmar's Bunting flew across the road which is obviously breeding on the lower slopes of the Troodos range and a singing male Black-headed Bunting near to Ayios Nikolaos in the Troodos range. At Prodromos Dam a family party of Spotted Flycatchers, with 3 newly fledged and begging for food juveniles and a juvenile Crossbill. Serins and Coal Tits were well represented and 2 Black-tailed Skimmers and an ovipositing Lesser Emperor * was also seen. A good meal in the Skylight restaurant in Platres rounded off a varied and enjoyable weekend. For the purists, June is without doubt the worst month for birding in Cyprus, so its best to invest time elsewhere to maintain sanity.
Highlight of the Week: At least 6 Small Pincertail Dragonflies - what a fantastic specimen.
Other Interesting Finds: Breeding Wrens in the Dhiarizos River Valley represents a range extension, a probable breeding Beeater site and a couple of new Orchids.
Look Forward: Hmmm - I don't really know, but June is without doubt the worst month for birding but I'm hoping to turn something decent up.
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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