Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 28 Jul
Long-eared Owl at Cape Greco Pines on 28 Jul.
* indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
Belated ID: For those interested the Wasp that I photographed last week in Troodos was of the genus sphecid - Ammophila heydeni Dahlbom. Whilst I know many will not be interested, this is a special entry for Tim Cowley, who I know recently purchased a British Bee ID book, so, if he wishes to branch out, here’s the opportunity.
Monday at Akhna Dam and Common Sandpiper numbers remain at 9, however today a Greenshank* was new in, but the Squacco Heron, Masked Shrikes and Spur-winged Plovers remain. A large flock of c100 Spanish Sparrows was impressive and eventually I flushed 5 Green Sandpipers whilst a couple of Spectacled Warblers shot off into the scrub.
In the morning going to work DEB alerted me to a calling Beeater – so persistence does reap rewards. After work I went to Akhna once more where nothing much changed, although Common Sandpiper numbers had increased to 16 and an early returning Common Kingfisher was seen. The Little Owl* was in the same place as last week and 3 Eastern Olivaceous Warblers were seen. Later that night a Long-eared Owl was calling from behind the house.
Wednesday had arrived and so I visited a new site in the north that a British ex-pat birder Robin Snape )who works for Exeter University and is studying turtles in Northern Cyprus and is also a keen birder, leading trips in the north) had given me directions to. I eventually arrived at Guvercinlik, now much dried out but an irrigation channel led to a small flooded area which contained 13 Glossy Ibises, a Wood Sandpiper, 2 pairs of Black-winged Stilts and at least 14 Spur-winged Plovers. The reason I had gone, I encountered when returning to the car through a lightly grassed area of unploughed field. I flushed at least 7 Greater Short-toed Larks, which were easy to ID as they alighted calling. This would be a very early autumn occurrence if they were migrants but suggests a possible breeding area for the birds which are known to breed on the island in isolated locations. I moved on to Koprulu Dam and several Wood Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper and Redshank were present amongst the c150 Black-winged Stilts. At least 17 Glossy Ibises were there and 8 Grey Heron (an increase of 1). Nothing else much doing so I checked out Fresh Water Lake South – Famagusta which had 8 Squacco Herons and 3 Glossy Ibises present. Perhaps the most interesting observation was that, drying up a little, on a small muddy patch, waders have begun to return. I counted 52 Spur-winged Plovers and 6 Black-winged Stilts. It should be good for migrants shortly.
Thursday and I asked Deb a rhetorical question “Did she want to go to JUMBO”? So it was that I ended up at Oroklini Marsh. At the marsh a Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, 5 Common Sandpipers and 4 Grey Herons were migrants and 4 Little Egrets continued their stay. The most interesting observation was of 2 adult Little Terns tending a downy looking juvenile, suggesting breeding has taken place at the site once more. We returned via Dhekelia Power Station and Akhna Dam as usual – my wife leads a very diverse and interesting life (I think)? At the power station platforms, 5 Shags and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls were present. As we drove around Akhna Dam a Hoopoe flushed and a Kingfisher plunged dived. I got a not very good picture of 1 of the 3 Eastern Olivaceous Warblers* and Little Ringed Plover numbers had increased to 5 with 2 Green Sandpipers and Common Sandpipers reducing to 3. 2 immature Masked Shrikes and the Little Owl sat in its, by now, usual spot rounded the day off. At night I drove around the local village and heard 2 Long-eared Owls calling, so I have now tracked them down to a rough area.
Friday was the mess summer BBQ, End of – nuff said. In any event, I got to Akhna Dam on Saturday where 1 Hoopoe alighted along with a Masked Shrike and 3 Green Sandpipers and 2 Common Sandpipers were around the ponds. On Sunday I made it to the Cape Greco area. At Ayia Napa Sewage Works 5 Eastern Olivaceous Warblers, a Spectacled with 38 Little Grebes, 2 Common Sandpipers and 2 Coot on the lagoons. I moved to the Cape Greco Pines area where the Cyprus Wheatears* continued their residency and I flushed a large bird of prey and as I sneaked up on it (if that’s possible), I managed to photograph a fantastic Long-eared Owl*. A couple more Cyprus Wheatears were in the area and as I was leaving an Isabelline Wheatear – the first of the autumn. I visited the Turkish barbers and stopped at the Fresh Water Lake where 5 Squaccos were the highlight, although wader numbers are increasing. At Akhna Dam in the evening, 2 Little Owls a number of waders had also arrived and soon I spotted 3 small waders which proved to be Temminck’s Stints* that I managed to get some cracking shots of. The early arrived Kingfisher continued to fish from an exposed perch and a lone Wood Sandpiper was a new arrival. On the way home, I stopped at Vrysoulles where I managed to see my 3rd owl of the day in the form of a roosting Barn Owl*. With 4 European Beeaters roosting at the back of the house on dead tree snags, this concluded the week.
Highlight of the Week: 7 Greater Short-toed Larks at a new site – Guvercinlik, suggesting possible breeding.
Look Forward: The last week in July usually heralds the arrival of early Sylvia Warblers which should be coming through and be present around the Cape Greco area, with a day’s leave on Monday I am very hopeful of a result.
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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