Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 12 Jan 14
Armenian Gull at Lady's Mile
Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.
With photo opportunities being sparse this week, I have included a bit of a Gull fest with links to the Gulls mentioned in the text.
Monday the 6th and back to work – that was a shocker from the locker! So no birding and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms. I busied myself sorting the admin out for the forthcoming AOS tour of Cyprus in March and it’s all going well and easier than I thought it would be – no good will come of it and I’m waiting for the spanner in the works.
On Tuesday, I completed the accommodation admin for the AOS trip so that was a weight off my mind and proceeded to the north. At Clapsides Beach it was on with the winter visitors as an adult Audouin’s Gull, Caspian Gull, Grey Plover, Curlew and a couple of Grey Herons were in residence. Later at the Fresh Water Lake South, 23 Cormorants was a good count with 2 Great White Egrets and a Chiffchaff making appearances.
A trip to the local patch at Akhna Dam on Wednesday and not much was doing, 3 Great White Egrets and 7 Grey Herons alighted as I arrived and a Redshank flushed. Passerines were in short supply and the pipits have reduced in numbers quite dramatically. It appears that on 1st January, everything changes almost overnight – very curious. Caught short and needing to conduct a “shovel recce”, I ventured to an area of the dam that I don’t usually visit to find a suitable recce site. In doing so, I found 4 Reed Buntings and my first male Bluethroat of the year – a stroke of luck! Bluethroats become quite difficult after November when the main passage has finished, with the winter visitors becoming difficult to locate unless they call which is what this one did and obligingly sat on a dead snag for me.
I travelled to the Larnaca area on Thrursday but there wasn’t much of note on any of the pools but Armenian, Caspian, Yellow-legged and Black-headed Gulls were present in good numbers. The only thing breaking it up were the now long-staying Geese at the sewage works along with the 7 Ruddy Shelduck and a couple of adult Mediterranean Gulls. Perhaps the only thing of interest was 3 adult Heuglin’s Gulls on the salt lake with Hen and Marsh Harriers continuing around the sewage works.
On Friday I ventured over to the north and at Gulserin Pond the Flamingos had increased to 154, give or take a few. 6 Curlews were present and a Water Rail strutted its stuff in the open by the Spur-winged Plovers. I moved to the Fresh Water Lake South for dusk and this produced my first Common Kingfisher of the year. Circa 300 Cattle Egrets and a Great White Egret roosted and a Common Sandpiper called and flew across in front of me. Saturday brought another hunt for the Great Black-headed Gull in the Larnaca area which again proved fruitless. However, at the north end of the salt lake a Green Sandpiper flushed and a Temminck’s Stint was amongst the Little Stints, Dunlins, Kentish Plovers and Ringed Plovers. An adult Mediterranean Gull was roosting, 4 Corn Buntings flew over and a female Black Francolin flushed from the undergrowth. The Geese, Black-necked Grebes and Lapwings were still present at the sewage works.
On Sunday, with a tip off from the north I visited Kalkanli Wetland, also known as Akdeniz Wetland or Agia Eirini depending on your political preference which as you know, I care little for as birds, as far as I am aware, are not constrained by political boundaries? In any event the wetland had good numbers of wildfowl including c350 Pochards, (a species that is difficult in the south), c40 Ferruginous Ducks, Shovellers, Teal, Wigeon, Coots, 3 Little Egrets and the highlight 11 Tufted Ducks. Content I returned to the Larnaca area where I’d arranged to meet Colin Richardson at the sewage works. I stopped at the north side of the salt lake and heard and then saw a Bluethroat which are difficult at this time of year and a Common Buzzard drifted overhead. Many of the same species were in evidence at the sewage works but 5 Gadwall, 3 drakes and 2 ducks was the best count yet. 9 Curlews flew over and on the Airport Pool South, 3 Audouins’ Gulls (2 adults and 1 3rd Winter) were unusual for the site. A Long-legged Buzzard kept the year list ticking over and on the way home at the Salt Lake an adult Baltic Gull and 2 Siberian Gulls roosted with the more common Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls. Furthermore, at Oroklini Marsh on the way home, a pair of Red-crested Pochards was good to catch up with and incremented the year list to 105. A Great White Egret, c50 Cattle Egrets and 3 Pintails were also present
Highlight of the Week: It may be surprising to know that Tufted Ducks are somewhat of a prized species in Cyprus.
Look Forward: A day’s leave on Friday to go birding with Jeff Gordon and Colin Richardson over the north and a KUSKOR field trip on Saturday should prove productive..
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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