Cyprus Weekly

Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 26 Jan 14

Common Crane at Phasouri Reed Beds

* Indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view.

Tuesday brought another Great Black-headed Gull hunt which ended in failure.  I did however see Audouin’s Mediterranean, Baltic and Siberian along with good numbers of Armenian, Caspian and Yellow-legged all in the various regular Larnaca roosts.  Only 1 Greater White-fronted Goose was present at the sewage works along with a pair of Gadwalls and Wigeon.  The Little Grebe count totalled 172 and the Black-necked Grebes 21.  7 immature Flamingos were present with 13 adults on the salt lake – a huge reduction from a couple of weeks ago.  In the Larnaca Airport Fields, 2 Red-throated Pipits flushed calling and 5 Chukars ran across the field.  Circa 400 Golden Plovers were on the Airport Pools South but no Stone Curlews.  The hide at Larnaca Salt Lake provided views of Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaffs and a male Blackcap, with a Reed Bunting in the bushes close by and c30 Starlings flying to roost in the reeds.  C600 Shelduck remained on the north side of the lake but there was little to write home about.  So the end of a fairly unproductive day came to a close.

On Wednesday, as I walked to the Admin Office a Serin was heard singing and then seen in a conifer – my first of the year.  In the afternoon I visited the Ayia Napa Football Pitches and Sewage Works area primarily to search for singing Cyprus Warblers and to check out the orchid progress.  The rare Caspian Butterfly Orchid is coming through and should be in flower when the society visits if anyone is interested but no Giant or Fan-lipped Orchids were showing.  The lagoons held a Common Sandpiper, however save for a Common Buzzard not much was about. 

On Thursday, I took a day’s leave and visited the Limassol area.  First stopping at Finikaria on the north side of Germasoia Dam.  I flushed a couple of Jack and Common Snipes, 2 Grey Wagtails were present with a couple of Water and Meadow Pipits with several Linnets being noted.    At Zakaki Marsh a Common Buzzard and a female Black Redstart showed well but there was little of interest amongst the Black-headed Gulls, however the first 2 fly-by Barn Swallows of the year were seen with another at Phasouri Reed Beds later in the day.  I progressed to Akrotiri Salt Lake where good numbers of commoner waders were feeding actively which included a Sanderling which was a bonus bird for this time of year.  At Phasouri, I connected with the over wintering 1 CY Common Crane* but there was no sign of the Bittern or Penduline Tits.  At Kurio Stadium in Episkopi (famed as the easiest place on the island to see Cyprus Warblers), none were present – a bit worrying!  On the nearby Happy Valley cliffs 2 Griffon Vultures perched and above me a Long-legged Buzzard hovered and a Common Buzzard drifted.  A stop at Larnaca Airport Pool South on the way home to check the gull roost revealed 2 adult Siberian Gulls, a Green Sandpiper and C350 Golden Plovers.  6 Ruffs were at the Sewage Works with the usual suspects.

On Friday, Deb and I travelled to Paphos for the weekend, (£52, half-board for 2 nights), for that price, you can’t go wrong.  I walked the headland prior to booking in and saw 83 Golden Plovers and a Kingfisher and then convinced Deb that we should “watch the sun go down” by the Shipwreck Coast.  Whilst “watching he sun go down”, I found a Dunlin with a massive bill, looking like a Curlew Sandpiper (alpine race dunlins are a pooh trap for the unwary), another Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper and as dusk approached, remarkably the difficult to catch up with, wintering Whimbrel landed to the right of us – a good bird to get for the year.  We booked in and happiness prevailed!

On Saturday, I had arranged to meet Colin Richardson at Paphos Headland and Deb and arranged to go shopping with Colin’s wife (obviously).  At the headland, the Whimbrel was present (so much for being difficult), 4 Greater Sand Plovers were there when they weren’t yesterday, (I’m hoping their winter stay will last for the AOS visit) and c70 Golden Plovers stood motionless on the rocks.  No early migrants were encountered and no Turnstone – the target bird for the day.  We moved along the coast to Kalafos Beach, where a Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper were present.  We scanned the promontory and I found a lone Turnstone – result, and another good one for the year list.  By now and unusually it was raining heavily and I was as wet as a …… (wait for it)……Otter’s pocket.  We drove to Mandria where several Sardinian Warblers were looking bedraggled along with a couple of Bluethroats*, one of which posed for the camera amongst the stinking, discarded rotting onion remains.  Several Chiffchaffs were also there and in the surrounding fields, good numbers of Skylarks, Linnets, Chaffinches and 5 Red-throated Pipits.  At the nearby Paphos Sewage Works. A cracking male Hen Harrier was mobbed by a Hooded Crow, 7 Spur-winged Plovers were very active and a Blackcap male was seen.  3 Wood Lark did a flyby as they called before we moved on to Kouklia Soakaways.  At the soakaways, a couple of Moustached Warblers called and one eventually gave great views.  Above us, a couple of Long-legged Buzzards and a Common Buzzard soared and in the stream a Grey Wagtail revealed its presence as it called.  Asprokemnos Dam Wall had a showy Blue Rock Thrush male in attendance and this ended the day as we were thoroughly soaked.  We ate out with Colin and Sylvie in the evening at a local taverna where the food was excellent.

Returning home on Sunday, I had to take care of a bit of admin at Mandria for the AOS tour, finding a suitable location for lunch one day.  This achieved I also recce’d Anarita Park locating the target, a beautiful male Finsch’s Wheatear.  I really hope it stays around for the tour, but it may not be that easy.  Also on the scree slope was a male Blue Rock Thrush and a Little Owl.  Driving to Akrotiri, I scoped another eatery for lunch during the tour so job done, I returned home via Finikaria once more.  Here, I eventually caught up with the resident Crag Martin flock, which were feeding high above the hills that numbered 15+.  A very pale Long-legged Buzzard added to the enjoyment along with a Common Buzzard.  Tipped off by Keith and Raija Howard, wintering from Finland, I searched an area of scrub finding 4 Sardinian Warblers, a Black Redstart, singing Serin, 6  Song Thrushes and eventually my first male Cyprus Warbler of the year.  I was very pleased not only to see one but to find another location for the impending AOS trip should I need it.  Finally, I stopped at Larnaca and saw an adult Audouin’s Gull, 13 Black-necked Grebes with one approaching breeding plumage, complete with “ears” and an immature Black-winged Stilt.  I drove home eventually coming to rest at the local restaurant for a roast beef dinner – a perfect end to an enjoyable weekend!

Highlights of the Week:  A couple of good year birds with a Whimbrel and Turnstone, a Common Crane and eventually a Cyprus Warbler.

Look Forward:  Hunting for early migrants next week and the hunt for the Great Black-headed Gull continues.

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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