Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for Week Ending 14 Oct
Male Bluethroat of the sub species svecica (Red Spotted) at Akhna Dam on 12 Oct
* indicates that a photo of the species is included please visit Flickr site to view
It’s Monday again and the weekly inaugural visit to Akhna Dam to see what’s new. I found a very wet Akhna Dam with a scrambling bike and several youths causing considerable disturbance. I did however see a Wryneck which was the highlight along with a Marsh Harrier and a male Bluethroat of the Sub-species svecica, (Red-spotted).
The afternoon thunderstorms continued into Tuesday, making access to some of the areas of Akhna Dam tricky, so I decided to visit the Ayia Napa area. At the football pitches, singles of Northern Wheatear, Red-backed Shrike and Masked Shrike were unremarkable. As I continued to the sewage works, I found 5 Stonechats that had newly arrived and the first for the autumn, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, a male Redstart and a Red-backed Shrike but little else. At the Cape Greco Picnic Site Area, a juvenile Masked Shrike, 2 more Stonechats and a good record with a juvenile Barred Warbler. As it had dried out a little we continued to Akhna Dam for the days finale. A Purple Heron was flushed and I noted 4 Bluethroats* – 1 male. As we were departing, 8 Red-footed Falcons flew into the site and began to hunt so we watched them for about 10 minutes. They were a new bird for the site taking the Akhna sightings to 183 species.
An appointment at the orthopaedic specialist in Dhekelia gave me the opportunity to have a look around the area. Dhekelia Power Station produced a single Shag of the Sub-species desmaresti (Mediterranean race) and a single female Northern Wheatear whilst Dhekelia Fire Station held 21 Stone Curlews. Later in the day, I visited Akhna Dam where 5 Bluethroats, a Wood and Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Stints, 3 Dunlins, a Purple Heron and 6 Sedge Warblers were present.
I awoke to an impressive thunderstorm and judging from my previous experiences, it will be worth getting out to the Cape Greco area this afternoon to see what has been downed in the night. In any event the visit was a waste of time, very little was seen, although a single Beeater, Whinchat and Long-legged Buzzard were at Ayia Napa Football Pitches.
On Friday afternoon I returned to my local patch at Akhna Dam where several species of commoner wader were present. White Wagtails have increased to approximately 50 whilst Yellow Wagtail numbers are reducing, a Blue-headed adult male was noteworthy. At least 4 Kingfishers were actively feeding and I finally managed to get a pretty good shot of a male Bluethroat. The final highlight were the first 3 Common Cranes of the season which appeared to roost at the dam.
I attended the Birdlife Cyprus field trip at Akrotiri on Saturday. Meeting at Phasouri Reed Beds at 0930 was a bit pedestrian but when in Rome............ Anyway, we were soon viewing Black Kites, Marsh Harriers and Red-footed Falcons, whilst a couple of Sparrowhawks were also seen along with 2 Eleonora's Falcons. Passerines were in short supply with White and Yellow Wagtails, a single Whinchat and a single Red-throated Pipit. On leaving the area a pair of Beeaters were seen and a late Roller.
Later on the salt lake and after a long treck out, I found 5 Pintails, a White Stork, 29 Spoonbills, 2 Great White Egret and 16 Whiskered Tern. I returned to the environmental centre where one of the raptor counters mentioned 2 dark birds on the other side of the salt lake. The heat haze was terrible but clearly they were not Grey Herons. I drove some of the way onto the salt lake but fearing getting bogged in and with it currently costing 800 Euros to get recovered, I decided to walk. I walked to the water's edge, which was about a mile away. When there I scanned the far side of the salt lake for the birds. I eventually found them and although not the best views one of the birds obligingly flew revealling its white underside and shoulders - my 275th Cyprus bird; a pair of Black Storks. At Ay Nik at Little Owl called close to the house atop a telegraph pole - a good end to the day.
An early morning visit to Akhna Dam was necessary as I had to pick Deb’s parents up from the airport on Sunday afternoon; we left early for the airport run to ensure I was able to visit the Larnaca area prior to their arrival. I managed to photograph a Red-throated Pipit* at Spiros Beach and at Larnaca Sewage Works a White Pelican*, although distant. It also held 3 Ruff, 2 Dunlin, a Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, 3 Whiskered Terns and a Black-necked Grebe.
For pictures of birds with * please click on the following Flickr links:
- White Pelican at Larnaca Sewage Works
- Dunlin Ssp alpina at Akhna Dam
- Red-throated Pipit at Spiros Beach
Highlight of the Week: The week ended with the Cyprus year list on 183 with the highlight being a pair of Black Storks at Akrotiri Salt Lake on the 13th.
Look Forward: The pace of migration has definitely slowed and has been replaced by the steady trickle of winter visitors arriving. Hen Harriers, Finsch’s Wheatears and Black Redstarts are the next arrivals to look out for.
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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