Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 27 Apr 14
Ortolan Bunting at Fresh Water Lake South on 22 Apr
On Monday 21st, the Larnaca area produced little but a pair of Ferruginous Ducks were still on the sewage works lagoons, with a Shoveler and Shelduck. A 1st winter Caspian Gull lingered and a Great Spotted Cuckoo was a surprise. The Bar-tailed Godwit was still feeding at Oroklini Marsh and the Cormorant remained at Akhna Dam. An Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler was also present with a Wood and a couple of Lesser Whitethroats. A female Masked Shrike remained from last week and a Great Reed Warbler was heard.
We stayed overnight in the north so I visited Gulserin Pond on my return which is now completely dry with only 4 Spur-winged Plovers and a calling Black Francolin being present. At Fresh Water Lake South, I watched for about half an hour seeing a good selection of herons including Grey, Purple, Squacco, Night, Little (2 nests) and Cattle (c150 nests). 16 breeding plumaged Whiskered Terns were present – a good count and I then saw a Black and White bird at the other side of the lake. It flew and then perched with its back to me for about 2 minutes revealing itself as a Pied Kingfisher – a good bird for April as it’s usually a winter visitor and having missed the wintering birds at Zakaki and Finikari – a year tick. In the afternoon I went to Akhna Dam but still no Great Snipe!
On Wednesday afternoon, I visited Akhna Dam and all was fairly routine and quiet. The Cormorant continues its stay and my first Temminck’s Stint of the month was amongst 50 or so Little Stints. Wood Sandpipers continue to pass through in good numbers although Common Sandpipers appear to be reducing. In the tamarisks, passerines appear to be reducing with only a couple of Tree Pipits, Spotted Flycatchers, a Wood Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat. 4 Squacco Herons flew across the dam and resting on a pipe in the water were 5 breeding plumaged Whiskered Terns.
On the 24th I visited the Larnaca area. Although relatively quiet, a 1st winter Caspian Gull lingered on Spiro’s Beach and at the Sewage Works my first Little Terns of the year with 4 being present. A Spotted Redshank nearing breeding plumage was a bit more obvious with 3 Greenshanks nearby and on top of the divider between the 2 lagoons were 27 Collared Pratincoles – a good count. A Great Spotted Cuckoo was still present and a Tawny Pipit at Larnaca Airport Pool North was unexpected. 5 Curlew Sandpipers were amongst the throng of Ruffs and Little Stints on the smaller pool at the old airport terminal. On the way home Oroklini Marsh didn’t much new to offer but a male Garganey is always nice to see.
On Friday I travelled to the Limassol area where a Snipe was at Zakaki Marsh with a Squacco Heron but little else of interest. The terns reported from the salt lake the day before had all gone and only the Flamingos and a lone Greenshank remained. 6 European Bee-eaters came in off the sea feeding actively and I saw my first Linnets and Sardinian Warbler of the month with a migrant Willow Warbler. Bishop’s Pool had 3 Ferruginous Ducks present with 9 Night Herons and a single Squacco. The Akrotiri Gravel Pits area produced 4 Hoopoes but little else until Phassouri Reed Beds providing views of a Purple Heron. So a fairly disappointing visit to the Limassol area. I drove to Kensington Cliffs before departing for the east and at least 7 fantastic Eleonora’s Falcons were hunting and displaying around the cliffs as a couple of Alpine Swifts and a few “real” Rock Doves passed by. Tunnel Beach cliffs allowed good views of a Peregrine but little else with no Vultures being present. I stopped at Finikaria on the way home and found a Little Bittern and a Night Heron but no Crakes. On the buoys at Spiro’s Beach, a Shag was roosting and in the Airport Fields a female Red-footed Falcon rested which was my first of the year. At Akhna Dam, a breeding plumage Spotted Redshank looked impressive and as I walked the scrub, a Willow Warbler, Wood Warbler, Blackcaps and Lesser Whitethroats fled quickly followed by a fleeting glimpse of a male Barred Warbler.
Saturday at the Cape Greco area brought a Red-rumped Swallow, a Roller and a Greenfinch feeding young but nothing notable. However, Cape Greco Pines didn’t fail to deliver with a male Pied Flycatcher, female Collared Flycather (getting late in the season), several Blackcaps and Spotted Flycatchers and a Thrush Nightingale darting into a bush, never to be seen again. Up at Ayia Napa Sewage Works I passed a male Red-backed Shrike, only my second of the spring and a male and female Redstart flitted around the fence line. Several Turtle Doves flushed and then a familiar sound of a singing male Black-headed Bunting, my first of the year which I eventually tracked down at the top of a Eucalyptus tree. On the way home a pair of male Black Francolins fed in the open on the football pitches.
The following day, Akhna Dam held 2 Temminck’s Stints and 3 Curlew Sandpipers with a Greenshank and the breeding plumaged Spotted Redshank. A Great Reed Warbler sang loudly and was eventually seen with Wood, Reed, Eastern Olivaceous and Cetti’s Warblers also being seen, a male Redstart revealed itself before I departed. A bit of shopping in the north allowed a visit to the Fresh Water Lake South where 4 Squaccos, a Purple and 2 Night Herons were eclipsed by the 500 or so Cattle Egrets and 8 Little Egrets. 14 European Beeaters flew over calling and 12 Glossy Ibises were also in the Cattle Egret colony. An evening visit to Akhna seen things moving on with a Cuckoo and female Golden Oriole making appearances. As I returned home a Little Owl remained faithful to its cliff face in Vrysoulles and a Roller was in the Orange grove. As I cooked a BBQ 30 or so European Beeaters rested briefly in the woods at the back of the house. Eating belly pork, having a KEO and listening to Beeeaters – I was glad to be alive!
Highlights of the Week: Collared Pratincoles are cracking birds to encounter but a Pied Kingfisher stole the show, closely followed by an Icterine Warbler, with a fleeting glimpse of a Barred Warbler not quite cutting it.
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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