Army Ornithological SocietyCyprus Weekly
Birding Highlights for the Week Ending 4 May 14
Blue-cheeked Beeater at Oroklini Marsh on 1 May
Another week, another after work evening visit to Akhna Dam. However, European Beeaters are now passing through all day in good numbers with some stopping at various perches within the Ay Nik area. The week commenced as the last had ended. The breeding plumaged Spotted Redshank remained with 2 Temminck’s Stints and good numbers of Little Stints and Wood Sandpipers. A lone Greenshank was accompanied by several Black-winged Stilts and a couple of Ringed Plovers. 10 Little Egrets were present and in the tamarisks several warbler species fed actively including Wood, Willow, Cetti’s Reed, Great Reed, Blackcap and Whitethroat. A strange looking Wheatear caused me some confusion. After photographing it and seeking a second opinion, it was concluded that it was a strange not atypical Eastern Black-eared Wheatear female*. Spotted Flycatchers continue to pass through in force with a least 6 fly-catching as the sun went down.
After some brief shopping prior to our guests arriving, I did a quick round at Akhna Dam. A couple of good birds were present with a Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and Collared Pratincole being the highlights amongst the many Ruffs, Wood Sandpipers, Little Stints and 2 Temminck’s Stints. A singleton, complete breeding plumaged Curlew Sandpiper was present – they are superb birds when in that condition. European Beeaters were fly catching and at the top of the southern arm and a Wood Warbler and male Common Redstart were still present.
On the way into work on Wednesday, 6 Glossy Ibises flew over the house and European Beeaters were calling. In the Eucalyptus trees opposite the armoury, 2 Golden Orioles called. Taking the usual trip to JUMBO presented some great opportunities as we dropped Deb and Val in Larnaca for a couple of hours whilst we visited the sewage works and airport fields. We stopped at the Airport Pools North where the most interesting find was a pair of Dunlins amongst the c130 Little Stints. 3 Greater Flamingos linger on the pools. A pair of Little Terns passed Spiro’s Beach but there was nothing else around. The sewage works held some interesting wildfowl including a Ferrruginous Duck, drake Garganey, and a very lost looking Shelduck and drake Shoveler. The usual commoner waders were present and later at Pervolia the “drive by” pair of Calandra Larks sang and we flushed 3 Black Francolins. We picked the girls up and stopped at JUMBO drain before dropping them off and heading to Oroklini. DISASTER!!!! JUMBO drain has been cleared of reeds and vegetation – all that was present were 6 Spur-winged Plovers. I am heart broken, I had found, nurtured and loved this site and now it is no more. Pulling myself together, at Oroklini, the Black-tailed Godwit was still present (forgive me for annotating this as a Bar-tailed last week – not an ID error but a typo). Also present were 4 Curlew Sandpipers, 2 Wood Sandpipers, several Ruffs and a lone, surprising, Curlew. John also spotted a single Sand Martin which have been in very short supply so far this spring. 11 Red-crested Pochards were present along with 12 Greater Flamingos. We departed and headed for Akhna Dam where John had seen a female Pied Kingfisher in the morning, probably the same one that was at Fresh Water Lake South last week and has relocated. We reached Akhna Dam and after passing a couple of Temminck’s Stints, (4 in total were seen), Deb immediately spotted the Pied Kingfisher sat on a dead snag overlooking the water. Result – my 207th bird for Akhna Dam and well done Deb! It pirouetted and flew around the dam before settling again elsewhere. The Spoonbill, 18 Squacco Herons and 2 Collared Pratincoles seen in the morning had moved on and generally the dam was fairly quiet except for the usual wader suspects.
On Thursday, John had found 2 Blue-cheeked Beeaters* at Oroklini. He texted Val and I got the message and was able to leave the house soon after at break-neck speed to get to the site. I did this within half an hour and was able to see to fantastic birds – only the 2nd and 3rd this spring. A quick record shot and couple of views as they caught insects and they rose from the wires, gained height and headed north 5 minutes after I arrived. A very fortuitous year tick, thanks to John. A Roller sat atop a distant bush, so I stayed at the marsh for a while noting a pair of Little Terns, 6 migrant Grey Herons, a Wood Sandpiper with 2 Curlew Sandpipers, some Ruff and the long staying Black-tailed Godwit. In the afternoon we visited the north and Fresh Water Lake South allowing for some good photo opportunities of the Cattle Egret colony, Squacco, Night Herons and Glossy Ibises. At Akhna Dam there was a good selection of waders present with 6 Temminck’s Stints and 3 Collared Pratincoles being the hightlights. We flushed a Common Cuckoo and a Turtle Dove was heard.
On the 2nd we travelled to Dipkarpaz on the Karpas Peninsular for the KUSKOR weekend. Travelling along the south road, at least 12 Rollers were seen and many Black-headed Buntings heard. A fortuitous stop revealed a Little Owl, Corn Bunting and flyover Red-throated Pipit. European Beeaters were evident in good numbers as were Cyprus Pied Wheatears. After booking into the Dipkarpaz Arch Houses Hotel – which was excellent we went for a walk in the village finding a female Golden Oriole, several Blackcaps and a few Spanish Sparrows. As we looked skyward we saw a drifting adult Bonelli’s Eagle which caught a thermal and rose quickly until it was a small speck in the sky.
On Saturday morning we drove to the Seabird restaurant to catch a boat to the Klidhes Islands to undertake a breeding seabird count. On the way we saw a Little Owl* my first Black Kite of the year and a female Red-footed Falcon. At the restaurant 2 Common Sandpipers and a feldegg Yellow Wagtail was present. On the boat and reaching the islands we counted at least 65 Yellow-legged Gulls – many on nests and c40 Audouin’s Gulls with 18-20 nests being counted. Shags* have had a good breeding year with many juveniles being present with a total count of c50. A Little Egret was present and a Peregrine caught a Rock Dove and fed it to a juvenile as Dad watched on. Another Black Kite drifted over the boat bound for the land and we soon returned to the restaurant for lunch. In the afternoon we birded around the tip of the Karpas and saw some interesting birds including late female Black-eared Wheatears, and Isabelline Wheatear and several Northern Wheatears. A few Whinchats were fly catching and a female Masked and Red-backed Shrike were sat on bushes. With European Beeaters passing over constantly we eventually found a female Barred Warbler, a Whitethroat and an out of place male Chaffinch. Spotted Flycatchers were numerous and a single Red-rumped Swallow looked at home. Driving back to the hotel a female Montague’s Harrier was seen and 16+ Turtle Doves. In the evening from the hotel a Scops Owl was heard.
The next day we headed home via the north coast road and Balalan Cliffs, where numerous Alpine Swifts were nesting with a couple of Pallids and a male Blue Rock Thrush sang and was seen. At Kantara my first Two-tailed Pasha was seen but little else. Stopping at Fresh Water Lake South in Famagusta, a Little Bittern flew across the lake in front of us but the highlight was my and our first White-winged Black Tern of the spring. We then came across a 1st summer Black-headed Gull which didn’t look quite right but a good grilling determined that it was indeed a young Black-headed Gull and not a Grey-headed that was the cause for much scrutiny. A Purple Heron flushed as we departed and 16 European Beeaters passed overhead. Squacco and Night Herons were well represented in the Cattle Egret colony along with Little Egrets and Glossy Ibises which made quite a sight. A Cuckoo was at Akhna Dam as was a Dunlin and Temminck’s Stint amongst the numerous Little Stints. A female Redstart lingered and as we drove through the farmland a resplendent, Lesser Grey Shrike sat on a bush – a great end to the day.
Highlights of the Week: Blue-cheeked Beeaters are always a difficult species to catch up with in Cyprus so I was particularly pleased with that.
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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