We have just returned from our fourth annual November fortnight in Cyprus – based as usual in Paphos. Some dull days this time, more occasional rain, but otherwise mostly sunny with temperatures generally over 20 degrees. For the Cypriots, however, the rain has not been enough to top up reservoirs reported to be down to only 27% of capacity and disputes now reportedly arise on how to ration the available water between the farmers (especially banana growers) and other users.
For birders like us this meant some usual habitats were in short supply. That said, there were birds to be found if you know where to look. So this year, as in the past, we sought help from a local guide for 2 days - the excellent Victor Tjernberg, a member of the Birdlife Cyprus Council.
Birdlife records 367 species regularly occurring on Cyprus, including 57 breeding residents, 155 migrants, 127 winter visitors and 28 summer visitors. Being on an important migration route in the eastern Mediterranean, there are estimated to be over 150 million individual birds passing through on autumn migration. So despite the continuing problems of illegal trapping and the water shortage, we were hopeful of further great sightings.
In respect of the trapping, we were particularly encouraged by the Guardian article of 28 June. That reported that at the instigation of the UK armed forces minister (Mark Lancaster), serious sustained efforts have been made on the UK sovereign base at Akrotiri (a migration hotspot) to reduce the amount of illegal poaching of small birds to meet the demand from locals (under the counter) for ambelopoulia, supposedly a local delicacy. The article also reported that their efforts had reduced the number of killings in 2017 by 72% from 800,000 in 2016.
Here is a Google map of Cyprus roughly showing the location of the main areas for our birding this year – (1) Paphos itself (for Mandria, Foinikas village, Anarita park and the sewerage farm); (2) the coast northwards beyond Peyia to the Avakas Gorge and the Akamas peninsular; (3) Kouklia & Secret valley golf club; and (4) the Akrotiri peninsular (with its salt lake and reedbeds) further to the east.
[click on a photo for a larger view]
Despite the lack of the usual smattering of unusual gulls and some of the waders we usually see, we managed to see 70 species in total this year, compared with 68 last year.
Paphos & its Environs
Our first focus for birding was Paphos headland and its archaeological park, famous for the wonderful ancient Roman mosaics. Here is a shot of the coastal path around the park (behind the fence on the left), Paphos and its ancient Ottoman fort in the background. Walking the path is very popular with locals and tourists alike.
Near the place from where the image was shot and by the edge of the rocks, we found 3 Greater Sand Plovers, usual winter visitors, and the regular visiting Whimbrel in their usual spots.
From the path we also watched several flocks of Goldfinches feeding on thistle seeds and Linnets foraging on bare patches of ground. Stonechats too were everywhere as usual. Here is close-up of a male watching me quizzically.
Then overhead a tussle developed between 4 Hooded Crows and a passage migrant Short-eared Owl that had come in off the sea. The Owl jinked left and right, up and down, as the crows attacked. But it had to give up eventually, chased inland away from their territory.
Hooded Crows were everywhere, operating in gangs. That said, they are quite a handsome bird, compared with our Carrion Crow.
A few crows tried it on with the site’s resident Kestrels too, but with no effect.
Here is a view of the middle of the archaeological site itself showing the working lighthouse. A small flock of resident Woodlarks had flown on to the ground in front of this wall. As I approached to get a photo, they flew up into the trees in this image, and than down again as I waited. At that point another tourist came to photograph the lighthouse and off they went! Such a pity as I have rarely seen that species.
Resident Crested larks on the other hand can easily be heard and seen on the site. This individual was even less cautious than usual.
On the roof of a ruined building I came across this Sling-tailed Agama – quite a common sight on the island. Menacing though it looks, the lizard is only about 14 inches long, I read that it frequents rocky terrains so it can dash quickly into nooks for protection from predators and like Chameleons, it can change colour to suit its environs.
Our first trip with Victor was to the areas just to the east of the town. Here Victor came up trumps – my first ever sighting of a Black Francolin.
Once called the Black Partridge, it has been a target bird for me on Cyprus every year. In the fields around Mandria a pair suddenly appeared on a track in front of the car. Before you knew it, the colourful male and dowdy female took off in opposite directions, never to be seen again. But at least we got a brief view of both birds. My membership of the Pinterest website allows me to share a photo of the male bird.
There were plenty of wintering Skylarks and pipits in the ploughed fields around Mandria, as usual. The pipits tended to be in mixed flocks - mainly Meadow Pipits, with a sprinkling of Red-throated and Water Pipits. One bird, a Water Pipit in rather dowdy winter plumage, was unusually bold enough to let me close enough for this shot.
White Wagtails, the European version of our Pied Wagtail, also seemed to be everywhere, especially on the side of tracks. Not as nervous as Pipits, here is a young bird near Mandria that I got close to.
Victor’s other main success here was to take us in his 4X4 down to the deserted village of Foinikas at the far end of the huge Asprokremmos reservoir.
Here is a shot of the area, showing the ruins of the village abandoned when the reservoir was constructed.
Almost immediately we came across this smart male Finsch’s Wheatear sitting on a boulder in front of our vehicle. Victor reported that only about a dozen of the species overwinter in Cyprus each year and tend to return to the same spots. Unlike our Northern Wheatears, this species prefers barren mountainsides, often at high altitudes, with low vegetation.
Also here, on the sandbanks that had replaced the water in the lake, and along with mallards, teal and coots, I spotted a single White-fronted Goose. A visitor likely from Russia like many human tourists to Cyprus, it was sedately strolling across the sand but too far way for a photo. Nonetheless, it prompted urgent mobile texts to local birders. The species had never been seen there in the past! So the local professional wildlife photographer soon turned up too. Apparently a few birds usually turn up in Cyprus during the winter but normally they visit the Larnaca area to the east of the island.
After Foinikas, Victor tried the Paphos sewerage farm, site of a colony of Spur-winged Lapwings. This year we were rewarded with the sight of over 20 of the birds busy foraging in a field of alfalfa that recently been cut, for cattle forage no doubt. I took this best shot of the species later, at the coast by Mandria. There a single bird from the colony unusually turned up and posed for me quite close. Note the very long legs.
Also at the sewerage farm we spotted a pair of our Northern Lapwings in the same field – clearly identifiable from their long wispy crests. A smart Grey Wagtail pottered about too.
There were quite a few butterflies on the wing too – Swallowtails, Clouded Yellows and this tiny but pretty Lang’s Short-tailed Blue.
The coast northwards beyond Peyia to the Avakas Gorge and the Akamas Peninsula
The highlight here was without doubt a Wallcreeper, a first ever sighting for me. Victor had told me that a couple usually winter in Cyprus – particularly around a specific area in the Avakas Gorge. He had heard reports from a local birder that, after a 2 hour wait, one had appeared at the usual spot. What patience! So, somewhat sceptical, off we went.
The gorge is one of the natural wonders of Cyprus. Walking nearly a mile up the gorge was quite an adventure in itself. Here is part of our party trekking over slippery boulders up the stream that reportedly becomes a raging torrent when it rains.
Not that such puts off real rock doves, such as this one, nesting there.
But this cliff face was what we had aimed for.
When we finally arrived, bang on call the Wallcreeper appeared. No wait needed! So lucky! Hopefully the reader can make out the grey and black plumage with its long curved beak, as it clung to the rock face hunting for insects.
The most spectacular moment was when it took off, showing blood red wing colours with prominent white spots. No time to catch on camera, for this shot of the bird in flight, I have to refer again to the Pinterest website.
That part of the gorge was alive with small birds – Black redstarts, Great tits, Chaffinches, and this Robin. One of my best ever shots of the bird, it hovered around us, sometimes chasing away other species from its territory.
As we walked back down the gorge, these three goat kids playfully butted each other on the virtually vertical sides, their parents unconcerned close by.
Up in the sky a Long-legged Buzzard suddenly appeared over the rim of the gorge and then a Bonelli’s Eagle.
There were quite a lot of butterflies here too, particularly this Eastern Rock Grayling, very similar to our UK version. Almost always it settles on the ground with its wings closed – so you can’t see the yellow of its wings except when in flight. Such camouflage – perhaps why it is so successful?
Back down from the gorge to the track that hugs the coast, Victor took us a short way further north towards Lara Bay, where on a protected beach the endangered Loggerhead turtles nest.
Victor was searching the low cliff faces for owls. He suddenly stopped the car and we took this great close-up of a Little Owl perched in one of the nooks. I love to see owls and there is always a good chance with this species, as it is one of the few owls that hunt in the day as well as at night.
A few days before our trip with Victor we had ourselves explored the area around Agios Georgios, slightly nearer Peyia. Here, from the tiny harbour and beach, is a fine view of the coast northwards towards the gorge, the low cliffs frequented by the owl, Lara Bay, and the Akamas peninsular itself.
The small island called Yeronissos, just off the coast at Georgios, is reportedly a favourite breeding site for Yellow-legged gulls. There they were indeed, but too far away to photograph.
Before I could get nearer for a picture, I spotted a female Blue Rock thrush on the top of a cliff, but off it went.
For lunch we had stopped at the Searays café bar, an isolated restaurant on the road to the Akamas. Here I had better luck with my camera. From our table we watched this Fan-tailed Warbler picking insects off a thistle by the roadside in front of the cafe.
After our meal, in the scrubland between the road and the sea cliff, we saw briefly a perched Northern Wheatear, a Chiffchaff acting like a flycatcher, a Crested lark calling away, and then from the cliff top, a wintering Kingfisher fishing in a large rock pool on the edge of the sea.
Kouklia & Secret Valley
This site of the cult of Aphrodite has been a regular birding stop for us, as well as for its interesting small museum in the thirteenth century Lusignan manor house at one end of the site (Cyprus was once a Frankish Crusader state).
Here is an image of the pretty small flower garden just outside the manor house.
This image is a bit misleading about the site vegetation generally. This year most of the rest of shrubs and trees around the manor house had been cut back drastically, because of a fire risk. So the sightings were limited to a small flock of Greenfinches, some Meadow Pipits, more Great tits (no Blue tits on the island), more Chaffinches, a few Laughing Doves, and this wintering male Black Redstart. In the middle of the tree one can just make out the rusty undertail typical of a Turkish specimen.
Just along the coast from Kouklia is the Secret Valley golf club. The long drive up to the clubhouse passes two quite large lakes on the course (no doubt full of golf balls) on the one side, and a steep scrubby hillside on the other.
A small flock of colourful Chukar partridges flew on to the hillside but the most impressive sighting was a flock of over 20 Cormorants that arrived to preen and roost in their usual favourite conifer above one of the lakes. Whilst we watched, a Little Egret flew in to try to share the roost but had to go elsewhere – all suitable spots taken.
Akrotiri Peninsula
The whole area is normally a migration hotspot because, being part of the British sovereign base, it is undeveloped. So it is also a hotspot for illegal poaching, as mentioned earlier.
But the main problem this year was the lack of water due to the continuing low rainfall. The large and shallow salt lake, normally full of wintering Flamingos, looked virtually dry. No birds to be seen! Likewise the relatively new Akrotiri marsh reserve, complete with impressive hides, was also a dead loss. The pools behind the Lady’s Mile beach were almost as disappointing, with few of the multitude of waders we normally see there- only a few Ringed Plovers, Kentish Plovers and Dunlin.
Fortunately, the situation was different near the tower hide at the Zakaki pool. Since last year the reeds had been cut back considerably, revealing a deep pool surrounded by reeds and a large area in front where the reeds had begun to grow back above the water line. Perfect habitat for a variety of small birds!
Apart from a sizeable population of Coots, Mallards and Moorhens, there were a few Teal and a single wintering Pintail on the pool. Periodically, a flock of wintering Black-headed Gulls would also drop in to bathe there. But after 4 o’clock the area of cut reeds became a hive of activity. A Water Rail skulked amongst these reeds, a Bluethroat appeared, several Chiffchaffs flitted about, a juvenile Penduline Tit landed in front of the hide, and this Moustached Warbler (one of a pair) clambered on the reeds just above the water.
Then a Kingfisher flew from stalk to stalk and posed just outside the hide – too near this time for a photo! Finally a flock of wintering Starlings came in to roost in the uncut reeds on the edge of the water. Here are a few of them.
As one might imagine, this plethora of birds presented an excellent opportunity for local raptors. On cue, in swooped a Marsh Harrier just in front of the hide and pounced. Except for its head, which we could see initially through the cut reeds, it disappeared entirely from view for some ten minutes whilst it ate the catch. Then it was away, up and off to another part of the reed bed.
Peter Morgan
December 2018