Wetland Count Kannaviou, Evretou and Mavrokolympos

14/08/17 Completing a wetland survey for BirdLife Cyprus did not give us many wetland birds. At Kannaviou there was still a lone Great Cormorant present and a Common Kingfisher was seen. A pair of Bonelli's Eagle were again seen in the same area. On the way to Evretou in the Saramas Valley we saw a Golden Oriole and Common Kingfisher. At Evretou Green and Common Sandpiper were present along with a group of Garganey. Yellow wagtails had also returned. We looked around Arodes where Lesser Grey and Masked Shrike were numerous along with European Roller. Our final wetland of the day was Mavrokolympos where the only wetland bird was a Green Sandpiper but again a pair of Bonelli's were seen in the same area as last month.

European Roller (Coracias garrulus), Arodes, August 2017

Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata), Mavrokolympos Dam, August 2017

Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata), Mavrokolympos Dam, August 2017

European Nightjar

European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus). These birds are Nocturnal and active at dusk and dawn (crepuscular) but are elusive day time roosters. While walking around the Asprokremmos car park area we came across one in it's typical daylight roosting position on a branch. Handing the camera to Jan as she had better line of sight she managed these shots. This bird even managed a scratch before sleeping again.

European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus)

European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus)

European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus)

Akrotiri Area

A recent trip to the Akrotiri area, Limassol. At Zakaki Marsh it was lovely to see Water Rail chicks feeding themselves and being helped by both male and female adults, there were also adult and juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, both of which is great news for breeding birds at this site. It was a bonus to see both a Pied and Common Kingfisher, there were also a number of Little Egret and a Little Bittern was seen. At Ladies Mile it was again good to see the successful breeding of Black-winged Stilt and Kentish Plover with juveniles running about feeding, a Common Redshank was also seen. On the Salt Lake there were around 1000 Greater Flamingo.

Juvenile Water Rail ( Rallus aquaticus), Zakaki Marsh, July 2017

Adult Water Rail helping feed Juveniles (Rallus aquaticus), Zakaki Marsh, July 2017

Juvenile Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Ladies Mile, July 2017

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Zakaki Marsh, July 2107

Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), Akrotiri Salt Lake, July 2017

Eurasian Hobby

In 2014 We discovered one of two confirmed breeding records of the Eurasian Hobby (Falco Subbuteo) in the Paphos area of Cyprus. These were the first confirmed breeding records since 1999 which previously were recorded in the Kyrenia, Pentadaktylos mountain range.
Having observed these birds since 2006 they are again in the area, we hope for a successful outcome this year.

Eurasian Hobby (Falco Subbuteo)

July Wetland Counts

Highlights of Paphos area wetland counts for BirdLife Cyprus this weekend. Paphos Headland the two Greater Sand Plover that were reported last month are present. Asprokemmos Dam, nice to see successful breeding of a pair of Spur Winged Lapwing and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover. At Kannaviou there was a lonely Great Cormorant on the water but a Northern Goshawk and pair of adult Bonelli's Eagle made the trip worthwhile. At Evretou a pair of Long Legged Buzzard's were present along with Green and Wood Sand Plover.

Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) Paphos Headland, July 2017

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius), Asprokremmos Dam, July 2017

Adult Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus), Asprokkremmos Dam, July 2017

Juvenile Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus), Asprokkremmos Dam, July 2017

June Wetland Counts

Spent the last few days completing the wetland counts for BirdLife Cyprus. During the summer we do not expect to get get much at our sites, so very quiet. Nice to see family groups of our breeding Finch's such as Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Linnet. Highlights of wetland must be a returning Greater Sand Plover at the headland in Paphos which certainly means the start of the return autumn passage.

Asprokremmos Dam from Phinikas, only 36% full to capacity, June 2017

Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii), Paphos Headland, June 2017

Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus), Asprokremmos, June 2017

Troodos

13/06/17 Another trip to the Troodos, nice to see young Coal Tit an endemic sub species to Cyprus, along with pairs of Grey Wagtail, House Martins busy feeding chicks. Blackbirds and Wrens were lovely to hear singing.

Northern Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Troodos

Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), Troodos

Juvenile Coal Tit (Periparus ater cypriotes) Troodos