Cyprus Days Five and Six

Saturday was another write-off with a family day at Limmasol marina, delicious grilled fish lunch and then the afternoon at the pool but we did have a flock of 50 Purple Heron fly over the marina. This morning (Sunday our last day) I got up at dawn and headed over to St.Goerge's Chapel for a bit of migrant hunting. Ebird list HERE, highlights included a Wryneck, 6 Turtle Dove, 1 Cuckoo, 4 Woodchat Shrike, 3 Nightingale, 10 Whinchat, 2 Pied Fly, 1 Spot Fly, 2 Redstart, Lesser and Greater Whitethroats, Willow and Sardinian Warblers and fly over young Night Heron.

Was nice to get a bit of migrant hunting in. There's been Green Warbler found today on the island and a White-eyed Gull in the week too (both Cyprus megas) with plenty of other quality birds around like Baillon's and Little Crake, Greater Sand Plover, Masked Shrike, Citrine Wagtail and Sibe Stonechat. It would have been nice to just get out birding but fortunately I've got another proper birding trip to Kuwait planned soon and another week in Bulgaria too so will back out here on the Eastern Flyway to get some proper birding in. Just relieved to have got the targets for the WP list. Picked up 92 species in the week so best to keep quiet about that- there's probably a good 150+ to get out here. 

Back to the Selsey Peninsula tomorrow for a few weeks of local birding before out to Kuwait in mid-May- looking forward to peak Spring migration at the new local patch. 

Roller going over 

Male (above) and female (below) Pied Flycatcher

Male Woodchat Shrike 

Female (above) and male (below) Common Redstart 

Male Whinchat

Wryneck

First-summer Night Heron going over 

Little Stints and Kentish Plover 

I presumed this distant dark falcon was an Eleanora's- no silvery wing markings like Red-footed Falcon and dark underparts too so not a first-summer male Red-foot. 

St.Goerge's Chapel- a lovely little migrant trap 

Cyprus days three and four

Thursday was a write-off at the Water Park but on the way back we stopped off at Asprokremnos Dam where I managed to get the first target endemic bird- Cyprus Warbler but only brief views. List here. I was now three days into the trip and still hadn't bagged the mission birds so yesterday, with a re-newed focus I was up at dawn and went to Kouris Dam and had a great morning with Cyprus Wheatears and Cyprus Warblers HERE. 

In the afternnon we went to Troodos and took a family walk through the Black Pine forests towards the Asbestos Mine and managed to find the key Cyprus endemic sub-species of Cyprus Jay, Cyprus Short-toed Treecreeper, Cyprus Crossbill and Cyprus Coal Tit. In the evening after a meal at the Troodos hotel restuarant we waited until dusk and the surrounding Pine woods became alive with calling  Cyprus Scops Owls. List here

So basically managed to bag the bloody lot in one day in amongst a morning swimming pool session and family walk and meal. Despite some moaning about the length of the trek on the forest trail- managed to pull it off. 

Adult Cyprus Wheatears (above). The ochre coloured underparts are the most distinctive feature that seperates them from Pied Wheatear but the primary projection is also slightly shorter, there are often more extensive dark marking on the crown (moreso with females, bottom bird could be female)  and the black tail band is not as anchored shaped as Pied. There is also much less difference between the sexes in Cyprus Pied and more than anything the song is completely different - scroll down below for Cyprus Pied and Pied Wheatears here. 

First-summer Cyprus Pied Wheatear- more browner wings and less contrasting plumage than adults

Male Cyprus Warbler - what an incredibly unique bird. Calling bird in recording below (scroll down). Most of them have already stopped singing. 

Cyprus Jay- this endemic race is more uniform than other races with the head almost the same colour as rest of body. Also the bird looks slighter build with thinner bill to my eye

Cyprus Short-toed Treecreeper- this race is supposed to be paler than othe races lacking any brown wash on the flanks not that that can be seen from these photos

Cyprus Coal Tit - the black bib is much larger than other races extending much further down the breast. The calls are also different here (with Isaac shouting too) . Unfortunately no photos of Cyprus Crossbill - just heard a couple and saw one well in flight. There is no red colour in the males of Cyprus Crossbill and presumably they call different too. 

Cretzschmar's Bunting (above and below) . Two sound recordings below (scroll down) , one of a calling bird (not easy to seperate from Ortolan!) and the other recording of a singing bird which is clearly different tone to Ortolan. 

Ortolan 

Cyprus Wheatear and Warbler habitat near Kouris Dam

Black Pine forests in the Troodos Mountains- home to the Cyprus woodland endemic sub-species and Cyprus Scops Owl. Surprisingly there were also Cyprus Wheatears up here singing from the tops of the Pine trees. 

View over the asbestos mine which was restored in 1992 

 

Cyprus Scops Owls calling 

Cyprus Days One and Two

Yesterday after a late night flight we had a relaxing day around our hotel in Limassol before checking out the Akrotiri area in the evening.

I returned this morning, before the family got up, to the Akrotiri area Ebird list here  before we headed over to Pafos Zoo for the day here. On the way back to Limassol I managed to drag them all over to Agia Varvara Pools to twitch the Lesser Moorhen  but I agreed I had only 30 mins to see it (it's a tricky bird apparantely that can take hours to glimpse). The car broke down so not a great start (but two Great Spotted Cuckoos flew over the car which was handy) but the mechanic was nearby so we were back on the road quickly. When we arrived at the pools we met a birder who had been waiting for three hours to catch a glimpse of the Moorhen. I lifted up my bins and literally on the first bird I saw I announced,  'there it is', which was a great relief and avoided another family mutiny.

With Great Snipe and Spotted Crake also thrown in for bonus birds at the Lesser Moorhen site, it was a pretty successful bit of stealth birding. 

Still haven't connected with anything I actually came here to see- the three Cyprus endemics, Cyprus Warbler, Cyprus Wheatear and Cyprus Scops Owl (plus the endemic sub-species woodland birds in the mountains). Hopefully will be able to pick them off over the next few days in amongst the Water Parks and other family stuff. Won't bother doing a trip report for this trip as not expecting a high list, will just be happy if I can get the endemics. 

Also caught up with a couple of the herp endemics at the zoo (usually good places for herrps).      

Lesser Moorhen- above and below. World tick 3374.  

Great Snipe (above) and Common Snipe (below) 

Spotted Crake

First-summer Great Spotted Cuckoo 

Ortolan

The Sardinian Warblers were literally at our feet in the zoo, A female here.

The White Storks had become habituated to humans too 

Cyprus Rock Agama, Laudakia cypriaca- a lifer

Troodos Rock Lizard, Phoenicolacerta troodica,  a lifer

Another shot of the Great Snipe

Quite strangely there was this other Moorhen on the Lesser Moorhen pool which showed a lot of yellow on the bill with red restricted to the shield and ridge of the upper mandible. However the red is diffuse and the bill is relatively long and the bird lacks the restrictive white flank markings. Additionally others told me the bird did not have pink legs. I'm glad I didn't see this bird first on my own as I may have presumed it was the Lesser Moorhen. It's presumably an aberant Common Moorhen. 

Hoopoe treble-dip and Serin

It was a good day on the Peninsula yesterday (see HERE) with the first Serin in two years, 110 Little Gulls moving east, 40 Whimbrel east , a late wave of Brents, Arctic Skuas, another Hoopoe at Medmerry, two Spoonbills in the harbour, Little Terns in the harbour, a Russian White-fronted Goose on Drayton pits, a couple of Black Redstarts, a Whinchat, a good selection of common migrants and last and literally least, the Least Sandpiper. 

I missed the bloody lot as it was a work day at the Lodge with Matt. In the evening I tried my luck for the Hoopoe and once again dipped. There must be two to three birds locally which are eluding me.

Anyway this morning I was up at first light to try and salvage something of the weekend and quickly processed the moth trap- it was a good night as it clouded up and kept mild. When I arrived at the Bill , the magic south easterly wind from yesterday had switched round to a rather dreaded south westerly- the first 'prevailing wind' since probably late February. I wasn't expecting much so when the Serin (presumably the same bird from yesterday) flew over us all at the seawatch calling I considered that extremely fortunate. A Peninsula patch tick .  Indeed other than that it was pretty quiet, about 70 Brents, a Velvet Scoter, my first Little Terns of the year, a Kittiwake and a few Common Scoters were about it migrant list here .  

The rest of the day we went to Chichester for some last minute holiday shopping but I swung the family round to Drayton Pit and picked up the Russian White-front (another Peninsula tick- now on 187 and 150 for the year). There was a mutiny when I suggested we try for the Red-crested Pochard too so we came home and in the evening I did the walk from the Lodge to Mill Lane via Ferry and back- 3 Whimbrel flying over Ferry was the highlight. 

The moth trap was pretty good with Mullein, Pine Beauty, Purple Thorn, Pale Mottled Willow, Iron Prominent, Maiden's Blush, Knot Grass, Silver-Y and White-shouldered House moth all new for years amongst the Common Quakers, Hebrew Characters, Frosted Greens, Early Thorns, Nut-tree Tussocks, Lunar Marbled Browns and Early Greys. Three Twenty-plumed moths were the most I've had in one night. Lep list now on 443 for the Lodge and 61 for the year. 

No nominations for the Wildlife photographer of the year awards for this flight shot of the Serin yet

The White-front on Drayton Pit

The Blackwits are looking pretty impressive nowadays

Mullein

Pine Beauty

Purple Thorn

Silver-Y

Iron Prominent

Lunar Marbled Brown 

The caravan (visitor's accommadation) makeover coming along (history of these houses and this estate here which originated in the Socialist co-operative, the Land Settlement Assocation that Margart Thatcher closed down in 1983) and those somewhat cleaner gutters, pipes and windows on the house are what cost me the best day of the Spring so far yesterday. Once I'm back from Cyprus there will be a work ban for the peak late April to early May period. 

Hoopoe Double-dip

Another Hoopoe was reported from Church Norton this morning and another dip from me then ensued. Several other Hoopoes were also recorded today in Sussex and surrounds so these are either new birds or birds from the west reorienting. A couple of Wrynecks on the south coast today suggests they might be new. 

There was certainly an arrival of common migrants today- I started the day off in the garden where I had the first Willow Warbler and Blackcap of the year for the Lodge and then walked to Ferry where there was a Reed Warbler singing (year tick, now on 147 locally) and 4 Sedge Warblers singing on Long Pool. A few Swallows and Sand Martins were moving through (Migrant Ebird list from this morning HERE) in the continuing clear skies (the wind has abated fortunately). Then Andrew and I met a visiting birder that told us about the Hoopoe so we went to Church Norton and  dipped it and this evening I went back to Church Norton, no Hoopoe again but there was a Black Redstart, 2 Wheatear, 7 Willow Warbler, 9 Chiffchaff, 7 Blackcap and 1 Whitethroat.

So another day and another Hoopoe dip. Considering this is a record breaking year for them regionally I'm still hopeful I might catch up with one yet. We're in Cyprus from Monday for family holiday so presumably will get one, one way or another. 

Sedge Warbler

White Wagtail 

A blurry Black Redstart

Swallows on the Keynor Estate- presumably locally breeding birds

There is a constant sound of calling Mediterranean Gulls at the moment with birds moving around the Peninsula. They are quite handy as they get even more vocal when a raptor goes over. There were 400 at Itchenor again recently, about 300 at the bill, 100 or so in Pagham harbour and numbers elsewhere so there are probably over 1000 around here at the moment. 

The last two Brents in the harbour 

Black-tailed Godwits (above and below with Avocet) on Ferry Pool- nice light this morning 

The light was so good this morning I couldn't resist a couple of shots of a Great Crested Grebe on Long Pool and the pair of Gadwall which have set up territory there