Monday 14 November 2016

Cyprus - 14th November 2016

We decided to start the day with another try to see the Dusky Warbler near Pafos sewage works. We were there just after seven and had no trouble identifying the bird when it flew in from some adjacent conifers, at 7.27am, calling loudly. The bird spent some time in the olive trees, twice dropped down into some dried weedy vegetation to visit pooling water and also went into the margins of a crop field across the road. It returned to the conifers, from which it came once and a second bird was also clearly heard, corroborating reports that there were in fact two birds in the area.

Having spent quite a while there, we thought we'd change our usual routine and do some ringing in the afternoon. We bumped into Colin Richardson at Agia Varvara where we all birded the water tanks area, seeing Bluethroat, Jack Snipe, Corn Bunting, Black Redstart and Red-throated Pipit amongst other birds. A little later we returned to the Pafos fields and eventually tracked down a juvenile Crane reported the previous day, passed the news on to Colin and Alan Crane then returned home for lunch.

Juvenile Crane. 
The chances are not so good for this young individual, having observed family groups interacting at Getterons, where parents remain close to offspring at all times. 

We returned to Agia Varvara to ring birds in the water tanks, but having got just one of the planned four nets up, we were joined by a photographer who had been cultivating the Bluethroat and intended to use the same tank as us. He said we'd be fine over in the other tank, but one net won't produce enough to justify the session, so we packed up and left taking our Game Fund authorisation with us. It was too late to do much else - so no ringing today.