6th November
Today we dropped our original plans to do Evretou dam due to
moderate gusts and switched instead to P2, a river bed offering some shelter
from the wind. We set up the five singles as usual and hoped to catch something
while shotguns could be heard from all directions. Anyone who knows Cyprus well
and visits in the hunting season will know that the official days are Sunday
and Wednesday.
It was very quiet in terms of birds, and we even
photographed the only bird from the nets on the first round, just in case there
wasn’t anything else.
Robin aged 3
Blackcap male
Cetti’s Warbler female aged 3
Sardinian Warbler female
We continued until 11am but only struggled up to 11 birds. A
Penduline Tit was heard and seen, briefly.
Total – 11
Robin – 1
Cetti’s Warbler – 1
Sardinian Warbler – 2
Blackcap – 5
Serin - 2
Cetti’s Warbler – 1
Sardinian Warbler – 2
Blackcap – 5
Serin - 2
Afterwards, we checked out the fire damage in the reedbed.
It was clear that there had also been extensive use of a bulldozer – disturbing
the natural course of the river and extending some existing fields. It looks
quite likely that this was a deliberate attempt to extend agriculture and ruin the
small pools nature project.
We took a walk up the Avakas Gorge, seeing a rather small
Chameleon. We have always
known that they occur here, but we’ve never managed to see one before. We also
saw a rare endemic plant, the Centaurea Akamontis that only occurs in two
gorges in Cyprus.
Centaurea Akamontis
Chameleon
Avakas Gorge
As usual, Chris pushed on through the gorge while I waited
just before it gets really narrow. During this time, I observed the Chiffchaffs
in the area and noticed a very brown individual with creamy white underside
with darker colouration along the flanks. The supercillium was very long and
thick and it had a stronger, slightly shorter but more explosive call. We saw
Mountain Chiffchaff in Azerbaijan in the summer, and this was a Mountain Chiffchaff.
We have also seen them in the hand, twice, but the observations in the field
were more useful in this instance. Chris managed to get a look after his
scramble back through the gorge.
7th November
We finally returned to Evretou, hoping to target pipits and
wagtails. We set up nets with open area species in mind, then set a few singles
in the weedy area. We had some Stonechats and Chiffchaffs, but there was no
sign of pipits or wagtails all morning.
We had a rethink and changed some of the nets to achieve our highest
total so far. It was only 42 birds but
it’s more than we might have expected considering the conditions. There were
also a few Willow Warblers, some Sardinian Warblers and a couple of surprises in
the form of a Sedge Warbler and a Bluethroat.
Fan-tailed Warbler
Stonechat male aged 3
Sedge Warbler aged 3
3F Bluethroat
There weren’t too many other sightings although we did
almost catch a Sparrowhawk, but it escaped the net faster than we could get
there and a Kestrel and Common Buzzard were seen. Seven Water Pipits were
observed by the water’s edge – and the one White Wagtail that we did catch was
carrying a good deal of fat so it’s highly likely that most of the birds seen
on Friday were just passing through.
Total: 42
White Wagtail – 1
Bluethroat – 1
Stonechat - 2
Fan-tailed Warbler – 2
Sedge Warbler – 1
Sardinian Warbler – 7
Chiffchaff – 24
Willow Warbler – 3
Serin - 1
Bluethroat – 1
Stonechat - 2
Fan-tailed Warbler – 2
Sedge Warbler – 1
Sardinian Warbler – 7
Chiffchaff – 24
Willow Warbler – 3
Serin - 1