Back in Cyprus for the second time this year and we hope to achieve rather more processed birds than in January now that the permits for 2018 have eventually been finalised. The Game Fund now want 48 hours notice of where we will be ringing, allowing much less flexibility and no ability to counter for changes to more suitable sites when weather conditions are difficult. Our first day was earmarked for Kouklia, the second the decommissioned Desalination Plant and the third Kouklia again.
Wednesday 28th - Kouklia
The morning started with little wind and although we could hear plenty of Cetti's and Sardinian Warblers, there were few migrants immediately around us. Alpine and Common Swifts flew overhead and groups of Greenfinch and Cretzschmar's Bunting were seen moving through on two ocassions. We captured a decent number of retraps, including some birds colour ringed for a study by the University of Cyprus.
Male Sardinian Warbler O/R, R/M
Female Sardinian Warbler LG/R, R/M
Female Cretzschmar's Bunting
The best capture of the day was a female Cretzschmar's Bunting.
The wind strengthened considerably as the morning progressed and nets were closed well before midday.
Among the retraps was a Blackcap ringed in Spring 2015 and several Sardinian Warblers, dating back in one case to 2013.
Totals: 22 (10)
Cetti'sWarbler - 2 (1)
Sedge Warbler - 1
Reed Warbler - 4
Sardinian Warbler - 1 (8)
Blackcap - 13 (1)
Cretzschmar's Bunting - 1
A drive around Mandria, in the blustery conditions, failed to produce much, and the wheatears at Timi Beach were a mixture of Northern and Isabelline but the Desert Wheatears were no longer in evidence.
Isabelline Wheatear
The weather looks rather windy over the next couple of days with rain tomorrow so we expect to have to cancel ringing tomorrow and have advised a change to P2 for Friday.
Thursday 29th - Paphos Headland
The next day it was windy with rain featuring heavily in the forecast so the planned ringing had to be abandoned. At 6am it was still raining so we had an hours lie in, then went to the headland for shortly after opening time.
Within the first few minutes we had seen a large flock of Wagtails and a Palid Harrier. We then worked our way to the point furthest from the car park so that we'd be nearer to the car in the event of torrential rain later. There were a number of warblers in the shrubby bushes, but checking the rocky outcrops failed to produce a Rock Thrush. However, there was one on the agora excavations.
Rock Thrush
There were rather fewer wheatears around than we expected.
Northern Wheatear male
Paphos lighthouse
The wildflowers were an explosion of yellow, with most of the field poppies yet to bloom. Clouded Yellows were difficult to track in the wind, but some of the blues were less frenetic.
Common Blue on Crown Daisy
By 10:30am or so we could see squally showers advancing on the island from the south west. A Wryneck was found just a short time before the heavy shower made landfall.
Wryneck
On leaving the headland a group of four Cattle Egrets and a Little Egret were flying past the fort.
We spent the first really heavy shower in a coffee shop, then drove to an area of long grass and scrubby bushes by the coast. Here a second squall came through just as we were about to leave the car and we again escaped the deluge, this time accompanied with hail stones. It remained dry while we walked around, to find more wagtails, a Hoopoe and a Whinchat. Again, we narrowly avoided another heavy shower and set off towards the dam with lightning out to sea and thunder.
Walking the dam road proved one walk too far as we were caught, not once but twice as heavy rain and hail tracked in off the sea and towards the uplands. Birds seen on our rather wet walk included Cyprus Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Cyprus Warbler, Tawny Pipit, Common Sandpiper and Black-winged Stilt.
A phone call to Graham who often joins us and scribes not only confirmed that he was unable to come out with us on Saturday, but also advised us that another ringer has been holiday ringing in the Polis area - and had advised the game fund that he would be at the site where we intended to go. So much for the new system, we didn't even know he has been here. Still, we do know there won't be rides for his and our nets so that's our plans for Friday dashed since it's too late for the 48 hour notification to change them.
Friday 30th -Limassol
We'd left the house by 7am and travelled over to Zakaki, only to find that the road was closed due to a gas leak, so we to make a detour and started from the other end, not knowing whether we'd be able to reach the hide. We started at Akrotiri Marsh, then worked the gravel pit, Bishop's Pool, Ladies Mile and then Zakaki Marsh where the road was no longer closed.
Gargany at Akrotiri Marsh
Squacco Heron
We looked for the Eastern White Wagtail but moved on to the Gravel Pits when it failed to show up.
Woodchat Shrike
Eastern Orphean Warbler female
After a quick dash back to Akrotiri Marsh when the Wagtail was reported, and we had the briefest of glimpses while parking the car before it again flew off we finished our first check through the gravel pits and on to Bishop's Pool where the usual Ferruginous Duck were also with Little and a Black-necked Grebe.
Bishop's Pool
The Clouded Yellow butterflies proved easier to photograph than
the ones at Paphos headland.
A rare 'wings open' shot
Ladies Mile held a single Black-winged Stilt and a few gulls, but Zakaki was disappointing with very little clear water to view and more fly tipping around the perifory.
We tracked back through the gravel pits and on to Akrotiri Marsh for the end of the afternoon.
Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis and Ruff were busily feeding up in the shallow water and we finally caught up with the Eastern Wagtail.
Eastern White Wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis)
Saturday 31st - Kouklia, Anarita & Ayia Varvara
On arriving at Kouklia the sound of Nightingale song could be heard at several points along the track down and arcoss the river bed. One of the first captures provided evidence of their presence in our records.
Nightingale
Another good species out of the nets was a Ruppell's Warbler female.
Ruppell's Warbler
Great Reed Warbler - the first heard or seen of our trip.
There were two Whitethroats, believed to be of the Eastern race, also an Olivaceous Warbler and Crested Lark.
Whitethroat
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Crested Lark
Female Blackcap with pollen and nectar deposits on upper mandible.
Total: 15 (7)
Crested Lark - 1
Nightingale - 1
Cetti's Warbler - 2 (1)
Reed Warbler - 2
Great Reed Warbler - 1
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler - 1
Ruppell's Warbler - 1
Sardinian Warbler - 0 (5)
Whitethroat - 2
Blackcap - 3 (1)
Greenfinch - 1
We took a drive around Anarita, watching the birds and butterflies. There were a few wheatears around and some Lesser Kestrels.
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
Paphos Blues
At Ayia Varvara the river was flowing and one of the tanks was filled and a pair of Gargany were seen. Two other interesting observations were a Black Francolin and a Black Whip Snake.
April 1st - Sunday
We had notified the Game Fund that we would be at the Desalination Plant at the end of the Xeros Potamas valley, where a fire burnt out much of the reeds last year, so arrived just after 6:30am, knowing that we'd have to look for places to site nets.
We'd just put up an 18/12m combination when we began to hear the jangling sound of hunting dogs' bells. So, those nets were set unusually high, just in case, and just as well since we soon had up to five, very friendly dogs running back and forth. They also disturbed a couple of hares that sped off under the nets. We chanced a further two singles, but having spoken to one of the three Cypriots exercising their dogs and providing directions as to where his missing dog had been heading, it was rather late by the time the location settled down to quiet.
5M Goldfinch
The most interesting thing this morning was watching a flock of Swifts that came in off the sea and fed hungrily above and around the netting area, although, of course, none were caught. Nets were down by 11am with 18 captures. There were no retraps, probably indicating that any of the resident birds ringed there in previous years moved away during the fire, unless they failed to escape. At any rate there was no evidence of original resident Sardinian or Cetti's Warblers returning as the vegetation begins to take hold again.
Totals: 18
Crested Lark - 2
Nightingale - 1
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Reed Warbler - 2
Sardinian Warbler - 4
Whitethroat - 1
Blackcap - 1
Goldfinch - 2
Spanish Sparrow - 4
Cattle Egret
Northern Wheatear
We had a drive around the fields near the sewage works (Cattle Egret 3, Spur-winged Plover 2) before taking a mid-day break.
Resuming at Mavrokolompos Dam we had a brief walk and that didn't turn up a great deal other than three Hoopoes, a Little Egret and a few Wheatears.
Centaura Raphanina
Bath White
We then drove to Cape Dreparnum where there were a few more wheatears, a Great Spotted Cuckoo and a Hoopoe.
April 2nd - Koukli & Paphos Headland
Today we ringed at our regular site with the assistance of Graham as our scribe. We processed 30 birds with over a quarter being Lesser Whitethroats, recently in on their way North. Some birds were carrying fat scores of codes 3 & 4, so they clearly have a distance to travel yet.
A rather dusky 5M Sardinan Warbler
Age 5 (as were all seven caught today) Lesser Whitethroat
Totals: 23 (7)
Cetti's Warbler - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 3
Sardinian Warbler - 1 (4)
Lesser Whitethroat - 7
Blackcap - 10 (2)
Chiffchaff - 1
Great Tit - 1
Agama
In the late afternoon we walked the headland at Paphos. To start with birds were rather thin on the ground as we recorded Tawny Pipit, Yellow Wagtails, Hoopoe (3) and Woodchat Shrike. Then later on we saw a Ring-necked Parakeet and birds also began to drop in, Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroats and a female Collared Flycatcher.
Female Collared Flycatcher
April 3rd - Limassol area
Today had been planned as a ringing sortie to Vretsia. We then realised that, due to the conditions of the roads there, and the lack of clearance of our hire car, booked a Ford Focus (that would have been fine) got and 'equivalent' Kia Rio - only the equivalent according to Europcar, but not equivalent even according to the manufacturers. So, we couldn't go and neither could we ring elsewhere due to the 48 hours rules of notification. We decided to go birding around Limassol.
We had a look at Akrotiri Marsh, the gravel pits, Lady's Mile, Zakaki Marsh and round the back of the salt lake. It was a day of finding a few bits and pieces, some waders here and there, more Lesser Whitethroats going through and our best find a very tired, approachable Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Kentish Plover - Akrotiri Gravel Pits
Lack of view from Zakaki Marsh hide
While at the Salt Lake, I (Denise) found a freshly dead Reed Warbler on a sandy track. The bird carried a ring issued by the NHMuseum Belgrade BB 407878, only the second foreign ring seen by us in all our years ringing over here.
Picked up dead - Reed Warbler BB40787 ringed in Serbia
Wednesday - 4th April
Another morning in the dry riverbed and still no sign of bird numbers moving through increasing. It's difficult to say whether the numbers are actually reducing in terms of populations, or because of the local environment - river now diverted away up stream, encroachment of farmland to the East and West and the loss of a stand of tall trees along the beach since we first ringed this area in 2009. However you look at it, it's a poor return for more than five hours out in the field monitoring migratory and breeding birds.
Reed Warbler
Total:18 (4)
Cetti's Warbler - 0 (2)
Reed Warbler - 6
Sedge Warbler - 1
Sardinian Warbler - 1 (2)
Lesser Whitethroat - 4
Blackcap - 6
In the mid-afternoon we visited Lempa Park. It's a few years since we visited and it's a bit tidier now, with plenty of running water - rather a scarcity in this part of the coast. It was beautifully green and shady providing an inviting habitat for birds and insects. The air thrummed with the sound of insects buzzing and there was plenty of birdsong although most were rather difficult to see.
Millet Skipper
Speckled Wood
Red-veined Dropwing - female
Mallow Skipper
Common Blue on Crown Daisy
Hottentot Fig
View across Lemba Park to the sea
A visit to Mavrokolympos Dam provided some good views of Cyprus Warbler, although other species were thin on the ground.
Cyprus Warbler
5th April - Paramali, Avdimou Bay, Mandria & Ayia Vavara
A truly beautiful day with temperatures climbing into high mid 20s by the afternoon. This did nothing to help the slow migration and produced another rather dire day for migratory species.
After the first two locations we had only seen one Isabelline Wheatear and a Peregrine with more good views os Cyprus Wheatear.
Cyprus Warbler
Painted Lady
Small White
Wild Gladioli
At Mandria we failed to find the reported Citrine Wagtail but a Laughing Dove was most obliging.
Laughing Dove
Trying Ayia Vavara at the end we didn't see the Spotted Crake very well and the Baillon's not at all! There were a number of Ruff on one of the flooded tanks with some rather flighty Green Sandpipers on the main river. We didn't ring in the evening as intended due to passerines seeming to be rather low in numbers.
April 6th - Kouklia, Torzena, & Ayia Vavara
We met up with Graham and managed a total of 22 birds for 5 and a half hours work in a hot, stony dry river bed with no shade. Best bird was an Ortolan Bunting.
6M Ortolan Bunting
Spanish Sparrow
Another colour-ringed Sardinian Warbler
black/orange, black over metal
Totals:19 (3)
Cetti's Warbler - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 1
Olivaceous Warbler - 1 (1)
Sardinian Warbler - 0 (1)
Blackcap - 8
Lesser Whitethroat - 2
Whitethroat - 1
Chiffchaff - 1
Goldfinch - 2
Spanish Sparrow -1
Ortolan Bunting - 1
We spent some time trying for some different butterfly species in the uplands, then after lunch gave Ayia Vavara another try.
Orange Tip
A rather worn Eastern Festoon
At Ayia Varvara we managed to track down both reported crakes with seven Gargany on a flooded tank.
Spotted Crake
Baillon's Crake
We rounded off the day with 13 Purple Herons overhead, looking for somewhere to roost.
7th April - Neo Chorio, Polis & Evritou dam
We planned to ring and were there early, but the track was too much for the stupid little hire car (not the model we'd booked) and having negotiated a U turn without any damage and seeing that there were no Redstarts, small migratory warblers (other than Lesser Whitethroats and Blackcaps) we abandoned ringing attempts as we were too close to the road. A walk around turned up three Masked Shrikes and not so much else.
Wild Gladioli
View from Baths of Aphrodite
Aphrodite's Baths were hopeless. Not a bird in sight, lots of tents and caravans, even the wild flowers were a pale shadow of their former selves - and the beach buggy safaris made far too much noise.
The river at Polis
Pygmy Skipper
Black-tailed Godwit
Citrine Wagtail
Red-veined Dropwing
Keeled Skimmer - male
Southern Darter
We did spend some time at what remains of the river at Polis. We found a Citrine Wagtail, Black-tailed Godwit, two Little Stints, Snipe, European Kingfisher, Little Crake and Spotted Crake along the watercourse.
Evretou Dam was the fullest we've seen it in years - impossible to drive around so it was time for a meal and back to the apartment.
8th April - Limassol area & Koukli
Reed Warbler
We started the day birding around Limassol, Zakaki Marsh first (Reed Warblers, Glossy Ibis, Little Egrets), then on to the outflow. Here there were a few waders including Wood Sandpiper, Whimbrel and Little Ringed Plover. The salt lake was similar to the previous visit.
Akrotiri Salt Lake
Denise looked for Baton Blues along one of the sandy ridges but was not successful, seeing just Crested Larks, Sardinian Warblers and a Ruppell's Warbler, probably freshly in. As whenever the birds are thin and few between there were chances to photograph a few insects.
Keeled Skimmer - female
Bee species
Working the scrubby bushes between the salt lake and Lady's Mile, we happened across a small area where at least six Baton Blues were seen. There were also some Short-toed Larks and three Tawny Pipits.
Eastern Baton Blues
There was nothing along Lady's Mile but we saw a Bonelli's Warbler in the roadside bushes just after the crossing. The area around the church at Akrotiri was really quiet and the only additional migrant from the gravel pits was a male Redstart. A pair of Kentish Plover had 4 small chicks.
The Swifts were impressive, wheeling over Akrotiri Marsh and there were some Glossy Ibis, Ruff and Squacco Heron.
Glossy Ibis
We finished the day with four nets up at Kouklia. Still not much around and only five birds caught, although one was a freshly in Woodchat Shrike.
5M Woodchat Shrike
Total: 4 (1)
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Sardinian Warbler - 1 (1)
Woodchat Shrike - 1
Goldfinch - 1
9th April - Avdimou, Anarita Park and Ayia Vavara
We tried a new ringing site today. When it was reccied there was not a sole about. Today there were cars parked down at the front and tents on the beach! Still, we weren't going that far down so we put up seven nets (just two or three panels high) and hoped to catch scrub warblers and any migrants that might drop in later in the morning.
We had looked at the area on our last birding visit and had noticed a few gaps between bushes that were regularly used by birds and nets at these locations were soon catching.
5M Cyprus Warbler
Arrested moult
We saw a lot more Cyprus Warblers than we caught. Only two females were seen, probably as the birds are sitting on eggs at present.
At around 10am, a Spotted Flycatcher was seen to drop in. A Lesser Whitethroat and Blackcap also were seen but not caught. A Quail was also flushed from long grass but we were unsure how long it had been there.
6M Cyprus Warbler
It was a beautiful coastal spot, but spoiled with all manner of fly tipped waste. It's our convention to name net rides but here the choices might be something like broken bucket, rotting sofa or large plastic bottles.
There were a couple of interesting butterflies at the site including a species of grayling.
Cyprus Grayling
Cyprus Meadow Brown
This area used to be an expanse of long grass, mostly now arable land.
Harvested field
Totals: 10
Cyprus Warbler - 5
Sardinian Warbler - 4
Greenfinch - 1
We moved on to Anarita where we had a very promising start with 45 Tawny Pipits. After that we only saw the Lesser Kestrels and not much else - so started photographing butterfles again.
Large Wall Brown
Cyprus Grayling
Female Clouded Yellow
We noticed that the Sardinian Warblers had fledged young.
Juvenile Sardinian Warbler
Two of the Lesser Kestrels
Then on to Ayia Varvara where we went for a better look at the Baillon's Crake if possible, and we got excellent views.
Baillon's Crake
10th April - Kouklia
So, we'd reached our last ringing day, joined by Graham, and it loked as though the weather might help bring some migrants in. To start, there was only resident birds so nothing much could have come in the previous evening or over night. For the first time we caught some birds hatched this year.
Juvenile Sardinian Warbler
The catching was slow, slow, slow but with a passage of swifts, including a good number of Alpine Swifts overhead.
Processing birds at Kouklia
Zitting Cisticola
Later in the morning we began to see some migrants and even managed to catch a couple.
Ortolan Bunting
Northern Wheatear male
Male Kingfisher
Arrested primary moult
There was also another colour ringed Sardinian Warbler among the 13 birds.
Blue/Blue & Black/Metal
Totals: 11 (2)
Kingfisher - 1
Northern Wheatear - 1
Zitting Cisticola - 1
Sardinian Warbler - 3 (2)
Blackcap - 2
Great Tit - 1
Spanish Sparrow - 1
Ortolan Bunting - 1
We took one last tour around Anarita, seeing some Corn Buntings and finally seeing a couple of European Rollers, the only ones of our visit. There were no wheatears and still we weren't seeing many migrants.
Corn Bunting
European Roller
So, by the end of our fortnight we still had not seen or heard a Savi's, Willow or Wood Warbler. There were just two Common Redstarts, only one collared Flycatcher, one Spotted Flycatcher and one Bonelli's Warbler. The captured Great Reed Warbler was the only one seen although a second was heard. A poor spring migration by any measure.
11th April - Larnaca
The next day we drove to Larnaca for the flight home, stopping off to look at the waders on the pool by the airport. Here we saw Ruff, a Greater Sandplover in summer plumage and a good sized group of Little Stints, but were interupted by the Airport Police who objected to our presence and took our identification details again. This has now happened at least three times over the years, and we even recognised the officers. The seagw works held little of special interest, 4 Black-necked Grebes were still present.
