Ayios Minas and birding around Polis and Everitou Dam, Cyprus - 18th April 2019

Up at five but the drive via Polis and Latchi meant that it had been light a while when we arrived to set up our nets. We could see flycatchers but were slow to get nets up as we've not been there for a long while and the grass was extremely long making the scattered rocks difficult to see and avoid. The five nets went up well and by the time Graham arrived we had a few to process. During the morning we heard Golden Oriole and there were Bee-eaters overhead.

Male Pied Flycatcher

Female Pied Flycatcher

Tree Pipit

Carob and Olive trees Ayias Minhas

Wild Garlic

Totals: 20 (2)

Tree Pipit -1
Nightingale - 1 (1)
Sardinian Warbler - 1 (1)
Whitethroat - 5
Blackcap - 8
Pied Flycatcher - 3
Great Tit - 1

It was windy by 11am with clouds building so we called that a day and drove to the river at Polis to look at some good birding spots. The river was high with very little exposed mud. At the camp site a Wood Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and some Reed Warblers were all we could find. Moving on to Evretou we were astounded by the water level. Never have we seen it this high. So high that the renovated church, normally well above road level, that in itself is a good 20 feet above waterlevel is sitting in the water.

Everitou Dam - we've never seen it as full as this

This last winter has seen the second highest recorded rainfall in Cyprus since records began, surpassed only by the extremely wet period during 1901.

Here there were some interesting plants that we've not really noticed before, a Paphos Blue butterfly and by checking the other side, that involved a lengthy drive now, after Chris thought he'd seen a Bittern, two Squaccos and a Bittern. We finished the day off with a Bonelli's Eagle over the valley.

Pafos Blue

Phlomis lunariifolia

Scabious or Carmel Daisy