Cyprus Birding Trip Report - Day 5 (Saturday 7th April 2018)

Our last day on Cyprus arrived once more with clear skies and warm temperatures, and saying goodbye to the hotel we travelled north to the impressive Troodos Mountain range, taking the time to explore the Diarhizos valley as we drove. Just over an hours drive from Paphos and situated right in the centre of the Greek half of Cyprus, the Troodos Mountains are home to a number of interesting Cypriot subspecies, that one day like the Cyprus Scops Owl, could be split.

Driving up the Diarhizos valley the scenic landscapes showed off the very best of the picturesque Cyprus countryside, with rolling green hillsides and whole fields bedecked with the colourful blooms of a carpet of wildflowers. 

Roller - our first of the trip

A Roller perched on one of the telephone wires by the side of the road added a splash of colour, being our first and only record of the trip, while scores of Steppe Buzzards soared overhead in the thermals (sadly no Long-legged amongst them – a species that had unfortunately evaded us during the trip despite us scouring the skies in numerous locations they were well-represented in on e-bird). Hooded Crows fed in the fields in abundance as we drove through the valley, while a brief stop in the mountains to check out a bunting perched on a roadside wire resulted in great views of a showy male Cretzchmar’s Bunting. 

Cretzchmar’s Bunting

The views as we rose in elevation were stunning, and we couldn’t resist several stops in the laybys to drink in the mountain scenery, the high pitched trilling of a nearby Serin and the spring calls of a Cuckoo both unfortunately remaining undetected in the thicket of trees.  

Starred Agama

Arriving in the cool freshness of the small mountain village of Troodos, we parked up near the post office car park, donning thick jumpers to combat what was a huge contrast in temperature to the sun kissed lowlands of Paphos. 

The cobbled streets of Troodos

Almost immediately having gone a few feet in to the pines we had notched up our first target, the unusual calls alerting us to a Dorothy’s Treecreeper scrambling slowly up the bark of a nearby pine. 

Dorothy's Treecreeper - a possible split for the future

Much paler than Short-toed Treecreeper and with a distinctive call,  Dorothy’s Treecreeper probably has the most chance of getting split out of all the Cyprus subspecies, and we watched on as it clambered up the trunks in front of us, flitting from tree to tree.

Harsh calls further down the pines alerted us to our second subspecies, this time in the form of the glazneri Jay. Mostly confined to the foothills of the Troodos range and differing from European Jays by their darker heads and lack of white on the throat and crown, we quickly tracked down two individuals perched on the thick pine branches, securing good views as they foraged amongst the pine needles. 

The Cyprus subspecies of Jay - glazneri

With 2 out of our 4 subspecies already in the bag we crossed back over to the main square of Troodos and headed towards a patch of pines lining the cobbled street. 

Almost immediately we heard the distinctive calls of the Cypriot race of Coal Tit and before long a pair of birds hopped down in front of us, calling vociferously as they bumbled through the pine needles. Differing from the nominate race of Coal Tit usually found in Europe, the Cyprus birds (cypriotes) are much darker overall with a much more extensive black bib and colouration on the head, coming right down on to the chest. We spent a good 20 minutes trying to get a discernible record shot due to their inability to stay in one place for more than a nanosecond, but eventually we managed good views as they worked their way through the pines.

The Cypriotes race of Coal Tit

Unfortunately however, our luck ran out with regards to the Crossbills, and despite searching the dripping tap area of the pines and the tracks surrounding the toilet block we failed to track any down, a calling Cyprus Scops remaining ‘heard only’ on the slopes. 

A chocolate ice cream and a stroll through the town later and with a flight to catch that evening, we headed back down the mountains, stopping en-route to stake out some suitable looking roadside scrub for any sign of migrants. This proved to be a great call, as no sooner had we stepped out of the car than Alex exclaimed he’d found a singing Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, the first bird of the trip and a lifer for me to boot!

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Getting some record shots as the bird moved from perch to perch, eventually we had up to 3 singing males in just a tiny patch of scrub (as well as another Masked Shrike) proving that roadside stop offs are always worthwhile. 

The scrub the Eastern Olivaceous Warblers were favouring

Despite seeing no direct evidence of limestick trapping during our trip, our drive down the Diarhizos valley made it apparent that hunting is very much an issue in Cyprus, as nearly all of the places we stopped off at were littered with spent shotgun cartridges, illustrating first hand Cyprus’s chequered history with regards to illegal bird hunting. 

Evidence of the hunting still taking place in Cyprus

With nearly 2 million birds killed annually on Cyprus, hopefully the good work from the people at Birdlife Cyprus can continue in earnest and put an end to these barbaric practices. It was a huge contrast to see protected bird reserves in one part of the valley when just several metres up the road cartridges littered the floor as evidence of the illegal bloodsport.

Wildlife Conservation Area - a direct contrast to the shotgun cartridges found just up the road

With both a Baillon’s and Little Crake showing well for most of the week at Agia Varvara we called in on our way back to Paphos (the directions in Gosney to take the third turn rendered relatively useless by the fact we were met with a 7 road junction!) and soon joined the small handful of cars already parked up on site. Unfortunately after a quick search of the reedy pools we couldn’t locate any of the crakes, and with time swiftly running out and a plane to catch, we were forced to leave the pools (and the crakes) behind. 

Agia Varvara

Enjoying one last pizza on our way to the airport we had time to reflect on what had been quite a mixed bag in terms of successes – we’d secured superb views of the target endemics and notable species but failed somewhat spectacularly on locating any migrants in worthwhile numbers. Rather somewhat frustratingly a number of rarities for Cyprus were also discovered either during our stay or directly before, but our position on the island and timing meant it was always unfeasible to connect. 

Cyprus Warbler

Cyprus Pied Wheatear

Spur-winged Plover

Cyprus Scops Owl

Never the less we enjoyed a great few days on this sun kissed Mediterranean island, soaking up the sunshine and historical culture while enjoying a taster of the rich bird life that Cyprus can offer and admiring the stunning landscapes and scenery. Given better weather conditions and probably a bit more time on the island, I have no doubt we would have improved our totals tremendously, but as it was we still came away satisfied that a number of our key targets were seen well, and for those that weren’t it simply means a few more trips to alternative locations are required in the future.

Cyprus Birding Trip Report - Day 3 (Thursday 5th April 2018)

With our alarms jolting us awake at an ungodly hour early in the morning, bleary eyed and groggy we gathered our gear and made the journey over to the eastern side of the island, arriving at our first destination of the Cape Greco headland just after first light.

The stunning blue waters of Cape Greco headland

Jutting out in to the Mediterranean Sea and holding the title of the most easterly point of Greek Cyprus (also the closest point to the migration mecca of Israel), Cape Greco is a migrant hotspot, well known for its impressive falls of migrant birds and rarities during the spring months. The coastal scrub that adorns the hillside holds many short staying passage migrants, and it was here that we were hoping to connect with the Ruppell’s Warblers that had so far eluded us during the trip – especially as counts of up to 18 males had been logged here just a couple of weeks prior.

The picturesque Agioi Anargyroi Chapel

Parking up beside Agioi Anargyroi chapel, we set to work exploring the nearby scrub, a pair of Cyprus Warblers giving away their location with their constant harsh chakking calls as several Chiffchaffs flitted through the gorse below. 

Cyprus Warbler

The scratchy song of a male Sardinian Warbler filled the air and it wasn’t long before we had our first Masked Shrike of the trip, an impressive adult perched on one of the small pines, making several sallying flights out for small insect and reptile prey.

Masked Shrike - Having only seen a juvenile previously (at Spurn in Yorkshire) it was nice to finally connect with an adult bird

Walking up the slope to the viewpoint at the top of the hill resulted in an all too brief perched Cretzchmar’s Bunting before it flushed out of sight, while almost every other bush seemed to hold a skulking Nightingale or Lesser Whitethroat lurking unobtrusively within.

Sadly however, after a few hours spent searching we drew a blank on the Ruppell’s front once more, and after a quick stop at the chapel we headed across to the fields next to the sea, a single female Cyprus Pied Wheatear at close range all we could unearth for our efforts.

Acquiring some intel from local birders at the Cape Greco Visitor Centre that the nearby pines had held some interesting migrants that morning, we decided to give it a shot, hoping to relocate the Semi-collared Flycatcher and female Ruppell’s that someone else had seen there that morning.

Sadly, despite us and another birder looking, the pines were hopelessly deserted by the time we’d got there, and after an intense search only a handful of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and a female Cyprus Warbler were all we unearthed (as well as a new hatred for pines). The adjoining scrubland revealed a pair of nesting Spectacled Warblers that we left in peace, while a familiar bubbling call directly overhead revealed a flock of Bee-eaters making landfall fresh in off the sea (sadly no Blue-cheeked amongst them).

With Cape Greco itself being unusually quiet, we cut our losses and headed over to the next site of the day, Ayia Napa Sewage Works. Again, with a depressing pattern emerging, what is normally billed as a great site for migrants was exceptionally quiet during our visit, with just the usual Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers feeding amongst the pollen. Thankfully, our journey to the eastern side of Cyprus hadn’t been in vain, as a single Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler flitting in the willows at the side of the track salvaged what had been an entirely unsuccessful morning up until this point, the green-tinted tertials and silky white underparts differing from the assorted Chiffchaffs. 

At this point the road became decidedly more and more potholed, and it was with careful navigation that Alex manoeuvred the hire car to the end of the track unscathed. Rather less fortunate was the fact we had come to an abrupt dead end, the only route leading back to the exit road passing through the private and gated water treatment works. With a staff member having spotted us and denied all entry, we were forced to make a return drive the way we came, navigating the deep pot holes and steep water channels once more, stopping to scope several Ferruginous Ducks and Black-necked Grebes bobbing on the sewage works pools.

The gravel track surrounding the sewage works

With the afternoon pressing on we headed to our final site of the day – Oroklini Lake, a fantastic reserve just north of Larnaca. Before we’d even arrived several Spur-winged Plovers showed off at the side of the road (Oroklini Lake is a hotspot for this species), while several egrets powered overhead. Checking out the hide overlooking one of the pools revealed several more Spur-winged Plovers roosting in the reeds, while a small handful of Black-winged Stilts gingerly picked their way through the mud.

Scanning the water soon resulted in several new ducks for the trip with Red-crested Pochard, Garganey, Pintail, Teal and Shoveler all in attendance, while a distant Black Francolin belted out its rasping call behind us. Scanning the fields, Alex somehow managed to pick it out, stood on a low stone wall in the distance and enabling the briefest of record shots! 

Black Fancolin - a distant and blurry record shot!!

With the Francolin staying put and looking like it was next to the main road, we headed off in that direction in an attempt to secure better views, but upon reaching the field in question it appeared to have gone, just a lone Chukar roaming through the stubble as consolation. 

Chukar

Xrisosotiros Akanthous church near Oroklini

A pair of extremely showy Spur-winged Plovers right next to the road also gave our cameras a workout providing our best views of the trip, but with no further birds of note from the second hide we decided to make the long journey back to Paphos, just one new bird to show for our excursion. 

Spur-winged Plover

Never the less the Eastern Bonelli’s transpired to be the only individual we saw all trip, and despite the lack of our target birds during our visit, Cape Greco headland has huge potential to reveal some truly great birds given persistent coverage during peak migration times.