Paphos Sewage Works

The threat of thunderstorms this afternoon (which never materialised) convinced us to stay around the house rather than venture too far. However I wanted to visit Paphos sewage works at some stage during our holiday (who wouldn't?), but for some reason which I couldn't quite fathom, Elaine wasn't overjoyed at the prospect and it was made perfectly clear to me that the only way I was going to get to see this inexplicably off the tourist route taste of the real Cyprus was to go on my own. So this afternoon it seemed a good opportunity to leave her reading by the pool while I visited this top birding site. And taste it I could....

Almost immediately I got there I spotted five spur-winged plovers sitting on one of the walls. These were a major target species for me, having visited Cyprus back in 1996 and dipped on the species then. Today I counted at least 14 birds and at one stage they all flew around calling, right overhead. A fantastic sight. Other birds here included a single black kite, two green sandpipers and eight cattle egrets. There were almost certainly red-throated pipits in with the pipit flock, but they were too far away for me without a scope.

On the way back to Nata I came across an impressive flock of around 80 stone curlew.

Spur-winged plover.

Hang on a minute, I thought that this was a sewage works? Seriously though, what a stunning bird.

Cattle egret

Stone curlew