Normally when I'm abroad I dismiss the larger gulls as irrelevant but with so many splits these days I've paid more attention this time, and it's paid dividends with two new species for me.
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Another Armenian Gull
This photo, from the same set as yesterday from Lady's Mile, shows another adult Armenian gull. Compare this photo with the one of the 3cy flapping its wings in the first photo from yesterday.The bill has the same black band, the head looks like it's the same shape and the wing tips look the same(almost completely black and triangular with very small mirrors) but this bird has a slightly larger mirror on P9.
Normally when I'm abroad I dismiss the larger gulls as irrelevant but with so many splits these days I've paid more attention this time, and it's paid dividends with two new species for me.
Normally when I'm abroad I dismiss the larger gulls as irrelevant but with so many splits these days I've paid more attention this time, and it's paid dividends with two new species for me.
Saturday, 13 December 2014
Lady's Mile gull fest
This morning the rain was torrential so we hung around the house for a few hours. When it cleared we headed off to the Akrotiri Peninsular, starting at the huge salt lake. This is one of the best birding sites in Cyprus, but I've never done particularly well here. Even so, today there was an impressive flock of about 1600 greater flamingos, but they were a long way out on the lake.
Next we headed to Zakaki Marsh. There's been a striated heron here, as recently as yesterday, but there was no sign of it today, making it the first major dip of the holiday. I wasn't too worried about it though, I didn't actually think I'd even get the opportunity to try for it. There were a few water pipits here, a marsh harrier, kingfisher, water rail and two little egrets.
Then we continued onto Lady's Mile and here amongst the gull flock I was delighted to find my first ever Caspian gull. I took a few photos, and when I looked at them later I realised that there was also a Armenian gull alongside the Caspian! Another new bird for me!
I've spoken via email with the BirdLife Cyprus Bird Recorder, and she has taken a look at these photos and confirmed that I have got my id's correct, they do show Caspian and Armenian gulls.
There has also been a discussion about these birds here on Bird Forums, where the identity of each has been confirmed.
Nice to find them and identify them for myself, and even better to have them confirmed. I don't pretend to be a gull expert!
To put this into context, yesterday there were 20 Caspian gulls and 10 Armenian gulls reported from Lady's Mile.
I've never seen one before, but this is a classic Caspian gull, probably 2nd calander year. Note the ridiculously long bill and pear shaped head. This bird is on all of the following gull photos.
The top right bird is a third winter Armenian gull.
The top left bird is an adult Armenian gull. No sure what the bird on the right is, it looks too small to be Armenian to me. Possibly 2nd cy yellow legged gull?
Now the adult Armenian and 2cy Caspian gulls are in the middle, but what's the bird in the foreground? My best bet is a first winter Armenian gull.
Here's a close up of the Armenian gull. Notice the flat looking head, the stubby looking parallel sided bill with a black band near the tip. Also the dark eye. Compare this quite friendly looking profile with that of the vicious looking Caspian gull in the first photo.
These are the same three birds as in the previous photo.
Water pipit.
Limassol harbour.
Akrotiri salt lake with Limassol behind.
Next we headed to Zakaki Marsh. There's been a striated heron here, as recently as yesterday, but there was no sign of it today, making it the first major dip of the holiday. I wasn't too worried about it though, I didn't actually think I'd even get the opportunity to try for it. There were a few water pipits here, a marsh harrier, kingfisher, water rail and two little egrets.
Then we continued onto Lady's Mile and here amongst the gull flock I was delighted to find my first ever Caspian gull. I took a few photos, and when I looked at them later I realised that there was also a Armenian gull alongside the Caspian! Another new bird for me!
I've spoken via email with the BirdLife Cyprus Bird Recorder, and she has taken a look at these photos and confirmed that I have got my id's correct, they do show Caspian and Armenian gulls.
There has also been a discussion about these birds here on Bird Forums, where the identity of each has been confirmed.
Nice to find them and identify them for myself, and even better to have them confirmed. I don't pretend to be a gull expert!
To put this into context, yesterday there were 20 Caspian gulls and 10 Armenian gulls reported from Lady's Mile.
I've never seen one before, but this is a classic Caspian gull, probably 2nd calander year. Note the ridiculously long bill and pear shaped head. This bird is on all of the following gull photos.
The top right bird is a third winter Armenian gull.
The top left bird is an adult Armenian gull. No sure what the bird on the right is, it looks too small to be Armenian to me. Possibly 2nd cy yellow legged gull?
Now the adult Armenian and 2cy Caspian gulls are in the middle, but what's the bird in the foreground? My best bet is a first winter Armenian gull.
Here's a close up of the Armenian gull. Notice the flat looking head, the stubby looking parallel sided bill with a black band near the tip. Also the dark eye. Compare this quite friendly looking profile with that of the vicious looking Caspian gull in the first photo.
These are the same three birds as in the previous photo.
Water pipit.
Limassol harbour.
Akrotiri salt lake with Limassol behind.
Friday, 12 December 2014
The Wallcreeper Experience, Avakas Gorge
We chose the worst day so far for weather to visit the Avakas Gorge, just north of Paphos. It's a spectacular place, a limestone gorge in which the river, fed from the Troodos mountains, has cut vertically down over the millennia, to leave a gorge over 100m deep yet as narrow as 3m wide in places. It had a particular attraction for me because it has a host of rare plants, and in winter, is usually home to a wallcreeper or two, a species which I have spectacularly managed to avoid on umpteen visits to the mountains of Europe over the past 30 years. A major bogey bird in other words.
We set out in bright, warm sunshine, and laughed at the sign which read something like "Warning: beware falling rocks . On rainy days the river may swell and increase in depth suddenly. Enter at your own risk".....
Half an hour later the walls of the gorge were so close that we could nearly touch both sides at the same time and we were walking along the river bed and clambering over boulders over a metre high. A few spots of rain began to fall, and by the time we reached the pinnacle where the gorge opened out, the rain was falling heavy, the sky was black and it was thundering. We sheltered near the pinnacle and ate our lunch. I was cursing inside, because I knew that really we should head back and that I had no chance of getting back here this holiday. The wallcreeper curse had struck again apparently. I desperately scanned the towering cliff face above as I ate my lunch and the rain continued to pour.
After lunch we continued for perhaps another 100m before I heard the words I had dreaded: "I think we should turn back". I had a last scan around, and turned back. We had only just reached the main area for wallcreeper and I'd spent maybe 10 minutes scanning the cliffs for a bird which I knew was probably there and which I'd spent 30 years trying to find.
I kept scanning as we walked back, looking up all of the time and stumbling over roots and boulders made treacherously slippy by the rain, which had now begun to ease. Still nothing. Then suddenly I couldn't believe my eyes. Just at the point where we were about to disappear into the narrow section of gorge again, at the very point where all hope would be lost, there it was, a wallcreeper, fluttering about the cliff face like a large grey and red butterfly! The relief was incredible. My day had gone from abject failure to delirious success in the space of 10 seconds! We stood and watched it for perhaps five minutes before it flew off around the cliff and was lost to sight. Fantastic! At last!
We stumbled and slipped our way back through the gorge. There was a huge crash just behind us as a boulder fell from high and landed in the river. I was half expecting to hear the rushing torrent of a flash flood approaching, but we couldn't go any faster. At last the shadow of the cliffs disappeared and the sun came out again and we were through the gorge. What an experience! But I have no plans to back....
On the way into the gorge, we saw a falcon which looked sooty grey both above and below, which looked to all the World like a male red-footed falcon, and in the gorge a raptor flew over which I reckon was long-legged buzzard, but neither were good enough views to confirm the identification.
Wallcreeper.
Maidenhair fern sp. growing in the gorge.
Probably the rarest plant in the gorge, this is Centaurea akamantis, a Cyprus endemic which is apparently virtually restricted to the gorge. Gone to seed now I'm afraid, but still nice to see.
Now this is Cyprus cyclamen! Notice the purple 'M' on the base of the flower. Having seen this I'm now no longer confident that the cyclamen we saw at the Tombs of the Kings was Cyprus cyclamen. I'll have to check when I get back.
We set out in bright, warm sunshine, and laughed at the sign which read something like "Warning: beware falling rocks . On rainy days the river may swell and increase in depth suddenly. Enter at your own risk".....
Half an hour later the walls of the gorge were so close that we could nearly touch both sides at the same time and we were walking along the river bed and clambering over boulders over a metre high. A few spots of rain began to fall, and by the time we reached the pinnacle where the gorge opened out, the rain was falling heavy, the sky was black and it was thundering. We sheltered near the pinnacle and ate our lunch. I was cursing inside, because I knew that really we should head back and that I had no chance of getting back here this holiday. The wallcreeper curse had struck again apparently. I desperately scanned the towering cliff face above as I ate my lunch and the rain continued to pour.
After lunch we continued for perhaps another 100m before I heard the words I had dreaded: "I think we should turn back". I had a last scan around, and turned back. We had only just reached the main area for wallcreeper and I'd spent maybe 10 minutes scanning the cliffs for a bird which I knew was probably there and which I'd spent 30 years trying to find.
I kept scanning as we walked back, looking up all of the time and stumbling over roots and boulders made treacherously slippy by the rain, which had now begun to ease. Still nothing. Then suddenly I couldn't believe my eyes. Just at the point where we were about to disappear into the narrow section of gorge again, at the very point where all hope would be lost, there it was, a wallcreeper, fluttering about the cliff face like a large grey and red butterfly! The relief was incredible. My day had gone from abject failure to delirious success in the space of 10 seconds! We stood and watched it for perhaps five minutes before it flew off around the cliff and was lost to sight. Fantastic! At last!
We stumbled and slipped our way back through the gorge. There was a huge crash just behind us as a boulder fell from high and landed in the river. I was half expecting to hear the rushing torrent of a flash flood approaching, but we couldn't go any faster. At last the shadow of the cliffs disappeared and the sun came out again and we were through the gorge. What an experience! But I have no plans to back....
On the way into the gorge, we saw a falcon which looked sooty grey both above and below, which looked to all the World like a male red-footed falcon, and in the gorge a raptor flew over which I reckon was long-legged buzzard, but neither were good enough views to confirm the identification.
Wallcreeper.
Maidenhair fern sp. growing in the gorge.
Now this is Cyprus cyclamen! Notice the purple 'M' on the base of the flower. Having seen this I'm now no longer confident that the cyclamen we saw at the Tombs of the Kings was Cyprus cyclamen. I'll have to check when I get back.
More Hawfinches
At least 20 hawfinches showing well and seven chukar whilst walking the dog this morning.
Thursday, 11 December 2014
More Finsch's Wheatear at Finikas Village
This morning we walked the dog back to Finikas village on the shore of the Asprokremmos Dam. I could only find one Finsch's wheatear today, but it did at least allow me the opportunity to try to get some better photos. I'm not sure that I managed to get anything much better than on Sunday, but at least some of them are in different poses and show extra features. Also today three chukar and a few black redstarts and Sardinian warblers, but not a lot else.
You can see in this photo and some of the others that the birds crown and back is actually very pale buff rather than pure white.
This photo and the one above are as close as I could get to showing the birds tail pattern, which is basically an inverted, clean cut, capital T.
This frog looks like it is one of the marsh/pool/edible frog complex, which is indeed very complex. In some cases they are separable by range, but where they overlap they can even hybridise, making identification very difficult. It seems pretty straight forward in this case, Cyprus apparently only has three species of amphibians, green toad, tree frog and this, Cyprus marsh frog Pelophylax cypriensis, which apparently was recently split from Levant water frog and therefore becomes yet another Cyprus endemic.
You can see in this photo and some of the others that the birds crown and back is actually very pale buff rather than pure white.
This photo and the one above are as close as I could get to showing the birds tail pattern, which is basically an inverted, clean cut, capital T.
This frog looks like it is one of the marsh/pool/edible frog complex, which is indeed very complex. In some cases they are separable by range, but where they overlap they can even hybridise, making identification very difficult. It seems pretty straight forward in this case, Cyprus apparently only has three species of amphibians, green toad, tree frog and this, Cyprus marsh frog Pelophylax cypriensis, which apparently was recently split from Levant water frog and therefore becomes yet another Cyprus endemic.
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
The Paphos Mosaics
A quieter day today. We visited the Roman mosaics at Paphos, which were very impressive and amongst the finest in the World apparently. The site is also pretty good for birds, with the highlight today being a flock of about 20 Woodlarks. There were also plenty of Sardinian warblers, Spanish sparrows, fan-tailed warblers, black redstarts, stonechats, crested larks and hooded crows.
Still no sign of the Cyprus endemics, Cyprus warbler or Cyprus wheatear. The latter is probably long since gone from these shores, on its wintering grounds until next spring, but the warbler is still around in reasonable numbers, or so I'm reliably informed. Still no black francolin either, which although not endemic, is here in its only European stronghold. I have been to Cyprus before though, and did see all of these endemics then, so it wouldn't be disastrous to miss out on them this time, and I wouldn't swap them for the three new species I have had so far, but would still be nice to see them again.
Woodlark, always a good find, even on the continent.
Spanish sparrow.
One of the mosaics.
Paphos
I could get used to waking up to this view every day. Not bad for the middle of December!
Still no sign of the Cyprus endemics, Cyprus warbler or Cyprus wheatear. The latter is probably long since gone from these shores, on its wintering grounds until next spring, but the warbler is still around in reasonable numbers, or so I'm reliably informed. Still no black francolin either, which although not endemic, is here in its only European stronghold. I have been to Cyprus before though, and did see all of these endemics then, so it wouldn't be disastrous to miss out on them this time, and I wouldn't swap them for the three new species I have had so far, but would still be nice to see them again.
One of the mosaics.
Paphos
I could get used to waking up to this view every day. Not bad for the middle of December!
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
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
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
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