Julian Weldrick 1945-2014

As many of you will have heard, sadly Julian (baycityroller- to some) passed away peacefully after a long illness on Sunday 18th at St. David's Hospice with his family by his side.  He was laid to rest today at Llanrhos after a service recalling his twitching, local birding and ringing jaunts.  It was fitting that the area around the Church was buzzing with House Martins and Swallows.     

Julian was a life-long birder originating from Manchester. He was heavily involved in setting up the Connahs Quay reserve when he moved to North Wales.  He was also interested in moths and dragonflies and more recently contributed to the various blogs and forums on both subjects.  He got as excited as most in finding a county first or other good local records and he always liked a good ID challenge, often helping me out when I was stuck.

Julian enjoyed birding and made the most of it right up until last Christmas, watching the Hoopoe at Pensarn and Buff Bellied Pipit at Burton.  Despite being ill I never heard him grumble and if I bumped into him on the reserve we'd take twice as long going round chatting as we went.  We'll all have our personal memories but I'll remember him at Rhos Point enjoying the worst the weather could throw at him on an autumn seawatch, hoping for a passing skua or petrel. 

He was highly regarded on the local birding scene and will be missed greatly.  Our thoughts are with his family. May he rest in peace.

Robin 

Welsh Bird Race - May 25th 2014 - Can we beat the record?

So the current record for a May bird race in Wales in 143. This was set on 18th May 2008 by Marc Hughes, Chris Jones, Mike Duckham, Rob Sandham and Dewi Edwards. Back in the 1980's, a Welsh bird race featuring more than 120 was considered a good day, so 143 was astonishing. This record has yet to be broken, and the closest I personally have come was 133 back in 2012 featuring 3 of the current record holders. But as we all know, records are made to be broken!
As a result, 2014 was well thought out and following a relatively similar route to the record breaking day of 2008, we had a target set of 144. So how did we do?

Well, before I get to that, I'll paint a picture of what the day actually entailed.

I had intended on getting an early night the night before, but a late goal from Sergio Ramos put a stop to that! In the end, I think I actually fell asleep at about 1am (a mixture of excitement and the worry of not waking up to my alarm!) which made my 01:30 alarm seem all the more hideous! How was I going to last in a 24 hour bird race on 30 minutes sleep! Well, I didn't know, but a quick shower, cereal and some sandwich's made, I was picked up outside at 02:40 by Derek Evans and we rushed over to RSPB Conwy to meet Marc Hughes, Mike Duckham and Henry Cook. This was the first time an NGB was officially in the Welsh Bird Race, so I was keen to make an impact! We pressed 'go' on the bird race with a calling Water Rail, Sedge Warbler, Greylag Goose and Oystercatcher at 03:06.

Dawn birding on World's End

We started the first hour in a car, adding nothing to the list except a singing Robin and Blackbird before we arrived at our first major stop: World's End. (Well they do often say, the best stories start at the end! Then again, do they say that or have I just made that up?) Here we picked up some bird race goodies, such as Red Grouse, Whinchat, Red-legged Partridge, Tree Pipit, Bullfinch (a species that regularly gets missed!) and best of all Black Grouse. The site is famous for it and you couldn't go anywhere without hearing that fantastic bubbling and hissing of the lekking males...superb! Leaving World's End with 47 species on the list, it didn't take long to pick up Starling, House Sparrow and Lesser Black-backed Gull taking us to 50 by 06:08.

Adding Coal Tit to the list and getting remarkably excited...this is why bird races are brilliant!

Next stop was Shotwick boating lake, which is about as close to the English border as it's possible. Half the birds we saw here were in England on Burton Mere Wetland RSPB, but we were in Wales...so it counted! A shout of 'Spoonbill!' saw me get on the bird as it fed in long juncus, swaying its head side to side. Something wasn't quite right though, which was soon evident when it lifted it's head and revealed a small orange bill! It was an 'Aylesbury Duck'! Potentially the mis-ID of the century! Things got a lot better with flying Avocet, Yellow Wagtail, Black-tailed Godwit, Teal (very hard to get at this time of year in North Wales!) and Wigeon. Mike came up with the bird of the site though by scanning a small pool and picking up a fantastic drake Garganey. Brilliant! That took us up to 75 species by 07.08.

Next stop, Gronant to visit the Little Tern colony. Here we got a couple of seabirds such as Gannet, Common Scoter, Sandwich Tern and a fantastic flock of at least 300 Little Tern, plus a bonus Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the dunes.

Now, to a place, I didn't really even know existed: Bodelwyddan Castle. Here we saw one of my favourite species: Marsh Tit, plus Jay and Long-tailed Tit. Two species that can be really easy to miss on birdraces.

Needless to say, we'd covered quite a lot of habitat at this point and the site visits seemed to be only picking up one or two birds, but there was still a lot of quality to add. A very very brief stop at Llanbedr-y-cennin saw 2 Hawfinch fly over calling, literally 10 seconds after setting foot out the car. Brilliant! Heading up onto the fields above Llanbedr, we got our 100th species at 10:35. Yellowhammer! Again, a bird in North Wales that are very few and far between.

Moving down the coast, we stopped off at Llanfairfechan to try and gain a diver sp to the list. This didn't disappoint with 9 species added to the tally including loads of Red-throated Diver, 3 species of auk, Common Gull (try and reliably see Common Gull in May in North Wales away from Aber Ogwen or Llanfairfechan...It's not easy!), but potentially the highlight of the day came from Marc who picked up a flying female/immature Velvet Scoter at 12:27. I soon got onto it as it flew into the bay with a couple of thousand unseasonal Common Scoter. What a cracking bird with massive white speclums!

I was nervous for the next bit... I was in charge! Some of you may know that I am studying a Research Masters at Bangor Uni specialising in Twite in the Nant Ffrancon Valley. It would be rude not to pay the valley a visit, so we did. I had a few targets set in my mind: Twite, Ring Ouzel, Common Sandpiper, Wheatear, Green Woodpecker and Wood Warbler. First off, we made a stop at the mouth of the valley and got a calling Wood Warbler. Next, we looked for Green Woodpecker and had our hopes raised by a few undulating Mistle Thrush, but sadly no peckers! The day prior, I was in the valley doing fieldwork and a bit of a raccay. I promised a 99% chance of Twite, a 90% chance of Ring Ouzel and a 100% chance of Common Sandpiper, however the previous day, I had to try really really hard to see a Wheatear...I was worried. Stepping out the car, I was pleased to hear a singing Ring Ouzel and within a few minutes, we'd picked up two Twite in almost the exact spot I said they'd be in! A Common Sandpiper was singing around us too. Leaving the valley, we made a mad stop on the A5 as Henry spotted a Wheatear. This was actually the only Wheatear we saw all day! We left the mainland on 120 species by 13:30 (I'd been awake for 12 hours at this point!)

 Orange, Blue, Lime - One of two Twite that featured in the bird race.

The very rare looking breeding Northern Wheatears lacking almost any orange.

Anglesey is a must for any Welsh bird race (ok, maybe not if you're basing your race around Pembrokshire). We had a target list of about 20 species which would take us to 140 and dangerously close to the Welsh record of 143!

As I said though, we had all been awake for 12 hours at this point, so a quick pit stop was in order. Our first Anglesey stop was at Penrhos Coastal Park. Yes, because it has the chance for decent waders and also because it has a really good burger van! We gave the incoming tide a really good luck and Henry picked up what looked like a black rock on the other side of the bay and claimed it looked like a Brent Goose. As Brent Goose had never been seen on a May bird race before and this must've been almost a kilometre away, I was somewhat sceptical, but the rock suddenly started to waddle and the sun caught it revealing a pale belly. It was a Pale-bellied Brent Goose! We also had Arctic and Common Tern here too. Next stop was South Stack which saw us pick up Puffin, Rock Pipit, Peregrine and Kittiwake.

The collie at Penrhos whom is the perfect tool to bring in the customers to give up lots of money! (it worked on me!)
Moving back across Anglesey now, we had Reed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Pochard, Barnacle Goose, Sand Martin and rather surprisingly a drake Ruddy Duck. My first since 2011 (and they were on 'The Reservoir' in Central Park, New York!). It's a shame their libido is so unstoppable because they are stunning birds!

They are both a beauty and a beast!

We made a quick dash to Cemlyn before heading up to the moors above Betws-y-coed. At Cemlyn, we managed Lesser Whitethroat, Mediterranean Gull, Sanderling, Turnstone, Manx Shearwater and a fantastic Little Owl. So that was us leaving Anglesey and we managed 19 ticks taking us to 139! This was already equalling 2013's bird race and we still had quite a few birds left to get. Sadly, we dordled a bit getting off the island trying a couple of spots for Barn Owl, which failed horribly and also meant that we wouldn't be able to get above Betws-y-coed for about 21:20, which meant we weren't able to do the moors looking for Hen Harrier, Short-eared Owl or Merlin, which was really gutting as we'd have to mop up in the Gwydyr for corpuscular and nocturnal species if we wanted to break the record.

Approaching Capel Curig, the heavens opened. This was our worst nightmare! It would mean species like Nightjar and Woodcock might be reluctant to venture out and I can't see owls calling in heavy raing. Luckily, it was just a passing shower and it was relatively nice weather when we got up to the Gwydyr. It wasn't long before we heard our first churring. Nightjar 140. We were set for a decent next couple of birds, so we tried for drumming Sniper, but there was complete silence! There was possibly a very distant roding Woodcock, but we just couldn't clinch it. We decided we'd call it a night and we might get lucky on the drive back to Conwy. As luck would have it, Mike opened his window and heard the characteristic hissing of juveile Tawny Owls. 141!

Despite being tantalisingly close to the record, but there were no likely species we could now try for, so getting back to the other car at Conwy RSPB at 11:30, we called it a day with 141 species which is the 2nd highest 24hr Welsh May Bird Race ever. I'll take that!

There are always some species that you should really have got on a bird race and this year was no exception. Try as we might, we couldn't get Sparrowhawk or Spotted Flycatcher, despite lots of trying and Marc and I seeing a Sparrowhawk fly over the A55 but no one else saw it, so we couldn't count it!

Thanks to Marc for driving and the rest of the team for the gen and making it so brilliant!

Species List: 141
Arctic Tern
Avocet
Barnacle Goose
Black Grouse
Black Guillemot
Blackbird
Blackcap
Black-headed Gull
Black-tailed Godwit
Blue Tit
Brent Goose
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Cetti's Warbler
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Chough
Coal Tit
Collared Dove
Common Gull
Common Sandpiper
Common Scoter
Common Tern
Coot
Cormorant
Cuckoo
Curlew
Dartford
Dipper
Dunlin
Dunnock
Eider
Feral Pigeon
Fulmar
Gadwall
Gannet
Garden Warbler
Garganey
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Goosander
Grasshopper Warbler
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Crested Grebe
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Greylag
Guillemot
Hawfinch
Herring Gull
House Martin
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Jay
Kestrel
Kittiwake
Lapwing
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Whitethroat
Linnet
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Little Owl
Little Tern
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Manx Shearwater
Marsh Tit
Meadow Pipit
Mediterranean Gull
Mistle Thrush
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Nightjar
Nuthatch
Oystercatcher
Peregrine
Pheasant
Pied Flycatcher
Pied Wagtail
Pochard
Puffin
Raven
Razorbill
Red Grouse
Red Kite
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-legged Partridge
Redpoll
Redshank
Redstart
Red-throated Diver
Reed Bunting
Reed Warbler
Ring Ouzel
Ringed Plover
Robin
Rock Pipit
Rook
Ruddy Duck
Sand Martin
Sanderling
Sandwich Tern
Sedge Warbler
Shag
Shelduck
Shoveler
Siskin
Skylark
Song Thrush
Starling
Stock Dove
Stonechat
Swallow
Swift
Tawny Owl
Teal
Tree Pipit
Treecreeper
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Twite
Velvet Scoter
Water Rail
Wheatear
Whimbrel
Whinchat
Whitethroat
Wigeon
Willow Warbler
Wood Warbler
Woodpigeon
Wren
Yellow Wagtail
Yellowhammer

Little Stint at Cemlyn

Here's some shots of the Little Stint David Wright found at Cemlyn today. It's with the waders on the east side of the Trwyn on the muddy shore. There's also some smart looking Turnstones and Sanderling amongst the Dunlin.

BLACK STORK over Conwy and Colwyn Bay

Absolutely bonkers.  I was pottering at home and heard the gulls go up to the west over Conwy and looked up expecting an Osprey but the bird had a long neck and was very big...STORK. Panic!!! The gulls were going mad and swirling for a kilometre radius.
I didn't have my bins or scope so grabbed the camera and fired randomly.  My zoom reel on the camera is broken so i had to stick the card in the laptop to see what I had suspecting BLACK STORK.  Zooming in i could just make out red bill, black neck and white body.  I was ringing round the most likely birders to be close by and luckily Henry got a better pic as it continued east over Colwyn Bay.
Gutted for those who were local and still missed it but hope it gets picked up again locally.  A heavy rain cloud went through after it so maybe it was tracking ahead of it but it was relatively low and looked to be dropping.
my initial pics: 

And Henry's clincher!

Robin

Eyes to the skies!

There's been good numbers of continental raptors passing through the UK today. One spot in Cornwall had 4 Black Kites, 2 Honey Buzzards and 50-odd Red Kites. In North Wales Zac had 4 Red Kites over Bangor, on Anglesey Sion Jones and John Mc, had Red kite over Llansadwrn between 4.40 and 6pm. Tony White had a dark Raptor at Cemlyn - Hen Borth in the evening. It was seen flying into the sun but sounded like either a Marsh Harrier or Black Kite. So eyes to the skies tomorrow!

Llay Pool, shootings and birds

First the good news. An arctic tern present for the last two days is a good Wrexham bird, and a local Wrexham county tick for me. Young greylag, mallard and coots. Pairs of oystercatcher, LRP and lapwings around. Green woodie, garden warbler, willow warblers and whitethroats galore. Now the bad. Recent reports of people shooting birds here. Someone was seen shooting at swallows and it appears that the cracking Slav grebe present earlier in the year may well have been shot dead! Added to this the constant disturbance from dog walkers meaning that the breeding lapwings (there was at least 6 birds sitting)are all likely to fail again. Very frustrating!

Great White Egret still there today - Wednesday 14th May

David Wright just had the Great White Egret again at Cors Erddreiniog (near Brynteg) . Its showing well on the east side of the fen. It's in the area where peat was extracted, just North of the pool and hide.

Great White Egret - last week.

Belated news came in today of a Great White Egret at Cors Erddreiniog on Anglesey a week ago last tuesday. It may still be in the area as it hasn't been looked for since.

Cemlyn Today

A bit of news from David the warden. Spot fly new in plus Whinchat, Yellow Wag and Skylark in the Cemlyn/Hen Borth area today.

Young Dippers

After a soggy morning in Snowdonia yesterday the highlight was a family party of Dippers. Dippers are currently with fledgling young at the moment and there plumage is absolutely fantastic so it is worth getting down to your local Dipper streams in North Wales to check them out. With their scalyness there is definately something Zoother-esque about them!

Bits n bobs

A Roseate tern was coming and going at Cemlyn again today and there were 3 Summer plumaged Purple sands on the tip of the Trwyn. Down on the Lleyn Eddie has three Spot flys over the pool half-way down Porth Meudwy, Aberdaron.

Whinchat and Whimbrel

There's still decent numbers of Whimbrel on the Trwyn at Cemlyn especially at high tide. I also had a female Whinchat past Hen Borth near the Little Owl building this evening. In Beddmanarch bay today from Newlands Parc there were around 20 Barwits including a full Breeding adult. It's just a shame it was a bit distant.

Skua surprise

I had a great morning's birding with Eddie today. Started at Cricieth in the hope of some skuas following last nights wind and rain. Plenty of Manxies out there but all distant. Moving on to Morfa Bychan the birds were much closer with terns  Gannets kittiwakes and Manxes in big numbers in the estuary mouth  and further out. I couldn't believe it when a distant skua I'd picked up flew closer to revealed itself as Long tailed. Very unexpected  - especially as it was the only skua we saw. It chased a tern briefly  which baffled me slightly - I've only seen them dip feeding in the past. It disappeared amongst the waves but reappeared again much closer half an hour later before moving off west  over the breakers.
What a stunning bird! I managed a few snaps at full zoom and looking through the pictures this evening  it just struck again what a beautifully  built, aesthetically  pleasing  creature it was. Whatever pose it was caught in is looked perfect for a logo! It just couldn't look bad whatever it did. The again, maybe I'm biased

 


A little tern joined the Arctic and Sandwich terns feeding in front of us before hypothermia set in  and we headed inland to Cae Dafydd near Nantmor. Here we  had nice views of Pied fly, redstarts and tree pipits as well as hearing a few wood warblers before finishing with a panad in Caffi Gwynant -  a great day out

Swifts and Whimbrel

I had Swifts back over their breeding sites in Llangefni, Amlwch and Coedana on the 6th May and 21 Whimbrel at Cemlyn tonight (8th) on the Trwyn.

Southern Cyprus: April 12th - 22nd 2014

I recently spent 10 days in southern Cyprus from 12^th to 22^nd April, based in Pafos on the south-western coast.  Located in the far corner of the eastern Mediterranean with Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Syria to the east and Egypt to the south Cyprus is a tantalising location for mixing it amongst many species that are rare or scarce in the UK plus the endemic breeding species and races.  Due to its more southerly location, spring migration through Cyprus tends to peak in early April and this was evident during our time there, with a marked reduction in the number of birds towards the end of the stay.  Considering this was a holiday with the Mrs it was never going to be a full-on birding extravaganza so I was pleasantly surprised to encounter 114 species during our visit!

We flew with EasyJet from Manchester to Pafos and hired a car.  Driving is on the left, which is handy for British and Irish birders, but I would recommend anyone doing a birding trip to hire a 4x4 as many of the tracks to the birding sites are pretty rough going (even impassable) in a standard car.

Dave Gosney’s ‘Finding Birds in Southern Cyprus’ (cheers Rhys) and ‘Birdwatching in Cyprus; a brief guide for visitors to the island’ (a free booklet that I found on the Internet - not sure who the author is but it was a great resource) were very useful for gen, although inevitably a little out-dated in places now.  I also gleaned some information from several others who had visited previously – cheers all (and special thanks to Andy for returning Si’s DVD in time!).  The weather was excellent on the whole (perhaps too good for any big falls) with the exception of 1.5 days when it rained to remind us of home.

Day 1: 13/04/14

After arriving at our Pafos hotel at 10pm the previous night today was spent exploring Pafos, starting with a morning visit to the famous Pafos headland UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Much of the published gen for accessing this site refers to ‘secret’ openings in the perimeter fence which can be used to save spending on the entrance fee (4 Euros).  I failed to find any openings (just evidence of previous holes that had been secured), but I was happy to contribute to the upkeep of this fascinating site by paying the entrance fee.

En route to the headland we passed through a small piece of land that had been left to the flowers and holm oaks, one of which contained a smart male Collared Flycatcher.  Barn Swallows were present in large numbers and included a possible ‘transitiva’ type, showing more rufous underparts than its congeners.  Sardinian Warblers showed well and were common throughout, as did a couple of Spanish Sparrows (these being much scarcer than the very common House Sparrows).  Walking around the mosaics it soon became apparent that pipits and wagtails were on the move.  20+ Red-throated Pipits were feeding around the ruins, many in their smart summer plumage, and there were smaller numbers of Tree Pipits; the calls of these two species were to become familiar sounds over the next 10 days.  A mobile flock of flava wagtails was feeding among the wildflowers in the Odeon area and contained numerous feldegg (Black-headed) along with thunbergi (Grey-headed), ‘dombrowskii’ types and nominate flava (Blue-headed), providing a great education in all things flava.  Other birds of note included a Red-rumped Swallow and 2 singing Nightingales.

 Pafos headland

A walk along the waterfront in search of some lunch produced 3 Squacco Herons and 2 Little Egrets looking out of place as they rested on some rocks in the harbour.  Returning to the headland later in the afternoon there seemed to have been an arrival of wheatears represented by several Northerns alongside at least 3 ‘Eastern’ Black-eareds for comparison.  Whinchats were moving too with at least 5 seen.  Four more Collared Flycatchers (two males and two females) were also showing well and giving away their presence with their distinctive ‘eehp’ call.  70+ Glossy Ibis hugged the coastline as they flew north-west in a tight flock.

 Collared Flycatcher was virtually the first bird of the trip!

 Red-throated Pipits were one of the commonest migrants, along with smaller numbers of Black-eared Wheatears

Day 2: 14/04/14

Today we headed to the Akamas peninsula on the north-west tip of southern Cyprus.  From the popular tourist trap of Aphrodite’s Pool (a fairly underwhelming wooded pool among the rocks) we walked the 6km Aphrodite Trail (much more satisfying!) and also called in at the Smigies picnic area and Agias Minas chapel near Neo Chorio.

Just after setting off on the walk the first Chukars were heard on the opposite side of the valley, but refused to show.  A little further up a monotonous buzzing song gave away the first Cyprus Wheatear, with at least 14 more logged along the walk; I’d heard these were easy but hadn’t expected them to be so numerous.  While watching the pair of wheatears a larger black and white bird zipped across and landed on some Thorny Gorse to reveal its identity as a Masked Shrike.  The local wheatears weren’t so keen on its presence though and soon started mobbing it.  Towards the end of the walk we passed a camp site which is renowned for turning up good numbers of migrants and this proved to be true.  An Eastern Olivaceous Warbler was singing and showing nicely in some Tamarisks as we entered the site and plenty of birds were making good use of the trees dotted around the camp site, especially ficedula flycatchers (10+ Collared and 5+ Pied Flycatchers) along with 6 Tree Pipit, 3 Whinchat, a female Whitethroat, a Wood Warbler and a Woodchat Shrike.

A picnic stop at Smigies resulted in a Cyprus Wheatear showing well around the picnic tables and another Masked Shrike.  I noticed the bird fly in to a nearby pine and start making some harsh calls before flying towards a branch and feed its young in a nest opposite where I was standing.  The nest was surprisingly exposed on the bough but it certainly wasn’t obvious to see unless you knew it was there.  Agias Minas chapel proved to be very good for Red-rumped Swallows with plenty feeding above and a couple of Turtle Dove were also heard.  On the drive back a Hoopoe flew across the road and 3 Rollers were back in, perched on overhead wires.

 Cyprus Wheatears were very easy in any upland habitat - this one was at Smigies picnic site

 This Masked Shrike didn't go down as well with the locals as it did with me!

 

This camp site near Aphrodite's Pool was excellent for migrant passerines

  Masked Shrike nest at Smigies

Day 3: 15/04/14

We started off at Asprokremnos dam with a visit to the famous Aspro Pools and then Nata Ford.  For the afternoon we headed inland to the Troodos mountains.  In the evening we visited Mandria beach, another good migrant spot at the right times.

The Aspro Pools are well known for producing Little and Baillon’s Crakes during migration, but not during our visit as they were completely dry.  Indeed many of the smaller wetland sites were dry, as were the rivers that feed them.  As compensation 2 Chukar flew from some scrub and the first Cyprus Warbler showed well as it gave its scratchy song by the track.  I only saw 3 of these smart Sylvias during the whole trip, with Sardinians being much more common, and they might be in trouble if they continue to be out-competed by the Sardinians.

Nata Ford was mostly dry but a single Wood Sandpiper foraged in some remaining puddles.  The main target here was Black Francolin and I soon heard one belching out its call from a distant field.  I waited a while to no avail, but an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler gave good views as it sang nearby.  Other migrants included a male Blackcap and a singing Reed Warbler.  Returning to the car I heard another Francolin which sounded much closer.  This one did the right thing and perched prominently on a rocky outcrop giving prolonged views and allowing full appreciation of its intricate markings.

 This Black Francolin showed well at Nata Ford

We headed up into the Troodos mountains for the afternoon, which are high enough to receive snow in the winter months.  There are several endemic races of birds on Cyprus, many of which can be found around the village of Troodos, such as Jay, Coal Tit, Crossbill and Short-toed Treecreeper.  Parking in Troodos Square the first of these to be seen was Jay, with several scavenging around a picnic area.  I thought that the higher-pitched call was perhaps a more distinctive difference than their plumage when compared to other European Jays.  We took the Atalante Trail leading from Troodos Square among the Black Pines and Junipers.  This was an excellent trail (although at approximately 18km long is not a handy circular to start in the afternoon; we turned round after a couple of hours!)  A Short-toed ‘Dorothy’s Treecreeper called from an adjacent pine and eventually showed itself.  Coal Tits were pretty common, looking much more sooty-grey than the Cypriotes depicted in Collins.  Along the walk we flushed 3 Chukars and 5+ Woodlarks while small groups of Crag Martins and both Common and Pallid Swifts fed overhead.  Cyprus Wheatears were plentiful once again and the only Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Wrens of the trip were seen up here.  A female Masked Shrike showed well low in a pine and a Hoopoe was heard.  Just before returning to Troodos Square the final target bird showed in the form of 2 Common Crossbills, demonstrating the greyer plumage tone than most European adult birds.

 Troodos Jay

Before returning to the hotel that evening we called in at Mandria beach, with 5 more Chukar seen in a roadside field en route.  The highlight at Mandria was a flock of at least 25 Red-throated Pipits feeding behind the beach and allowing excellent scope views.  Associating with the flock was a mighty fine male Citrine Wagtail, an Isabelline Wheatear and a thunbergi (Grey-headed) Yellow Wagtail.  Further along 20 Short-toed Larks were feeding.  A nice way to end the day!

This habitat behind the beach at Mandria was great for pipits, larks, wheatears and wagtails

Day 4: 16/04/14

Today we followed the coast north-west to Agios Georgios and Lara Beach, and then called in for the Cyprus Scops Owls on the Mavrokolympos Dam road at dusk.

Cape Drepanon at Agios Georgios is another great site for migrants as well as offering seawatching potential.  This combined with it being a generally nice spot meant we made a few return visits over the holiday.  Migrants encountered in the morning included 3 Tawny Pipits, 2 ‘Eastern’ Black-eared Wheatears and a decent flock of flava wagtails, which contained the usual suspects but also a potential ‘superciliaris’; generally considered an intergrade between feldegg and beema/flava and resembling feldegg but with prominent white supercilia.  Two Woodchat Shrikes were also present with 1 singing its strange, wild warble.  The first Ortolan Buntings were seen too, with a small group of 5 pottering about.  I also stumbled across another male Black Francolin here , perched on an earth mound as I rounded a corner, but unsurprisingly deciding not to linger when it saw me.

Getting to the Lara Beach turtle hatchery involved a long, slow drive along an unsurfaced road – definitely one for a 4x4!  The beach is used by Loggerhead and Green Turtles to lay their eggs, but they don’t visit until at least May and today it was being enjoyed by a handful of beach-goers instead.  The slow drive yielded some more good birds though including a flock of around 20 Ortolans, a Hoopoe and the first Spotted Flycatchers.  A flock of about 25 Purple Herons flapped northwards along the coast and a large, brown bird that Mil spotted proved to be a female Montagu’s Harrier, which showed well briefly.

As I hadn’t yet connected with any Long-legged Buzzards we headed inland a bit to Theletrou where a pair are supposed to breed and be fairly easy to see.  True enough on leaving the car I was soon on to a Long-leg as it soared above a small ravine.  It perched up on a dead tree trunk allowing nice scope views before it sailed off once again giving good views of the salient features and surprising me by how much it resembled Rough-legged Buzzard.

Returning to Agios Georgios later in the afternoon I opted to try a seawatch.  The very quiet spells were punctuated with a flock of 35 Glossy Ibis travelling north-west offshore, a distant large shearwater presumed to be Scopoli’s and an Arctic Skua that appeared to be in 3cy plumage heading north fairly close in (apparently a description species here – should have got a photo!).  In addition to the Yellow-legged Gulls that breed on the adjacent island of Geronysos I also had 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls that all appeared to be the nominate fuscus ‘Baltic Gull’ with striking black upperparts.  I never like to use subjective features (like size) with gulls but the light, dainty build was notable compared to most graellsii and intermedius that I’ve seen.

 Cape Drepanon near Agios Georgios - another great spot for migrants

 Plenty of butterflies were about too, including this smart Swallowtail.  Painted Ladies were easily the commonest but I also had Clouded Yellow, Bath White and Cyprus Meadow Brown

 I never got tired of seeing these smart feldegg 'Black-headed' Yellow Wagtails and hearing their buzzy calls

As dusk approached we called in at the famous Scops Owl site along the road to the Mavrokolympos Dam, easily accessed from the coast road, for the 'Cyprus' Scops Owls (considered a potential future split due to the different call and plumage tones).  The sun was still fairly high as I left the car but a Scops was already calling from the far side of the valley, this being very distinctive from other Eurasian Scops in that it has two parts – the first being the familiar sonar blip and the second being a shorter, more abrupt blip a few seconds later.  As I waited for the owls to show I saw a couple of Chukars and a long-winged falcon overhead which looked good for Eleonora’s but views were too brief to confirm.  As dusk gathered I was suitably impressed when a Scops landed on the telephone wires just overhead and started calling.  Although it was getting dark there was still enough light to view it through the scope and note the darker, browner plumage tones compared to the greyer plumage of most Eurasian Scops.  I was even more impressed when a second bird joined it and the two spent a while catching moths in aerial sallies from the wires.  No tape lure was used, or needed – the birds show well if you’re patient enough, just watch out for the mossies!

 Just having this Scops to myself as it called from the wires was good enough so I was even more surprised when a second bird joined it

Day 5: 17/04/14

We spent the day exploring a few spots along the southern coast starting with Ladies Mile beach before heading back via Bishop’s Pool, trying to find Kensington Cliffs and another evening at Mandria.

Zakaki Pool, just before Ladies Mile beach, was one of the first sites I’d found that actually contained some water and sure enough was providing temporary home to a Little Stint, 2 Ruff and 2 Wood Sandpipers but little else despite looking to have good potential.  I’m sure that anyone watching this regularly would turn up plenty more.  Ladies Mile beach was distinctly underwhelming considering what I’d read about it; most of the salt pans behind the beach were dry and devoid of birds while the ramshackle beach restaurants dotted along the ‘mile’ didn’t do much for the overall appearance.  We drove south along the edge of the salt pans and then picked up the track leading west around the southern edge of the massive expanse of Lemesos salt lake.  Agios Nikolaus monastery enables access to Bishop’s Pool and a network of trails throughout this irrigated agricultural area.  The pool itself appeared to be an irrigation dam so was holding plenty of water, but was fairly quiet.  In addition to numerous Little Grebes and Coots were a Purple Heron, Green, Wood and Common Sandpipers.  Walking the trails turned up 2 Chukars, 3 Eastern Olivaceous Warblers and a calling Collared Flycatcher.  A scan of Lemesos salt lake produced 209 Greater Flamingos shimmering in the haze; this site is renowned for the small numbers of Demoiselle Cranes that stop here en route south during late August.

Heading back west I tried to find Kensington Cliffs at Episkopi Garrison (a good site for Eleonora’s Falcons and Griffon Vultures) but, despite finding the general location, couldn’t locate any paths down to the cliffs.  While searching I had 6 Griffon Vultures soaring together and 10+ Alpine Swifts as ample compensation though.  A visit to Kourion stadium (dating from the 2^nd Century AD) produced a singing male Cyprus Warbler.

Mandria was much quieter than on the previous visit, but I couldn’t complain with 3 Short-toed Larks, 2 Red-throated Pipits and single Isabelline and Eastern Black-eared Wheatears.  A female-type Marsh Harrier quartered the fields and 2 Audouin’s Gulls were on the beach.

 Cyprus Warbler singing at Kourion Stadium

These Night Herons were part of a flock of 12 roosting on the coast at Mandria before continuing their migration

Day 6: 18/04/14

We headed even further east today visiting Cape Gkreko in the south-east (near the infamous Agia Napa!) for a bit of hiking.  Walking along the coast path I flushed a Wryneck which then perch

ed in a low bush and showed reasonably well before slinking into the undergrowth.  3 Spectacled Warblers were in the stunted bushes near the sea but migrants were very thin on the ground; Red-throated Pipit, a male Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, female Whitethroat and a male Blackcap.  A look round Agia Napa sewage works revealed an Ortolan and Spotted Flycatcher.

On the way back we called in at Oroklini Marsh near Larnaka, which is a great little reserve with a new hide overlooking the main pool and plenty to offer.  I’m always intrigued by wetland birding when abroad due to the mix of commonplace birds alongside scarce/rare species in a UK context and I wasn’t disappointed here.  Among 5 Teal and a pair of Shoveler were 3 drake Garganey and 3 pairs of Red-crested Pochard.  25 Greater Flamingos fed on the open water and 31 Cattle Egrets roosted among the Little Egrets while 3 Squacco and a Purple Heron were present.  Waders were represented by numerous breeding Black-winged Stilts, c.10 Ruff, a Wood Sandpiper and a Black-tailed Godwit presumed to be of the nominate limosa race due to the bill length and paler plumage tones.  The site is well known for Spur-winged Lapwings and at least 2 pairs were present, with birds sitting on nests.  A Whiskered Tern was also passing through.

 Spur-winged Lapwing at Oroklini Marsh

Day 7: 19/04/14

With the end of the holiday getting nearer it was time to ease off the gas a bit for the final few days, which meant a lie-in for Mil but a regular early morning visit to Pafos headland for me!  I set the alarm to be down there first thing and arrived full of expectation after the previous night’s rain only to realise it didn’t open until 08:30 – at least this meant I could set the alarm a bit later for the next few mornings!  I passed the time before the gate opened by walking along the coastal path outside the fenced-off area.  Birds on the move included 10 Short-toed Larks and a mixed flock of 8 Squacco Herons and 10 Little Egrets.  Once inside the gates I flushed a Stone-curlew from the auditorium area and also had a Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Ortolans for my efforts.

Later on in the morning I called in at the Aspro Dam recreational area (a small parking area with groups of trees ideal for collecting migrants).  The showers that had been passing through had dropped in a few birds including 3 Wood Warbler, 2 Spotted Flycatcher and a male Pied Flycatcher.  A male Spectacled Warbler also showed really well nearby.

The rest of the day was spent dodging the rain but on a return visit to Troodos I had another Roller and heard a Cuckoo (apparently only thought to be an occasional breeder on Cyprus).  With the sun back out an evening walk round the Tombs of the Kings (dating back to the 4^th Century BC!) resulted in another Stone-curlew, 4 Tawny Pipits and an .Eastern Black-eared Wheatear.

 Woodchat Shrikes were passing through many of the coastal sites with some singing

Day 8: 20/04/14

Being Easter Sunday the staff were even less inclined to open Pafos headland up this morning so I had to be satisfied with the promenade instead.  A Wood Sandpiper was a bit out of place on the rocky coastline and a group of flava wagtails included some more thunbergi (Grey-headeds) and presumed beemas (Sykes's).

While at the Asprokremnos Dam the previous day we’d noticed an abandoned village (Finikas) along the distant shore so decided to try and walk to it today.  This was a great spot for Rollers with at least 2 pairs already establishing territories along the crags lining the path; one bird was ‘rolling’ like a dervish right over the village itself and putting on a great display.  The Jackdaws seemed to be in constant conflict with the Rollers and it was interesting to see that they had striking white shoulder patches contrasting with very dark underparts as I hadn’t realised this feature was apparent so far south.  In and around Finikas were a Little Owl, a Tawny Pipit, Spotted Flycatcher, male Blackcap, male Ortolan, Spanish Sparrow and, best of all, a Great Spotted Cuckoo that was being chased around by some Magpies.  Three Turtle Doves were also heard.  We had our lunch at the Finsch’s Wheatear wintering spot, but these normally leave by late March and sure enough there were none today.

Nearby, a quick visit to Anarita ‘park’ produced at least 5 Lesser Kestrel, which pass through on migration due to the insects generated by the nearby chicken farms, and excellent views of 4 Great Spotted Cuckoos that were chasing each other around next to the car; these appeared to be first-year birds but I was surprised to see a juvenile in the mix too.

An evening fix of Mandria beach resulted in a single Grey and Purple Heron flying in-off together, a ‘Baltic’ Gull moved west as did a probable Heuglin’s Gull which couldn’t be confirmed with only brief flight views.  The highlight here was yet another education in flava wagtails, with a flock of around 30 showing really well from the car; these included feldegg (Black-headed), flava (Blue-headed), ‘dombrowskii’, presumed beema (Sykes's) and a very smart ‘superciliaris’ boasting striking white supercilia on a jet black head.

 Rollers were showing well above Finikas

Jackdaws showed the white collar familiar with the eastern types

One of 4 Great Spotted Cuckoos near Anarita

Day 9: 21/04/14

The morning walk around Pafos headland was helped by the gates opening on time and produced 2 Stone-curlew (presumably a pair), a fly-through Cuckoo, a vivid Bee-eater hawking insects over the auditorium, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, female Whitethroat and 3 Woodchat Shrikes (including singing birds).

We couldn’t resist a return trip to the Akamas peninsula so headed back that way to explore the area some more.  Migrants seemed much thinner on the ground compared to a week previously, but there had been a notable increase in Eastern Olivaceous Warblers since the last visit with at least 10 birds singing around Aphrodite’s Pool alone.  A return to Smigies gave good views of the male Masked Shrike after I found a discreet spot on its feeding circuit.  While sitting quietly an Ortolan dropped innocently down onto the track and I was almost as surprised as the bunting when the shrike pounced on it from out of nowhere, although it did somehow manage to escape by the skin of its teeth.  The Masked Shrikes were smaller than I expected so it was surprising to see one go for an Ortolan.

An evening visit to Agios Georgios resulted in a calling Whimbrel flying north-west along the coast, 7 Short-toed Larks, a Tawny Pipit, a feldegg ‘Black-headed’ Yellow Wagtail, female Blackcap, 2 Woodchat Shrikes (also singing) and c.5 Ortolans.

Aphrodite's Pool area was great for Eastern Olivaceous Warblers, especially later on into the month

Male Eastern Black-eared Wheatear on the Akamas peninsula

Agios Georgios was good for Ortolans with small numbers seen on most visits

Day 10: 22/04/14

My final morning round of Pafos headland produced Stone-curlew, 1-2 Hoopoe, 2 Short-toed Lark, 3-4 Tawny Pipits, 3-4 Tree Pipits, 5 Red-throated Pipits, 2 Nightingales (both showing and singing), a female Redstart, a female Collared Flycatcher and 2-3 Woodchat Shrikes.

After the failure to find Kensington Cliffs, let alone any Eleonora’s Falcons, I decided to give Cape Aspro a spin of the dice.  Near Pissouri these massive white cliffs are home to another colony of Eleonora’s Falcons but are also very inaccessible for viewing except from a small lay-by near the Rocks of Aphrodite.  A scan from here revealed a dark, long-winged falcon swooping over the sea but better views were needed.  Thankfully I managed to find a small path down to a hidden beach and spent the next hour or two enjoying some great views of these majestic raptors as they displayed around the cliffs.  Four birds (3 dark phase) were back in and a pair appeared to have settled down already.  Also seen here were several Alpine Swifts and 4 desmarestii Shags.  A male Cyprus Warbler gave brief but good views as it sang next to the car; basically sounding much scratchier and harsher than the omnipresent Sardinian Warblers.

Pair of Eleonora's Falcons, Cape Aspro

A final evening visit to Mandria gave 15 Squacco Heron roosting on coastal rocks in two groups of 6 and 9, 2 male Black Francolin (1 of which showed distantly on top of a farm building) and a Red-throated Pipit.

With such a great diversity of migrant species passing through and some special breeding species, not to mention the warm weather (most of the time!), birding in Cyprus was fantastic.  Regularly finding birds that are scarce/rare in the UK became very addictive and I’ve definitely been bitten by the bug to go back!