Blue Eyed Birder: 2025

We were up with the lark or in this case, the Laughing Dove and walking out from the apartment to explore our coastal Mandria patch on foot. It comprised a series of fields with onions, wheat or potatoes alongside market garden tunnels full of garden bedding and tomatoes as well as stands of Cypress and orchards of citrus and what I now know to be avocados. Down at the beach there was rough sparse grassland, micro dunes and a few scrubby bushes and ground cover to investigate.

Song Thrushes, Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff and Sardinian Warblers moved ahead of us and our first Siberian-type calling Chiffy was heard. It seems that although they sound like a tristis they are in fact thought to be brevirostris (which breeds in Turkey and further east) which explains why they do not actually look like what we think of as Siberian and furthermore answers the same riddle of the birds that I found wintering in Lesvos a few Februarys ago.

Sardinian Warbler

Crested Larks were up and spiralling and we quickly picked up a suite of expected finches including Serin while a group of seven Common Starlings was notable and became even more so when the eight was a first-summer Rose-coloured. A patchwork bird but very smart nonetheless. Hooded Crows were warily watching our progress and small groups of Wood Pigeon moved through.

Crested Lark

Rose-coloured & Common Starlings

Meadow Pipits and our first Red-throated were seen and a Black Redstart disappeared into some Olives where Spanish and House Sparrows gathered. One field held a large flock of Black-headed Wagtails with quite a few White Wags too and three Chukars burst from cover while three male Black Francolins were counter singing but remained invisible.

Spanish Sparrow

Down at the beach area the sea was predictably quiet with just six Yellow-legged Gulls but we did find two each of Northern and Isabelline Wheatear in the littoral zone before looping back around towards the apartment passing two Hoopoe, female Marsh Harrier and a Kestrel on the way.

Captain Hellicar scanning for Shearwaters...

Isabelline Wheatear

Kestrel

Acacia retinoides

Common Fumitory Fumaria officinalis

Helichrysum conglobatum

A large flowered Limonium sp

New Zealand Manatoka Myoporum laetum - it seemed to be used as a windbreak

Papaver apulum

Paronychia macrosepala

Paronychia macrosepala

Prasium majus

Rayless Mayweed Matricaria aurea

Sea Medick Medicago marina

Yellow Horned Poppy Glaucium flaium

Back in the gardens there were two additional Hoopoe and three vociferous Great Spotted Cuckoos that were focusing their attention on a very poorly pine tree that had been infested with Processionary Moth caterpillars and their tents were being avidly investigated by the showy Cuckoos.

Not quite what we were expecting - a blue Ring-necked Parakeet

Eupeodes sp

Amorous Laughing Doves

Great Spotted Cuckoos

Great Spotted Cuckoo - Max Hellicar

Hoopoe

A quick pitstop and lunch pack and then off inland to the Asprokremnos Dam where we hoped to find Cyprus Warblers. It was actually quite cold and wearing shorts was not such a great idea! Our first stop gave us two more each of the Cuckoos and Hoopoes and again both species were focused on tented Pine trees. There were Magpies here too and Jackdaws and Wood Pigeons were milling around but the reservoir itself was incredibly low and only had one Yellow-legged Gull and Grey Heron visible on it. Our warbler search did not produce the endemic sylvia but we had good views of Sardinian again and Corn Buntings jingled from last year’s Fennel stalks. Another peeping Chiffchaff was heard in some Mastic scrub where Cetti’s Warblers sang and Song Thrushes popped out of cover but the Chukar here were vocal but remained out of view.

A female Peregrine barrelled across the view and was briefly harassed by a very brave male Merlin before they went their separate ways. There was some more cool botany along with a couple of Paphos Blue.

Allium subhirsutum

Asphodel aestivus

Centaura sp - a very small flowered Knapweed

Genista sphacelata

Gladiolus triphyllus

Narrow-leaved Bugloss Echium angustifolium

Notobasis syriaca

Pallenis spinosa

Spiny Burnet Sarcopoterium spinosum

Tragopogon sinuatus

White Laceflower Orlaya grandiflora

Zagophyllum creticum

Rosemary Beetle

Pine Processionary Moth cats

Eristalis sp

Paphos Blue

Our apartment complex way down in Mandria

We looped back into the next valley to get to the ponds of Agia Varvara. They were at different levels and offered a variety of feeding options. One that was nearly dry and just had mud and a few puddles was favoured by the Wagtails and Pipits and we quickly found six coutellii Water Pipits in fine breeding plumage, a single Red-throat and a few Meadow while amongst the flava flavours there were Black and Blue-headed and the darker ‘dombrovski’ Blue-head types and couple of 'superciliaris' Black-heads along with sparkling White Wags. A Common Snipe zipped up and away and a Green Sandpiper followed close behind and a Little Ringed Plover did a half-hearted display around us.

Black-headed Wagtails

White Wagtail

Water Pipit

There were plenty of hirundines descending to pick insects and a drop in temperature preceded dark clouds building to the north-west. Rain way on the way. Reed Warblers chundered away and a couple of Sedge Warblers were moving through the closer reeds.

Red-rumped and Barn Swallow

House Martin, Red-rumped and Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

A chap in his car had been looking for Crakes and we soon joined him in watching two male Littles and a chunky Spotted as they crept along the far margin. One of the steely Little Crakes was joined by an almost pristine male Red-spotted Bluethroat that had only had a hint of red in an otherwise white spot. With a flash of rusty tail patches it dashed back into the reeds.

Little Crake

Mallow Skipper

Crown Daisy Chrysanthemum coronarium

Malva multiflora

Micromeria nervosa

Narrow-leaved Bugloss Echium angustifolium

Oxalis pes-cuprea

The rain commenced and was soon rattling down on us and thankfully we were close to the car but it did stir up the local Cyprus Water Frogs into a bout of song.

We opted for a drive to the coast and made our way east to Cape Aspro and parked up at the edge of a new unbuilt development (just roads and lighting) where the heavens opened with freezing rain once again so we sat in the car and waited it out. The squall passed through and it brightened a bit so we ambled out into the garrigue to search for breeding Warblers and migrants.

It was a fruitful session and we ended up with excellent views of at least three male Cyprus Warblers as they foraged and sung in the Mastic and Cistus scrub. The dark scalloping underneath was actually difficult to pick up unless the bird properly stopped. Like all the black headed Sylvias they are stunning little birds with their glowing red eyes.

Cyprus Warbler

There were Sardinians present as well and the odd Song Thrush burst from cover and frustratingly I could hear Cretzschmar’s Buntings calling but we could not find them on the deck. The flora was wondrous with carpets of yellow and white Ranunculus.

Lithodora hispidula

Ranunculus asiaticus

Paphos Blue

Onwards again to the weirdly named Anarita Park adding Common Buzzard on the way. I had heard it mentioned before but was not expecting a random piece of hilly rolling rocky countryside. It was getting windy but we had a good look around and walked up to a quarry type area where our second endemic was found and although mobile we did get some good views of a pair of Cyprus Pied Wheatear as they zipped around. We rarely saw one move though and it was disappear and rematerialize a 100m away looking nonchalant.

Cyprus Pied Wheatear

Two Northern Wheatear were in the same area and two Cretzschmar’s Buntings snuck away from us once again. A small stream had Sardinian and Cetti’s Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Song Thrushes and a bonus Bluethroat and Linnets were queuing to come down to drink. Magpies were everywhere and there was some raptor action too with Kestrels and our first Sparrowhawk while a Long-legged Buzzard cruised effortlessly up and down the valley. The day was drawing on and so we made our way out of the valley adding Chukars and a Hoopoe on the way before opting to try for the third endemic – the local Scops Owl.

Long-legged Buzzard

Chamaemelum mixtum

I have seen this huge 'lily' leaf in the Med before but Can't seem to find the name this time. Any help appreciated.

Kohlrauschia velutina

Lomelosia prolifera

Veronica anagalis-aquatica

The rain returned as we reached the valley in Episkopi and so we decided to sit it out once again and wait for dusk. Blackcaps were in the riverine bushes and giant reeds where Cetti’s still sung and a Grey Wagtail dropped in. White Wagtails were coming in to roost in the reeds and Wood Pigeons moved to and fro across the valley. The Cyprus Scops Owls did the decent thing and started up before dark had fully fallen and at least five were counter singing at one stage across the valley. Our patience was rewarded and a couple of excellent views were had. Little Owls and Stone-curlews added to the dusk serenade.

The shorts were a foolish choice at this stage and I was frozen by the time we left for the drive back to base but it had been a great first full day with all three endemics seen well in somewhat trying conditions

Blue Eyed Birder

Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Cyprus - Day 2 - 19th March 2025