Time for another plane journey and the chance to visit Cyprus for the first time. Bradders had some days to use up and so we planned a short escape to the far eastern Med in mid-ish March and with Max H on board too we convened at Gatwick at stupid o’clock on the 18th. The flight took us over the Alps and various other mountainy bits of Europe and it looked spectacular and as usual I pictured the wildlife we were flying above.
The two hour time jump left us with only a couple of hours daylight to play with once we got out of Larnaca airport but we were soon at a salt lake just ten minutes away. A quick tally of common birds were picked up with Zitting Cisticolas, Sardinian Warblers, Common Chiffchaffs in the bushes and Crested Larks and Meadow Pipits in the margins of the arable fields. The first new bird of the trip was heard as soon as we got out of the car and two Black Francolins whistled at each other from cover and I hoped that we would get lucky and see one at some point.
The pools held four Spur-winged Plovers, four Ruff, Little Stint,
25 Redshank (looking long-billed like the spring Lesvos birds), Spotted
Redshank, seven Little Ringed Plovers and two Ringed Plovers while a shimmering
110 Slender-billed Gulls, four Med Gulls and 30 Shelduck were on the main
lagoon.
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| Spur-winged Plovers & a Redshank |
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| Spur-winged Plover |
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| Giant Fennel |
I pointed out the Roman Nettles to the lads with some guidance
based on personal experience and Small White and Painted Ladies were on the
wing with Red-veined Darter and many active Vagrant Emperors. A fine male Spectacled Warbler
singing from the Suaeda was a high scratchy song that was good to get reacquainted
with.
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| Roman Nettle - Urtica pilulifera |
All good birding trips need a visit to a sewage works and
this was our next and final stop before dark.
The two tanks were full of birds and a host of dabbling ducks were
feeding on gazillions of chironomid midges emerging to dance. Many never got the chance to join the midgenados
around us. Most were Shoveler and
Mallard but there were a few Teal and Gadwall and a pair of Pintail too. Five
Ferruginous Ducks, Tufted Ducks and four male and a female Red-crested Pochard
were seen and three Black-necked Grebes and a moulting Slavonian Grebe were
amongst a good number of Little Grebes.
Twenty Spur-winged Plovers were striding up and down the
plastic margins where a good selection of other waders were found with
Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and Ruff.
Common Swifts joined the Swallows hoovering up the midges and Cetti’s
and Sardinian Warblers were foraging along the fenceline.
The sun was dropping quickly and we still had to drive to
the other end of the island to our lodgings in Mandria and a flying
Stone-curlew across the pink sky sent us on our way.
A pop to the supermarket to buy supplies had us emergency stopping for a cute Long-eared Hedgehog crossing the road and I escorted it to the other side but it was almost too quick for a pic!
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| Long-eared Hedgehog - Hemiechinus auritus |
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| And it was good to find some comforts from my 'other home' |
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