Blue Eyed Birder: Cyprus - Day 6

Going home day although we had a full day to play with so we packed up and said goodbye to the Laughing Doves, Hoopoes and Great Spotted Cuckoos (who were invisibly chattering) and headed east as far as we could go passing through the very serene outskirts of Agia Napa before arriving just after 8.30 at Kavo Gkreko (as it appears on the road signs).

Agia Napa - whoop whoop

We were always coming here today but the Asian Crimson-winged Finch of the last two days was an added incentive. We could have tried for it prior to this but quite rightly prioritised birding over dashing to the other end of the country! The first couple of hours were spent wandering the dry garrigue scrub along the cliff top above the sea caves and it was at long last warm and sunny and although we enjoyed not being cold the heat haze was terrible and frustrating at times.

There was no sign of the Finch but there was plenty of Warbler action with Spectacled, Ruppell’s, Sardinian, Blackcap and very showy Cyprus. A Willow Warbler became our first and there were a few Chiffchaffs too.

Cyprus Warbler

Spectacled Warbler

There were fizzy Cyprus Pieds, Northerns and Isabelline Wheatears and several European Stonechats and one fine almost pied but hazy male that was almost certainly an Eastern bird. A Cretzschmar's Bunting stayed put and sat calling quietly before moving on.

Cyprus Pied Wheatear

Hazybelline Wheatears

Cretzschmar's Bunting

Cretzschmar's Bunting - Max Hellicar

Corn Bunting - Max Hellicar

Bordered Straw moths were seen coming in off and thankfully one stopped long enough for a look and I also found Hummingbird Hawk-moths, Small Copper, Painted Ladies, Clouded Yellows, Eastern Dappled and the odd Small White.

Bordered Straw

Clouded Yellow

Painted Lady

Small Copper

A small Merodon sp

Eupeodes sp

Helichrysum orientale

From here we headed over the top to the cape itself and birding the scrub and trails. There were ‘normal tourists’ and people bombing around on quad bikes and such like but as usual with such popular places the birds were not bothered at all.

We got close to the same selection of Warblers and Chats but with a bit of effort we also found Eastern Orphean Warbler and tracked down a mobile Caspian Stonechat too.

Ruppell's Warbler

Ruppell's Warbler - Max Hellicar

Cyprus Warbler - Max Hellicar

Caspian Stonechat

The latter was a cracking little thing and basically black and white with a solid white rump and almost whinchat style white upper tail side patches. The underparts were pale with a peachy front with a warmer spot in the middle. The light was very harsh despite being close to the bird and the breast colour was only really visible when it moved away and back behind us. It was good to finally catch up with one of these having only found Euro ones up until then.

There were no Larks in the fields, just a few White Wagtails and Tree, Meadow and Tawny Pipit were found. Chukar was all over the place! Blue Rock Thrushes posed wonderfully well once again and we even found a couple of Robins.

Chukar - Max Hellicar

White Wagtail - Max Hellicar

A Raven kronked overhead and was seemingly a very good bird for this end of the island while offshore an adult Audouin’s Gull drifted close inshore and three Med Gulls and nine Cormorant were seen but no flock of Demoiselle Cranes like back over our vacated Mandria patch!

There were a few reptiles with Cyprus Agamas and Troodos Wall Lizards along with a slightly odd shaped spotty lizard that I have now identified as a Schreiber’s Fringe-fingered Lizard that scurried across the sand between the clumps of Spiny Burnet and Thyme.

Schreiber’s Fringe-fingered Lizard

Troodos Wall Lizard

There was a final flurry of botany with familiar Pyramidal being the last Orchid species found and the limestone cliff face was embedded with thousands of colonial coral fossils.

Anacyclus radiatus (small) and Crown Daisy Chrysanthemum coronarium (large)

Anthemis tricolor

Cistus parviflorus

Convolvulus cneorum

Crocodilium creticum

Crupina crupinastrum

Fumana arabica

Gladiolus triphyllus

Helichrysum orientale

Juniper phoenicea

Lesser Centaury Centaurium pulchellum

Mallow Leaved Bindweed Convolvulus althaeoides

Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis

Rayless chamomile Anthemis rigida

Rocky Golden Drop Onosma frutescens

Thymus capitatus

It was time to start heading back to the airport but it still allowed for more birding time and a stop at Oroklini Marsh was very productive with a male Wigeon amongst the other dabblers. Two pair of Garganey were present and there were ten each of Red-crested Pochards and Ferruginous Ducks, giggling Little Grebes and even some lively close Flamingos that as usual sound more like odd geese.

Ferruginous Ducks

Red-crested Pochards and Ferruginous Ducks

A Black Francolin was singing and actually sat up on a distant mound and Spur-winged Lapwings were dotted around the recently harvested fields. Black-winged Stilts were the most numerous wader with 45 mostly in one sleepy group but almost nothing was disturbed by the patrolling Marsh Harriers. As a parting gift we willed some Penduline Tits into existence and although they were calling well we could not find them.

Black-winged Stilts

Greater Flamingo

With the light fading we ended the trip at Larnaca sewage works where there were now six Black-necked Grebes with the Slavonian and Littles but Ferruginous Ducks had reached an impressive 51 and amongst the waders around the edges there were two Ringed Plovers and our final bird for the trip was a bobbing Common Sandpiper.

The car was repacked to the sound of Francolins, Cetti’s Warblers and the last of the Crested Lark song before we drove the short distance back to the airport and our late flight home to Blighty. It was a grand first venture to Cyprus and I am sure I will be back. As is often the case with a migration hotspot, so much arrived after our departure but unless you either live somewhere or spent the whole spring period out there then there will always be something after you have to come home but at least there are lots of reasons to go back.

Blue Eyed Birder

Wednesday, 9 April 2025

Cyprus - Day 6 - 23rd March 2025

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