Cyprus 2011
We took a holiday near Pafos, Cyprus between 13-20 April 2011. This was the third time I'd been to Cyprus in the spring during the past six years. Migration was relatively quiet this time. Although the weather was generally sunny, there were quite strong winds at times. All the birders I met commented on how quiet things were. I rented a mountain bike for the week, and used that as my transport. I would birdwatch either early morning (6.00-8.30 h) or late afternoon (17.00-19.00h). Almost all the photos were taken with the 1D4, 400mm f5.6 and a 1.4x extender, hand-held. Landscape/people/macro shots were taken with a Nikon Coolpix S5100. My local patches were the Pafos headland (PH), the Pafos sewage works (PSW), and the Ezousas soakway (E). The latter was very dry and lacked the excellent pools present in 2009. In addition, a nice grassland area at the Moulia headland has been trashed for development. Nevertheless, I saw some decent birds, and some photos follow.
1. Squacco heron. 8 E 15/4; singles here and PH subsequently.
2. Cattle egret. 10 PSW 17/4, 8 on 18th.
3. Little egret. Seen on several occasion along coast. Maxima 8 17/4 and 6 PH 19/4.
4. Purple heron. One in off sea, PH 15/4. Singles over E 17/4 and 19/4.
5. Glossy ibis. ca. 40 over PH 19/4.
6. Kestrel. Widespread. Photos below from PH.
7. Black Francolin. Only a few heard, typically around PSW, where one flew in front of my bike on 15/4.
8. Stone curlew. One PH 15/4.
9. Collared pratincole. 15 high over E 18/4.
10. Spur-winged plover. Always present at PSW with maximum of 9 on 18/4. One appeared to be sitting on a nest scrape.
11. Little stint. 2 PSW 17/4. One probable on shore at E 16/4, flew inland.
12. Ruff. 1 PSW 16/4.
13. Greenshank. 1 heard over PH 20/4.
14. Wood sandpiper. 1 PSW 18/4.
15. Common sandpiper. 2 Moulia 13/4. Singles at E and PH also.
