Introduction & Timing
Most birders visit Cyprus in either early spring or sometime in the autumn to coincide with peak migration and when both endemics are common. Both endemics start returning end of February. Excepting the occasional migrant, any trip later than mid-March risks not seeing Finsch’s Wheatear, though this is common in Turkey and may not be a priority.
Birders interested in seeing Demoiselle Crane visit in the first week of September when numbers still use Cyprus as a staging post during their migration to Africa. The two endemics can still be seen to the end of October with Finsch’s Wheatear usually present (though not for us!) from the very end of September in small numbers.
Birdlife (http://www.birdlifecyprus.org/) has classified Cyprus as an Endemic Bird Area, and there are a number of distinctive subspecies worth seeing: Jay; Scops-owl; Coal Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper; and Common Crossbill. Of these the tit and treecreeper seem the most distinctive and perhaps represent the most likely future splits.
Trapping and shooting of birds remains a problem on Cyprus and we found any number of shotgun cases when out walking.
Target Species
We had a number of targets:
• The endemic Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Pied Wheatear, as well as Finsch’s Wheatear;
• Eleonora’s and Red-footed Falcons which we had not seen in a number of years;
• The five main endemic subspecies; and
• A number of butterflies (including African Ringlet and Two-tailed Pasha).
We timed our trip to ensure the two endemics would still be present, and to give us a fighting chance of a wintering Finsch’s Wheatear. With more moderate temperatures it was also a good time for walking in the mountains (though the heat was still challenging on the coast).
Flight and Car Hire
We flew with Monarch Airlines from Manchester into Larnaca and would recommend them. Our only gripe is that their ‘hidden’ on-line check-in process is accompanied by a hefty seat charge, the cheapest of which, for the two of us return, would have been an additional £35.96! We checked-in at the airport for no charge but were not able to sit next to each other during either flight.
We hired our car from Sixt (http://www.sixt.co.uk/) which cost us an initial £155.46 for the ten days. We found their 800cc vehicle surprisingly adequate, even on the mountain roads (but we travelled with hand luggage only).
We have two main complaints. The airport (Euro 15) and antisocial hour (Euro 11) charges were not clear at the on-line booking stage. And we have also been overcharged for fuel. We couldn’t find a petrol station around Larnana airport but checked with the Sixt desk who said we would only be charged for filling the tank. We are disputing their excessive Euros 51 petrol charge on our credit card statement as we had taken the car back over three-quarters full. With this experience we cannot recommend Sixt but do allow plenty of time to find a petrol station approaching Larnaca Airport to avoid the inflated fuel charges we faced.
Literature / Websites
• Stagg, A & Hearl G. A Birdwatching Guide to Cyprus (2001)
• Svensson et al. Collins Bird Guide (2009)
• Makris, C. Butterflies of Cyprus (2003)
• Gosney, D. Finding Birds in Southern Cyprus (2010)
• Wilson et al. Handbook of the Mammals of the World: 2 Hoofed Animals (2011)
• Cyprus Butterflies (http://www.cyprusbutterflies.co.uk/)
Accommodation
We stayed at three places, all booked on-line:
Cosmos Country Lodge (http://www.cosmoslodge.com/). 25 Euros per couple with breakfast; evening meals Euros 10 each, and fantastically efficient and free wifi. Ann and John are fantastic hosts with John a brilliant cook of traditional British food. Ordinarily we wouldn’t stay anywhere ‘British’ abroad but we would strongly recommend Cosmos Lodge to birders and the food here was one of the highlights of our trip. Cosmos Lodge has the additional benefit of being just off the main A6 highway (junction 19), roughly midway between Larnaca and Limassol, and provides an ideal base from which to bird the south coast bird sites.
Themis Lodge, Lemithou (www.booking.com/Themis-House). We paid Euros 50 per night which was rather expensive for what you get; a rather tired room in a lodge that has seen better days (though the marketing literature and photos on line would suggest otherwise!). Breakfast is an additional Euros 5 per person. Free wifi which worked well, but not in our room. Well situated for Troodos and very quiet.
Alkionest Hotel Apartments (www.alkionest.com/en). We paid £47 for a room for two nights self catering. Breakfast an additional Euros 5, Wifi also extra (and expensive as we recall). This is very well situated for the Baths of Aphrodite.
Sites
Just use the Gosney Guide. We have two suggested amendments:
1. The directions to Oroklini Marsh (page 30) border on the absolute minimum e.g. travel west to east turning off at junction 58 and Gosney makes complete sense; and
2. Directions to Phinikas (page 4) are unnecessarily complicated. Even dried out the Nato Ford is easy to find. Head west from there and the track Gosney refers to is easy to find off to the left. The ‘eagle villa’ is the first villa after this track from Nato Ford. On our first visit we parked at Nato Ford and walked south along the obvious track to the west of the ford to Phinikas. On our second walk we drove along Gosney’s track o a point where it turns to the right to meet the walk-in trail, saving about a kilometre.
Daily Log
29 Sept – Birded Limassol area with notable migrants being Great Reed Warbler, a juvenile Woodchat Shrike and a single dark phase juvenile Honey Buzzard, surprisingly our only one of the trip. Nearby Kensington Cliffs produced superb views of between 7 and 10 Eleonora’s Falcons. A return evening visit to Akrotiri area was rewarding for the excellent views of around 40 Red-footed Falcons on wires, from the main road between Kolossi and Akrotiri
30 Sept – A day walking in the Stavrovourouni Monastery area seeing our first endemic and endemic subspecies, Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Coal Tit. The latter was surprisingly different both vocally and visually and is a better candidate for a future split than we had expected. A late afternoon rainstorm brings in all three ‘marsh’ terns at Oroklini Marsh, Larnana for unsurpassable comparative views.
1 Oct – Our visit to Asprokremnos Reservoir was clearly too early as despite working hard we failed to find Finsch’s Wheatear around the deserted village of Phinikas. The area is excellent for both Cyprus Wheatear, and we also had Cyprus Warbler along the dried up river bed on the way in. Three Eleonora’s Falcons over the northern shore of the reservoir.
2 Oct – Drive early morning into the Troodos and within minutes bag all four mountain subspecies, Jay, more Coal Tits, another race of Crossbill to add to our growing list of such taxa, with larger bills and more varied calls than British birds. We also enjoyed extensive views of Dorothy’s (Short-toed) Treecreeper which looked more very like our birds with clean pure white underparts.
3 Oct – A day walking from Kyperounta with the highlight Cyprus Wheatear, evidently common in the foothills and mountains.
4 Oct – Walk from Platres to Troodos and back with the definite highlight of seven Isabelline Wheatears always on rocky outcrops. Despite walking through pine forest for five hours we only see three Common Crossbills in flight and no treecreepers!
5 Oct – A walk in the Cedar Valley is productive for Mouflon with eight seen, though somewhat disappointingly we find that HMW (Vol 2) dismisses them as feral and ‘untickable’! Cracking views of a Tree Pipit and others flying over, calling, is evidence of diurnal migration. A single Dorothy’s Treecreeper and our only Cardinal butterfly complete a memorable morning. A tough afternoon walk from the Baths of Aphrodite in heat and humidity is stunning for scenery and lots of Sardinian Warblers.
6 Oct - Migrants are thin on the ground in the Smigies Trail near Polis with just single Red-backed Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher and Willow Warbler for our three hour effort. An afternoon at Mavrokloympos Dam is easily the best butterfly site of the trip and we identify 13 species including Lesser Fiery Copper, Millet and Mallow Skippers, Eastern Bath White, a very late Eastern Baton Blue and two African Ringlet, the latter a difficult butterfly to catch up with in Europe. The area is also excellent for Cyprus Pied Wheatear and Cyprus Warbler (and a few Sardinian Warblers). Only owls at the Scops-owl spot in Gosney (page 10) are vocal Little Owls.
7 Oct – Return journey to Larnana airport calling in at a few sites. Evretou Reservoir provides a few migrants, Red-throated Pipit, White and Yellow Wagtails, Squacco Heron and a stonechat heard distantly but not seen. A quick stop at Theletra provides us with our best ever and eye-level views of Long-legged Buzzard. A return visit to Asprokremnos Reservoir is disappointing as again we can’t find Finsch’s Wheatear, though a superb Black Francolin out in the open provides some compensation. A juvenile Masked Shrike by Cosmos Country Lodge proves to be our final bird of the trip.
Birding Highlights
o Squacco Heron (Ardeola Ralloides). A single at Evreton Reservoir.
o Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rubber). Two at Oroklini Marsh, Larnana.
o Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus). A single over Akrotiri Salt lake.
o Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus). A presumed pair at the traditional site of Theletra.
o Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). A single at the north end of Asprokremnos Reservoir, being mobbed by an Eleonora’s Falcon.
o Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus). 40+ on overhead wires between Kolossi and Akrotiri.
o Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae). Up to 10 at Kensington Cliffs, three at the north end of Asprokremnos Reservoir, and a single at Mavrokolympos Dam.
o Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus brookei). A single at Kensington Cliffs.
o Chuckar (Alectoris chukar). Widely encountered but always shy.
o Black Francolin (Francolinus Francolinus). A single on the way back from Asprokremnos Reservoir.
o Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus). Three in dorsal fields near Larnaca Sewage Fields (see Gosney)
o Spur-winged Plover (Hoplopterus spinosus). 10+ at Oroklini Marsh and a similar number at Larnaca Sewage Works.
o Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis). A single at Oroklini Marsh, Larnaca.
o Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybridus). All three species of marsh term feeding together in a rain storm at Oroklini Marsh, Larnaca, included a single adult winter of this species.
o Black Tern (Chlidonias niger). Two at Oroklini Marsh, Larnaca
o White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus). A single at Oroklini Marsh, Larnaca.
o Little Owl (Athene noctua lilith). Two near Mavrokolympos Dam, and a single near Asprokremnos Reservoir.
o Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus). Two noted at Evreton reservoir.
o Black-headed Wagtail (Motocilla flava feldegg). A single male with flava wagtails at Mandria.
o Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina). A single at Asprokremnos Reservoir, and seven on rocky outcrops on a long walk between Platres and Troodos.
o Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe Oenanthe). Just a single seen between Platres and Troodos.
o Cyprus Pied Wheatear (Oenanthe pleschanka). Common.
o Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius). A single at Pano Lefkara.
o Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus). A single at Bishop’s Pool, Akrotiri.
o Spectacled Warbler (Sylvia conspicillata). Singles on Akrotiri Plan, in the scrub near the hide at larnaca Sewage Works and also in the adjacent dorsal fields.
o Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala). Singles widely encountered. Most common in the scrub around the Baths of Aphrodite.
o Cyprus Warbler (Sylvia melanothorax). A single male seen with others heard along Natp Ford en route to Phinikas. 6-8 At Mavrokolympos Dam and at least two at Evreton Reservoir.
o Coal Tit (Parus ater Cypriotes). Commonly encountered in most pine woodlands.
o Short-toed (Dorothy’s) Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla dorotheae). Three in the woodland behind the toilet block at Troodos, and a single in the Cedar Valley.
o Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio). Widely encountered, mainly in the foothills, about 10 seen in total.
o Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator). A single juvenile at Bishop’s Pool, Akrotiri.
o Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus). A single juvenile at Cosmos Country Lodge.
o Jay (Garrulus glandarius glaszneri). Fairly common in the Troodos Mountains.
o Hooded Crow (Corvus corone sardonius). Remarkably pale grey and black birds, common and widespread.
o Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra guillemardi). Up to ten birds around Troodos, and three in flight between Platres and Troodos.
o Spanish Sparrow (Parus hispaniolensis). 10+ at Mandria, 25+ at Baths of Aphrodite, and 250+ at Mavrokolympos Dam.
Butterflies Recorded
o Swallowtail
o Large White
o Small White
o Eastern Bath White
o Clouded Yellow
o Lesser Fiery Copper
o Liitle Tiger Blue
o Holly Blue
o African Grass Blue
o Eastern Baton Blue
o Common Blue
o Painted Lady
o Cardinal
o Eastern Rock Grayling
o Cyprus Grayling
o The Hermit
o Cyprus Meadow Brown
o Wall Brown
o African Ringlet
o Mallow Skipper
o Millet Skipper
o (and Hummingbird Hawkmoth)
Dragonflies Recorded
o Lesser Emperor
o Common Darter
o Red Veined Darter
o Scarlet Darter
o Violet Marked Darter
o Small Skimmer