Our third day of our holiday was mine and my Dad's only designated full day birding of the trip, so we decided to head south-west and basically try and get as many lifers as possible...
Our first stop was the Asprokremmos Dam.
Chukar was our first lifer of the day, and we saw around half a dozen birds around the site. However, our biggest target here was
Cyprus Warbler, and eventually we found a pair up on one of the hillsides below the dam - difficult birds with the number of
Sardinians around. As we were walking back to the car, a
Spur-winged Plover appeared on one of the dried up pools and spared us a trip into Paphos. Other sightings here included our first flock of
Purple Herons with 7 flying over the reservoir, an
Alpine Swift, plenty of
Crested Larks and a
Red-throated Pipit.
From here, our next stop was Mandria. In the town itself we managed to track down a couple of singing male
Laughing Doves, while the beach produced a
Spur-winged Plover in flight and a flock of 20+
Short-toed Larks. We had just a short stay here as we were told about one of our most hoped for birds of the trip on nearby Timi Beach...
On arrival at the beach it didn't take long for us to get onto the stunning summer plumage
Greater Sand Plover which was feeding among the stones. This bird looked great through the scope, even if the heat haze made photography difficult. The nearby cliffs had a pair of
Isabelline Wheatears and a male
Eastern Subalpine Warbler showed briefly in a field, along with a
Whinchat. This was also probably the best site we visited for butterflies with at least six species including
Swallowtails,
Bath Whites and
Mallow Skippers.
For our next stop we headed back inland to Anarita Park, where a group of 4
Lesser Kestrels were hunting over a hillside, as well as a
Peregrine and 3
Tawny Pipits.
Finally, we made the short journey to Nata Ford. The most numerous birds here were
Spanish Sparrows with huge numbers feeding in the vegetation and bathing in the small river; we estimated at least 100, with just one or two
House Sparrows. Two
Turtle Doves here were great to see and my first view on the ground for probably six of seven years, while a pair of
Bonelli's Eagles over a nearby hillside looked impressive. The river by the ford held a few waders;
Green Sandpiper,
Little Ringed Plover and
Snipe, as well as a few
Black-headed Wagtails and a single smart
'Superciliaris' type Yellow Wagtail.
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| Cyprus Warbler |
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| Spur-winged Plover |
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| Crested Larks |
Laughing Doves
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| Greater Sand Plover in the heat haze! |
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| Isabelline Wheatear |
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| Black-headed Wagtail - notice how the glossiness of the black actually makes it look paler from some angles, especially in this light. |
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| Spanish Sparrows |
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| Alpine Swift |
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| Swallowtail |
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| Bath White |
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| Mallow Skipper |
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| Cyprus Grayling |
