Cyprus 30th August 2018

More serious catchup. I spent a few days in Cyprus back in late August/early September. I was hoping for five new birds which I managed to successfully see in the end. The Autumn migration had yet to kick into full effect but I still managed to record 117 species in just over five days. I stayed in Limassol for the duration which meant I was centrally located on the south side of the island and more importantly very close to the Limassol Salt Lake to check for Demoiselle Cranes first thing in the mornings. The weather proved to be very hot throughout the stay and the country had undergone a long period of drought meaning that standing bodies of freshwater were very difficult to come across. Most of these consisted of extremely deep reservoirs with concrete or rocky sides which weren't particularly popular with birds.
I found Cyprus Warblers to be quite tough to see during the trip. It would appear that there has been an explosion in the population of Sardinian Warblers in the last decade or two on the island and this seems to have had a negative effect on the closely related Cyprus Warbler. Sardinians were extremely common and combined with the skulking behaviour of both species meant it took a while to see the endemic species. Sardinians also winter on the island unlike Cyprus Warbler so may be out competing them?

Adult Red-backed Shrike

Adult Red-backed Shrike

Juvenile Lesser Grey Shrike

Adult Lesser Grey Shrike

Crested Lark

Crested Lark

Ferruginous Duck

Ferruginous Duck

Juvenile Northern Goshawk

Juvenile Northern Goshawk

Eleonora's Falcon

Eleonora's Falcon

Cyprus Warbler

Cyprus Warbler

Cyprus Warbler