15th April
We landed in Cyprus shortly after nightfall and soon we were heading for our villa. Along the way in Paphos a Scops Owl flew from off a lampost and into some nearby trees and we also saw quite a few large bats as we approached the villa.

16th April
We awoke early as the first birds began to start singing. Among what was soon a very loud dawn chorus, just outside the villa we heard our first Cetti’s, Fan-tailed and Sardinian Warblers and some unknown Sylvia warbler type song. As it began to get light we soon located the source of the song, and it turned out to be, as we had suspected, our first Cyprus Warblers of the trip. At least 3 were singing very close to the villa. We then noticed several large flocks of passerines passing NW close to the sea which we later found out were Spanish Sparrows leaving a very large roost in some tall trees nearby. In an area of tall grass alongside the villa we saw a Great Reed Warbler and several Black Francolins were calling nearby. After a quick breakfast we set off to explore the area between the villa and the sea. The track to the villa passed through an area of orchards, fields and some rough grassland. In the area we saw a few Chukars, Ortolan Bunting, several Nightingales and Northern Wheatears. Between the road and the beach was an area of rough grassland and scrub, which proved to be very good. Here we saw at least 24 Short-toed Larks, 2 Red-throated Pipits, c10 Black-headed Wagtails, Wryneck, Black-eared Wheatear and Spectacled Warbler, among other things. Six Squacco Herons flew past, over the sea, and looking back over the hillside behind the villa we picked up a few Alpine Swifts and Red-rumped Swallows. After a while we walked back and checked the area behind the villa. Here we flushed a Black Francolin and saw several more Cyprus and Sardinian Warblers. A Woodchat Shrike was perched on the edge of one of the orchards and a stunning male Cretzschmar’s Bunting was sat in a bush on the rocky slopes.
Late morning we drove up to check Asprokremnos Dam Pools. This site turned out to be a little bit disappointing given the reputation of the site, but we still saw quite a few good birds. There appeared to be very little water, only one of the pools held any substantial amount and this was difficult to view due to the tall reeds around it, though an immature Night Heron showed quite well. A ditch around the area was slightly better and all 3 Crakes were apparently present there on and off, but we did not see any on our visit. In the surrounding area we saw quite a few Cyprus Pied Wheatears our first of the trip and Cyprus Warblers were also common in the nearby scrub. On the hillsides a few Ortolan Buntings were feeding with the numerous Spanish Sparrows. Jackdaws of the race soemerengii were quite common and a Long-legged Buzzard flew over. Next we drove up onto the dam of the reservoir. Alongside the dam in an area of rubble were three Black-eared Wheatears along with four Northern Wheatears. On the reservoir six fuscus Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Baltic Gulls) were loafing with a group of Yellow-legged and a single Gull-billed Tern flew through.

Late afternoon/early evening we went to nearby Mandria. Here signs of migration were evident. In one small ploughed field 15+ Northern Wheatears were present and 32 Purple Herons flew NW in 4 flocks, along with 2 Grey Herons. Over the sea a flock of 40+ Little Egrets also flew NW. A group of 13 Collared Pratincoles also flew NW and seemed to be landing in one of the ploughed fields but we could not find them later. Checking the low scrub just behind the beach we located single Barred and Subalpine Warblers and a few Lesser Whitethroats. A Hobby came in off the sea and flew inland. As the evening progressed cloud cover began to steadily build up. A Wood Warbler came in off the sea past us and headed inland and then just before dusk as we were leaving a male Collared Flycatcher came in and landed on the beach. Occasional spots of light rain were now beginning to fall, the omens were beginning to look very good for tomorrow.

17th April
We awoke to cloudy skies and decided to go to Paphos Headland, as it looked promising for grounded migrants. We began by looking around Paphos Harbour for a Pied Kingfisher that had been present for quite some time. Unfortunately there was no sign of the Kingfisher but we saw a Black-eared Wheatear on the harbour wall and watched as quite a few Quail came in off the sea. Several of these headed straight up the High Street in Paphos. It seemed likely that a good fall of migrants was taking place so we decided to waste no more time and make our way onto the headland. Not knowing exactly how to gain access to the headland we first walked around the rocky foreshore. On the rocks were large numbers of Northern and Black-eared Wheatears. As we continued around the rocky coast another group of nine Quail came in off the sea and large numbers of Wagtails, mainly Black-headed with a few Red-throated Pipits, were feeding in the grass by the fence. After gaining access to the site we headed for the lighthouse. Approaching this we suddenly found we were surrounded by large numbers of Ortolan Buntings. Among them were a few Cretzschmar’s Buntings and quite a few Whinchats. Several Red-rumped Swallows were flying around the lighthouse. As we were trying to photograph the Ortolans we were approached by a birder who informed us that he had just seen a male Ruppell’s Warbler and a probable Finsch’s Wheatear nearby, and so after a while we decided to go and have a look for these. On the way we found a female Collared Flycatcher in a quarry area. Shortly afterwards we located the possible Finsch’s Wheatear. Our initial reaction was that it did not look quite right, but as it did look quite different from all the other Black-eared Wheatears present we assumed that it must be a Finsch’s. However when checking my photos after arriving home several features were clearly not right and I think it most likely that it was a hybrid of some kind, possibly Finsch’s X Black-eared. All the time we were there small groups of Purple Herons were passing NW as well as 3 Night Heron and a Great White Egret. Over the sea a flock of 35 Slender-billed Gulls and a couple of flocks totalling 39 Glossy Ibis also flew NW. By now frequent and at times fairly heavy rain showers were forcing us to take shelter occasionally, but we were not complaining as this weather was the reason we were seeing so many birds. Grounded migrants were everywhere including another 2 male Collared Flycatchers and the Ruppell’s Warbler. Our final estimates for a few species in Headland area were Black-eared Wheatear (40+), Northern Wheatear (50+), Ortolan (200+), Black-headed Wagtail (100+), Woodchat Shrike (15+), Hoopoe (7), Wryneck (5) and Whinchat (15+).

Later we went for a look at Mandria, which was very good for visible migration again. Flocks of 19 Glossy Ibis, 12 Purple Herons and 38 Pratincole sp (presumably Collared) flew overhead and six Gull-billed Terns passed over the sea. Grounded migrants in the area included c20 Black-eared Wheatear, 100+ Black-headed Wagtails, c90 Short-toed Larks, 2 Woodchats, Wryneck, 4 Redstart and a pair of Red-footed Falcons. Later we drove up past Asprokremnos and along the Kholetria road. Along this road by some abandoned buildings we found a group of 7 Red-footed Falcons with 3 Lesser Kestrels sitting on telegraph wires. While we stopped to watch these a flock of 32 Purple Heron flew north up the valley. Next we went back down to the pools where quite a few herons including c20 Purple Heron 5 Cattle Egret and 3 Night Heron were coming in to roost. Paul saw a Little Bittern but the rest of us missed it.
Back at the villa a Little Owl performed well to finish off an excellent day.

18th April
First we tried Paphos Harbour again to have another look for the Kingfisher. There was still no sign of it, but while we were there a Hoopoe, a Redstart and another five Quail came in off the sea followed shortly afterwards by an excellent dark-phase Eleonora’s Falcon. Two Squacco also flew past. We decided to go onto the Headland again and although it was perhaps slightly quieter than the previous day there were still very good numbers of migrants around. Among the Wagtails was at least one Grey-headed and a higher proportion of Blue-headed than yesterday. We also saw the Ruppells again, and at least one Subalpine Warbler among other things. I also had a brief view of an Eastern Bonellis Warbler which had also been present but elusive yesterday, though the others missed it.
After a while we set off for the Akrotiri area seeing a Red-footed Falcon from the car on the way. First we called at Akrotiri Reedbed. In the large belt of Eucalyptus at this site there were a few Penduline Tits and Serins and we also heard at least six singing Olivaceous Warblers but they were very elusive and only gave brief views. Several Collared and Pied Flycatchers were feeding in the trackside bushes and we also saw Wood Warbler among a few other migrants. Dragonflies here included both Vagrant and Lesser Emperors along with several species we did not manage to identify. Further along the track a Steppe Buzzard was hanging around a clearing by a farmhouse, probably because there appeared to be a carcass nearby judging from the smell there. Nearby Paul and Lester had a brief view of a Golden Oriole.

Next we went to try and find our way to Phassouri Reedbeds. At first we stopped at the wrong area and walked along a track among the reeds. We did see a few birds and a few Dragonflies including Vagrant Emperor and Scarlet Darter here, but it was fairly quiet. Shortly afterwards we went a little further along the road and found the correct area. Here at least 3 Little and one Baillon’s Crake were showing very well, as well as good numbers of Garganey and other ducks including about five Ferruginous Ducks. Quite a few waders were also present, mainly Ruff, Wood Sandpipers and a few Little Stints, but also included at least one Spur-winged Plover, one Jack Snipe and a few Black-winged Stilts. Next as we drove around the Salt Lake we saw a group of c50 Flamingos in the distance. Attempting to find our way to Lady’s Mile we took another wrong turning onto a very rough potholed track through the salt scrub. This turned out to be quite fortuitous as the scrub here held quite a few migrants including several Collared Flycatchers and a couple of Rollers. A cracking female Pallid Harrier flew very close past us as it hunted among the scrub. By now it was getting quite late so we decided to head back and find the road rather than end up having to negotiate these tracks in the dark. Back at the villa we found a Turkish Gecko Hemidactylus turcicus climbing the wall of the garage space.

19th April
In the morning a Woodchat Shrike was present again near the villa and several Red-rumped Swallows and Tree & Red Throated Pipits flew NW. The sea appeared to be quite rough so we decided it might be worth trying a bit of seawatching off Paphos Headland. First we had another quick look at Paphos Harbour. There was still no sign of the Kingfisher though 5 Little Egrets flew past and another Quail came in off the sea. Going onto the Headland we headed straight for a point from where to view the sea. Quite a few migrants were obviously still present, as just on this short walk we saw at least four Collared Flycatcher, c40 Ortolans and a few Hoopoes and Wrynecks etc. Not long after we arrived at a good viewpoint overlooking the sea we picked up our first Yelkouan Shearwater. In a fairly short seawatch we saw another three Yelkouan’s as well as a few Baltic Gulls and a single Heuglin’s Gull. Next we decided to head for the ford at the north end of Asprokremnos Dam. Along the road between Anarita and Nata we saw a couple of Rollers sat in bushes alongside the road so we stopped to look at them. As we stopped a Great Spotted Cuckoo flew over and landed nearby. This then flew a little further up the valley and as we followed it we flushed 3 Scops Owls from a roadside bush. These were presumably a family of the endemic Island race cyprius. In this area we also saw a Common Cuckoo, c10 Tree Pipits feeding in a small orchard and an Olivaceous Warbler was also singing. Later we arrived at the ford to check an area where a Great Snipe had been reported recently. Unfortunately there was no sign of the Snipe but we did see quite a few Wood Sandpipers, White Wagtails, a couple more Great Spotted Cuckoos and a few Red-rumped Swallows were collecting mud from the waterside. I went a walk along the river with Chris where we found a few Dragonflies and saw a Snake-eyed Lizard Ophisops elegans. While we were gone Paul and Lester saw a Griffon Vulture. Next we drove further along the road towards Choletria and we noticed a couple of Rollers on some nearby scrub. As we stopped to look at them a stunning female Pallid Harrier flew just past the car. We got out and in this area we also saw several Great Spotted Cuckoos, quite a few Tawny Pipits and the Harrier came past a couple more times. We then picked up a couple of Bonelli’s Eagles soaring over the hillside. After this we went to look in some orchards alongside Asprokremnos Dam where a Semi-collared Flycatcher had been reported. We could not find this but the orchards were alive with Flycatchers and other migrants. We estimated 15 Pied and 10 Collared were present as well as good numbers of Blackcaps (c20), Whinchats (c10) and a few Wood Warblers, Serin and Cuckoo. We also saw several Barred Warblers but getting good views of them was almost impossible. A Marsh Warbler gave slightly better views skulking in the grass around the bases of the trees, and 3 Golden Oriole showed well in some nearby trees. While we were there another female Pallid Harrier flew over and we also saw a Fox, which are apparently quite scarce in Cyprus. From the dam wall I saw the Little Bittern fly across the pools below. As we drove back towards Paphos along the B6 a couple of Stone Curlew flew over. It was dark by the time we reached the entrance track to the villa. As we drove along it we saw two Long-eared Hedgehog, then a Hare and then nearer the villa a Barn Owl also flew past the car.

20th April
Early morning by the villa the Woodchat Shrike was still present and a few more Red-rumped Swallows flew NW. Very soon we set off on the fairly long drive to the Troodos Mountains to look for the islands endemic races. Not long after we had driven inland we noticed a Red-footed Falcon sat in a bush quite close to the road. We stopped to photograph this and in the adjacent valley we also saw quite good numbers of Ortolan Buntings, Great Spotted Cuckoo and heard the ubiquitous Black Francolins. As we continued onwards towards the Troodos we passed an area where Serins appeared to be particularly numerous. Upon arrival we first went for a walk along the Kaledonia Trail. Here we soon found our first Coal Tits of the distinctive Island race (cypriotes ) and also the island races of Short-toed Treecreeper (dorotheae) and Jay (glaszneri). At this site we also saw Wren, Crag Martin, and a few migrants including Collared Flycatcher. We also heard Crossbill but did not see any, though we found a probable Crossbills nest alongside the trail. At Atalante large numbers of Pallid Swifts were flying around the village. Walking along the Atalante trail we saw Masked Shrike, Jay, Coal Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper and Wren as well as quite a few Cyprus Pied Wheatears. Later we drove higher up towards the top of Mt Olympos and decided to find a vantage point to look for raptors. From this viewpoint we saw a couple of Crossbills (guilemardii) the male not much brighter than the female. Also from here we heard a Woodlark singing nearby and saw a couple of Ravens, but no raptors.

On the way back to the coast we stopped at an interesting looking valley near Folinas. Here we saw a couple of Long-legged Buzzards, several Olivaceous Warblers, Common Cuckoo, Cyprus Pied Wheatear and c40 Red-rumped Swallows. On the way back to the car we saw an Eastern Festoon Butterfly. Further along the road we stopped at the site near Choletria where 2 Great Spotted Cuckoo were still present and we also saw 3 Lesser Kestrels. Next after a brief stop at Asprokremnos Ford we decided to go to Mandria. On the way we stopped to look at a Little Owl perched up at the side of the road and also saw another 2 Great Spotted Cuckoo and heard a Reed Warbler singing in a roadside bush. At Mandria we found an Isabelline Wheatear, the only one that we saw during the trip and like several other birds we saw here, it had strangely yellow underparts, probably from perching on the abundant Yellow-horned Poppies at this site. There appeared to be fewer grounded migrants around than recently but we still saw 14 Purple Heron flying NW and 8 Great White Egret SE. Over the sea 12 Baltic Gulls and two Scopoli’s (Cory’s) Shearwaters flew past.

21st April
Sat 21/4/07 Today we decided to go back to the Akrotiri area again. Along the way we took a wrong turn somewhere near Paramali, but at least we ended up getting good views of a Roller in one of the orchards there. After getting back on the right road we decided to call in at Kensington Cliffs, passing another Roller by the roadside while on the way there. On and around the cliffs several Griffon Vultures and up to 7 Eleonoras Falcons gave some very good views. We also saw several Shags desmaresti perched on the rocks here. In the nearby scrub were at least 6 singing Cyprus Warblers and c25 Alpine Swifts were overhead. Later we continued on to Phassouri where we saw a similar range of species to our last visit. Good numbers of Ducks were present again and when a Marsh Harrier flew over at least 50 Garganey came out of the reeds. Several Little Crakes were showing quite well and good numbers of waders were present again, mainly the same species as on our previous visit, though a Temminck’s Stint was new. While there we were approached by a woman with a vague report of a “Little” Rock Thrush on a pile of rubble along a nearby track. Described as like a normal Rock Thrush but much smaller we wondered what it could be, so we went to check it out and found that it was a nice male Rock Thrush. After this we set off to find Ladies Mile Lagoons. Along the way we saw a few distant small pools of water on the salt flats which held a couple of Kentish Plovers and while the rest of the group walked over to get better views of these I went the opposite way into some scrub hoping to photograph a Spectacled Warbler that I had heard singing nearby. This proved to be very difficult to photograph but while searching for it I located a male Orphean Warbler in the scrub. When they returned I called them over and we tried to relocate it by walking through the scrub, but only succeeded in getting brief flight views. We decided on a change of tactics and after staking out the largest group of bushes in the area for a while we eventually got very good views of an Orphean, though this turned out to be a female. This group of bushes held an excellent and constantly changing range of species. After this we eventually found Ladies Mile lagoons where there were quite a few waders but nothing out of the ordinary. Next we drove back towards the Salt Lake to check the scrub alongside the track. Here we found quite a few Collared and Pied Flycatchers and a male Red-backed Shrike showed quite well. We then walked over to the edge of the Salt lake itself, where there were quite a few waders including c100 Little Stint, 7 Greenshank and 2 Marsh Sandpipers. Back at the villa a Little Owl was calling.

22nd April
Our last day, and while packing we realised that several items had been stolen from our villa, so we had a bit of a late start, due to sorting out statements with the local Police. After this we went down to Paphos Headland. Things were relatively quiet though quite a few Collared Flycatchers and other migrants were still present. After this we decided to go and have a look in fields around the airport area, which was supposedly good for Calandra Lark. We failed to find any Calandras but large numbers of Yellow Wagtails were feeding in one area around the perimeter fence. In one field we found a couple of Stone Curlews and in the nearby Eucalyptus trees a few migrants were present. Later we drove to Mandria for a last look before leaving for the airport. The area seemed relatively quiet but as we walked through the scrub behind the beach we flushed a cracking male Montagu’s Harrier at quite close range. This continued to show well hunting the area for quite some time. A couple of Stone Curlews were calling nearby and in one field we found a group of c50 Red-throated pipits. As we set off for the airport the Monty’s flew across the road just in front of the car for one final excellent view, and further along towards the airport 8 Night Heron flew over just before dark.

Butterflies
We found the website Butterflies of Cyprus by Eddie John to be very useful for helping us to identify most of the species we saw.
Swallowtail Papilio machaon © Chris Bradbury
Eastern Festoon Zerynthia cerisyi
Paphos Blue Glaucopsyche paphos (upperwing)
Paphos Blue Glaucopsyche paphos (underwing)
Pigmy Skipper Gegenes pumilio
Lang's Short-tailed Blue Leptotes pirithous (upperwing)
Lang's Short-tailed Blue Leptotes pirithous (underwing)
Clouded Yellow Colias croceus
Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus
Eastern Bath White Pontia edusa
Cyprus Grayling Hipparchia cypriensis
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria ssp. aegeria
Common Blue Polyommatus icarus
As well as the species we managed to photograph above we also saw Cyprus Meadow Brown Maniola cypricola, Painted Lady Vanessa cardui, Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines, Large White Pieris brassicae and Small White Pieris rapae.

Dragonflies
Lesser Emperor (female) Anax parthenope © Chris Bradbury
Southern Skimmer Orthetrum brunneum
Odalisque Epellage fatime
We also saw Vagrant Emperor Hemianax ephippiger, Scarlet Darter Crocothemis erythraea and a few other unidentified Dragonflies.

Reptiles & Mammals
For mammals and reptiles etc we found the website Nature of Cyprus very useful.
Turkish Gecko Hemidactylus turcicus
Kotschy's Gecko Cyrtopodion Kotschyi
Snake-eyed Lizard Ophisops elegans
We also saw and were able to identify Sling-tailed Agama Laudakia stellio cypriaca, Red Fox Vulpes vulpes, Hare Lepus capensis and Long-eared Hedgehog Hemiechinus auritus.

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