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Home , Cyprus warbler, Cyprus wheatear, Great tit, Hooded crow

Holiday Highlights 30 March ––– 6 April 2019

GuidesGuides:::: Roy Atkins and Duncan Macdonald

GuestsGuests:::: Mary Batchelor, Stephen Evans, Sue and Mike JenkinsJenkins,, Tessa and Roger OliverOliver, , Mike HemsHems,, Eva KarlssonKarlsson,,,, Margaret and Mike Betts, Chris and Norman Haynes

Day 11: We have an easy flight out to Paphos, where we sort out minibuses and get on our way to the hotel. Our first is Hooded Crow before we even leave the airport, the here looking even paler than in , then we add one or two common as we drive, such as Kestrel, Wood Pigeon and we are surprised to see a Common Buzzard in the trees that is presumably of the Steppe race.

We arrive at the hotel, where we receive a warm welcome from Christina our hostess and have a chance to settle in before meeting up for a lovely glass of lemonade and a short walk. It is spitting with rain as we set out, pausing to enjoy the noisy Spanish Sparrows in the garden. There are Collared Doves, plenty of Hooded Crows, Jackdaws and at the top of the track we find Sardinian Warblers skulking in the bushes. A Cetti’s Warbler calls loudly nearby and Roy explains that the track we are on has changed enormously since the last time he was here! What was a bare dirt track you could drive a car down, is now completely overgrown and impossible to walk down! The track used to lead down to the river but the lower part has been washed away by the stream, so after a scan around we give up on this route and start walking back.

As we head back up the track Roy spots a Wood Warbler in a small and we enjoy superb views as it flits around the outer branches. We find a Blackcap then realise there is a flock of Red-rumped Swallows overhead - a sizeable flock with perhaps fifty birds! Three Marsh Harriers are circling over the hillside opposite, which is a nice surprise. A Chukar has been calling on the hillside above us and we take a look but can’t find it and with the rain coming on more heavily we decide to head back and have a bit of time before we eat – it has been a nice start to the trip.

We gather again for our evening meal and a run through the checklist before chatting about the plans for the week ahead and all manner of other things too - then head to bed after a long day

Day 22: The day starts rather overcast with drips of rain as we enjoy our breakfast and get ready to head out to the headland. We are soon on our way, spotting a Chukar as we drive and make a stop at a supermarket to get a few provisions - and while Roy and Duncan are inside everyone hops out and starts having a look round. It is astonishing what birds are right here!! This is nowhere special and yet in a few minutes we have found two Black-eared , one is absolutely beautiful, Northern , Black-headed Wagtail, White Wagtail, Woodchat Shrike, Redstart, a close Cretzschmar's Bunting on the wire over the road, three Marsh Harriers fly past and to our amazement there are three Laughing Doves – a species Roy has never even seen on the island before - incredible!

Thinking that we should get on our way as, surely, this must mean even better birding at the headland, we move on and soon arrive at the beach to the north of the headland, where there has been a reported Hooded Wheatear recently. We are nervous it might have gone and work our way through the area where it was seen finding nothing, then suddenly a wheatear flies past and lands on the rocks but it is an Isabelline Wheatear - still a nice find but no cigar! We are watching this when a bird flies up from the piles of seaweed on the shore and darts around chasing flies and we are thrilled to realise this is the bird - a gorgeous female Hooded Wheatear! Despite her rather plain she is lovely with an amazingly long bill and a long, pale, creamy-buff coloured tail with darker corners and centre. We are thrilled and enjoy fantastic views for some time, taking turns at the scopes, before becoming distracted by other birds. A Common Sandpiper is on the weed too, then a Kingfisher flies through and lands in full view. We find Northern Wheatear and a Marsh Harrier flies over and we are amazed at the number of Painted Ladies migrating through! We bump into a birder from the island who tells us that there have been exceptional numbers of them this year and at times they have been like mosquitoes in their thousands if not millions!

We decide to take a stroll back towards the café and pause for a coffee to celebrate, then scan the scrubby bushes the other side of the fence. We start finding lots of birds including Lesser Whitethroat, Crested Lark, Blue Rock - a very nice find even if she is a female and rather dark in colour. There are more Black-eared Wheatears, including both black-eared and black-throated forms. We find Meadow and Tree Pipits and a massive flock of Yellow Wagtails, which seem to be mainly Black-headed with some others in amongst them such as ‘dombrowski’ and blue-headed. A group of six Purple Herons fly over migrating northwards and over the next while a few more individuals. Sue picks up a passing Baltic out at sea and there are several Yellow-legged . An Ortolan Bunting appears on the rocks and we spot several Sardinian Warblers, a female Subalpine Warbler and a Hoopoe. A flies over and looking up towards the lighthouse we notice a small knot of birdwatchers clearly looking at something exciting from their reaction! We try to work out what direction they are looking and Roy finds it - a Caspian Stonechat!! We had heard this bird has been around but it has sometimes been tricky to find and we are delighted to see it even at a distance. Through the scope we watch as it ‘flirts’ its tail now and then displaying he white in the base this is characteristic of this . What a morning we are having!

We wander back for lunch, which we have beside the café and as we eat Roy picks up a Pallid Harrier flying towards us. It flies around low over the grass and we get superb views! What a stunning bird it is! After lunch we decide to drive round to the main car park and head inside the fenced area. There seem to be Sardinian Warblers everywhere and we find Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroats, two Subalpine Warblers in the trees above our heads and a Blackcap. Suddenly there is great excitement as a male Pallid Harrier flies past and starts hunting over the grasslands below us. It puts on a wonderful performance and perhaps the best views any of us have ever had of this species.

After this we walk on a short way and suddenly become aware of a massive flock of perhaps 300 or more Yellow Wagtails! Wow - what a sight they are as they fly up and wheel round dropping into the grass and vanishing. A mass of them land in the bare branches of some bushes like a mass of yellow decorations. We walk down to get better views, pausing when we discover flocks of hirundines and swifts overhead. There are both Red-rumped Swallows and at least four Pallid Swifts and three Alpine Swifts amongst the more common species. We find Chiffchaffs and Great Tits, then the Yellow Wagtails put on a wonderful performance as they fly round and perch on the walls and bushes right in front of us. The vast majority are Black-headed but we also find Blue-headed, Grey-headed and the two crosses ‘dombrowski’ and ‘superciliaris’ - the latter quite variable with some having white supercilium and some yellow. Mary spots our first Masked Shrike, a stunning male that poses well.

We walk up to the lighthouse, where we find Cyprus Wheatear showing well on the hand rails, along with Northern and Black-eared Wheatears and another Masked Shrike found by Norman. We are running out of time and start back towards the Visitor Centre, finding more Sardinian Warblers and a Blackcap on the way then spot a Stonechat. We check it carefully and realise it is just a Common Stonechat but we are delighted when nearby we also find the Caspian Stonechat and get much better views than earlier - again able to pick up the white in the tail.

We arrive back at the car park and decide we need to pop back to the car hire company as the door is sticking on Duncan’s van. We get there and it is soon sorted then, as we start driving back out towards the main road, a flock of bird takes flight in a wet area amongst trees near the beach. Most are Little Egrets but there is also a dozen Glossy Ibis! A very nice bird to add before we head back

We meet up after a break for our evening meal, which is superb, with delicious Baclava for dessert - then after running through the checklist a small group of us gather outside to try for the Cyprus Scops Owl that usually nests in the garden. It is silent but for the calls of the Cyprus Water Frogs in the valley then suddenly it starts to call. We track it down to the small tree the other side other road and shortly manage to get some wonderful views of this newly split endemic to the island. What a fabulous finish to a fabulous day!

Day 33: After a slightly earlier breakfast we make the rather long drive towards Larnaka but continue on to another lake some way beyond. We arrive and take a look from a hide there, scanning the water and round the edges in case any crakes are showing. We add some common species like Coot, Moorhen, Mallard and plenty of Shoveler then notice two lovely male Garganey and a pair of duck that are diving a lot - Ferruginous Ducks. There are Little Grebes, lots of Black-winged Stilts and we watch a Chiffchaff in front of us in the bushes and a Redd warbler in the reeds beyond. Duncan excitedly calls out that he has a Little Crake and we follow his directions but, wow, it is not easy. It is skulking through the branches of overhanging bush and is hidden a lot more then it is visible - but now and then we get a brief view. At first it is a female then later turns into a male and we can only assume there must actually be two in there! A rather chunky warbler above these birds just has to be a Great Reed Warbler.

A Marsh Harrier flies in low and puts up a lot of Teal and all the Shoveler, Black - winged Stilts and a surprising number of Snipe. After disappearing over the bushes more duck take flight from the far side and a pair of Red-crested Pochard fly in and land followed shortly by a second female. We add Lesser Whitethroat and two Greater Flamingos fly through looking their usual strange elongated shape. We decide to try the other hide but it is very quiet here with just Shoveler and Teal but we do enjoy good views of Spur-winged Lapwing. There are lots of red dragonflies here which we identify as Red-veined and Scarlet Darters.

We decide to head back towards Larnaka and go to a picnic spot for lunch - and are amazed to find loads of other people there all having a great time! It is fun to watch but a little noisy and it is perhaps no surprise there are no birds. We drive round towards the mosque – the very famous Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, one of the most important in the world! The lake is so full it is presumably too deep for the usual flamingos so we almost don’t bother scanning it - however Roy is delighted to pick out a distant Ruddy Shelduck - a very good find!

We drive round to some other pools and arrive to find lots of Greater Flamingos, including some nice and close and we stop to have a look. While we are scanning around we find several Kentish Plovers and a smaller number of Dunlin. In the scrub an Isabelline Wheatear is showing well, Duncan spots three Tawny Pipits and then we add Rüppell’s Warbler which flies out of the low scrub and into a tamarisk where it shows very well indeed. As we are about to leave a group of four Red-throated Pipits fly in and feed right by a path so we can all the brick red throat and breast - fantastic!

We drive on, keeping our eyes open for waders as we drive and find a small shallow pool with lots of Black-winged Stilts and with them, a flock of 12 Marsh Sandpipers! We spend a while just enjoying great views of these elegant waders also finding at least four Green Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover

We continue on our way and make a stop at the hide. Where we park the vans we are pleased to discover we are close to a Spectacled Warbler nest and the female is bringing in food, allowing us some superb views. We disturb a Black Francolin which flies off over the fields and then walk on round to the hide. This is usually an excellent spot but today, with very high water levels, there is very little here. On the black polythene round the edges we find are five Green Sandpipers and a pair of Redshank plus some Spur-winged Lapwings.

We drive on to more pools and there are again lots of Greater Flamingos - they really are wonderful birds! We spot a group of three Greenshank and between the road and the beach find flocks of waders. There are lots of Kentish Plovers and plenty of Little Stint, with a smaller number of Dunlin and a few Ringed Plover. We can hear a Black Francolin calling in the distance and decide to drive round to see if we can find it. As we drive we pass lots of Ruff, another Garganey, and get better views of the Greenshank. We can hear the francolin much louder now and walk closer to see if we can find it. They are frequently very elusive so it is a wonderful stroke of luck to find it perched up on a piece of farm machinery in full views and we get some good scope views before it drops off into the long vegetation. We stand scanning the area and are amazed when Mike B spots another male Black Francolin perched up on a fence a bit more distantly! It is a great view through the scope and we are pleased to have caught up with this often elusive bird.

We are about to leave when a Stone Curlew flies across past us and over to the road, so we drive round and find even more waders now on the shore. We check these, finding nothing new but Roy soon picks up the Stone Curlew and we get fabulous scope views before a dog walker disturbs it and it flies off back where it came from

We are out of time and set off for the drive back home - we are very pleased we were not caught in any showers like those we drive through on our return journey, with the road awash as rain pounds on the windscreen!

Day 44: After lots of driving yesterday we decide to have a nice local day today and start very locally at Asprokremnos Dam. We arrive and immediately start finding birds with Zitting Cisticola calling and flying round, a Chukar perched on piles of soil, Chiffchaff, two Tawny Pipits, and other birds around the car park area.

Down on the dam itself the water levels are amazingly high - higher than we have ever seen on previous trips, so there is no mud at the edge or anything but we still find three Night Herons roosting in the bushes. Stephen finds a Purple Heron hunting in the shallows and Mike J spots a Squacco Heron. We are thrilled when a stunning male Rüppell’s Warbler appears and shows well, reappearing later and giving fantastic views. Tessa finds a Subalpine Warbler, we get good views of Black-eared Wheatear, Alpine Swifts fly overhead and a Common Sandpiper comes in below us.

We decide to walk over the dam and check the area of trees on the far side and immediately find a Bonelli’s Warbler. It performs wonderfully as does another a little further up the path - and while looking for a flycatcher someone spotted we discover yet more with five in total plus a lovely Wood Warbler. A stunning male Pallid Harrier flies over and sets out across the fields hunting - a fabulous sight. There seem to be lots of Kestrels around and we spend a little while checking they are not Lessers - but there don’t seem to be any.

At the end of the trees we come out into some lovely habitat, with little scattered bushes in a limestone pavement with masses of flowers. It is a shame there are no decent books to this area as we are finding plenty of interest – Salsify, a lovely big white flowered Ranunculus known as Turban Buttercup, an Alium rather similar to Ramsons and a Gladiolus with bicoloured flowers called Three-leaved Gladiolus, and some lovely Pyramidal Orchids. We also find some lovely little Snake-eyed Lizards.

With few birds on show we wander back down to the car park, spotting Jane Stylianou on the way - the island recorder who has been very helpful with directions to birds and letting us know what is around. It is nice to meet her and thank her in person.

We decide to head back to the hotel for lunch, as we are so close and are astonished to discover that a bee swarm has arrived while we have been away. It is hanging up in the bushes and it seems surprisingly safe to go up close to take photos even with bees constantly flying around you.

After lunch we head down towards the coast and drive round slowly round the fields and rough grasslands here. At first it seems quiet but then we start finding a few birds, including two Isabelline Wheatear and a nice flock of around 20 Short-toed Larks and two Tawny Pipits. There are several Northern Wheatears in the fields, a Whinchat, Black-eared Wheatear, more Tawny Pipits and out on the rocks a Mediterranean race Shag with characteristic long, thin bill.

We head round to another spot nearer the airport where a very shallow pool has attracted a few waders. We discover seven Greenshank, two Marsh Sandpipers, a Ruff, four Little Ringed Plovers and lots of Yellow Wagtails - with all the likely different races present and often providing great views. We are thrilled when yet another male Pallid Harrier passes through - just fantastic! Then just before we leave a appears and we find a few common migrants in the trees.

We are about to head round to the bottom of the dam but looking that way there appear to be masses of dark clouds looming and then heavy rain starts to fall, so we decide to try a spot we have heard about for Cyprus Warbler nearer the coast, where it still appears to be sunny. We arrive and park up, then head along a path up the slope a short way and almost immediately spot a bird on the bushes and raise our bins in excitement - a Sardinian Warbler. We try playing a little bit of the song but nothing appears then Tessa says, “What is the bird behind us on top of the bush?” It is a perfect male Cyprus Warbler!! We are delighted and everyone gets a look through the scope as it stays and sings for a little while before it flies. A second bird appears a little further away and is equally well marked looking great through the scopes. With time now short we have a have a quick look at Aphrodite’s Rock since we are close by - with Yellow-legged Gulls on top and Jackdaws nearby with white semi-collars on the sides of their necks - then we head for home.

Day 55: Today the forecast is for glorious weather all over the island, including the mountains so we decide to head up high! We make a right turn instead of left at the gate and start on our way up the valley, making a stop where Roy has seen Bonelli’s Eagle in the past. We put in a bit of time scanning for this elusive bird and after a few minutes become distracted by a big patch of Tongue Orchids. We work through the book and decide they have to be Plough-share Tongue Orchid - and in perfect condition too!

We get good views of Sardinian Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat and a pair of Red-rumped Swallows appear to be showing an interest in a low bridge nearby where they might nest. Roy picks up what might be an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler but it quickly disappears and we are distracted from looking for it when suddenly Sue says, “There is a raptor!” We are delighted to find it is a Bonelli’s Eagle and enjoy fabulous views as it circles up above the trees and gains height, looking great against the blue sky - what a treat! At this moment the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler reappears and we are torn as to whether to look at the ‘new bird’ or the fabulous eagle!

Well pleased with our sightings we get on our way again and head further up the valley and higher and higher until we reach another spot where we make a stop at a little patch of rough ground where Roy has found interesting orchids on past trips. We get out and find a fabulous patch of Naked Man Orchids! They are perfect and amongst them we also find two ophrys species and after working carefully through the book we decide they are Mt Carmel Orchid and one of the Woodcock Orchids. There are several Giant Orchids here too though rather past their best - orchids flower very early on Cyprus!

As we are enjoying the orchids Duncan somehow spots a Griffon Vulture so far away it might be in the next time zone! It is easily identifiable through the scope however and it is nice to see one of this scarce species even if it is rather distant. Some people get views of a Cyprus Warbler here and while trying to relocate this bird we find Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warblers and a mass of Moth on a huddle on the track!

Looking up towards the mountains we are shocked to see huge clouds forming and looking very dark - so we decide to make a dash for the hills and try and see our target species before it starts to rain. Ha ha - fat chance! We hit rain well before we arrive and by the time we are parking up in the car park the rain is already quite steady, so we decide to go for a coffee to see what it does. We are pleased to find the endemic race of Coal right by the car park and enjoy some good views, commenting on the enormous amount of black on the throat continuing down onto the chest and even the breast sides! As we enjoy our coffee we also spot several endemic race Jays looking similar to ours but with more coloured heads and dark eyes. We finish the coffee and it is still raining with no sign of letting up so we decide to just don our coats and go for it anyway.

We have two more endemic subspecies to see and we follow the path over large snow patches, passing lots more Coal Tits and also Greenfinches, Chaffinches, a singing Blackbird and a big flock of Siskins as we walk. Then we hear what we are looking for - a Short-toed Treecreeper of the race dorotheae. It takes a bit of finding and we resort to playing a bit of song before it comes into view and at last we enjoy some excellent views. We come out to a spot where we can look out over lots of pine trees and scan the tops of the trees looking for our final target - Cyprus Crossbill. We are distracted by lovely flowers of the endemic flower, Cyprus Rock-cress, when suddenly we hear crossbills calling. They sound quite close and we scan down the slope checking every tree. It is Duncan who finds one, calling from the top of one of the trees - a male but typical of this species it is barely coloured with any hint of red. We all enjoy great scope views before it vanishes and we return to the vans for lunch.

We also have a few minutes to enjoy the shops here, including one called Hot Nuts Erotic! The girl running the stall is hilarious, taking about the nuts being ‘cheeky-cheeky’ and waving a rather phallic piece of Palouze, a long slim jelly-like candy made from grape juice! We end up buying delicious hot cashews and other nuts in various flavourings, nougat, Turkish delight and all sorts - she is a very good sales-woman!

With the rain still falling we go to Kykkos Monastery and take a very winding road before parking up and heading inside. It is an astonishing place with so much gold in the ‘church’ and in one of the rooms a lot of ‘relics’ with pieces of bone in them. The murals and mosaics showing scenes from the bible are amazing and we spend time having a good look before gathering back at the bus and heading back towards home.

It is more winding roads that seem to go on and on before we hit a slightly better road and start dropping down. The views are wonderful, with mist rising up from the forest and layers of mountains and we stop to take photos of the view. As soon as we get out of the vans we hear singing Serins and soon find on one the wires over the road. Then, as we scan around, Mary asks what the bird is up on the skyline and we are excited to discover it is a Long-legged Buzzard. It takes a short flight and lands in a better position and we can see the identification features before it flies. Later it returns and we enjoy even better views. Meanwhile Mike B has heard a singing Cyprus Warbler up the road. We get brief views but shortly it appears in the vines right beside where we are standing and we get wonderful scope-filling views.

Time is running out now so we start back down for the hotel. We are well on the way when suddenly right at the edge of the road is a male Black Francolin! It takes flight as we pass and lands in the grass in the field beside us and we are delighted to see the grass is just short enough that we can see its head and neck as it works its way along. We get some great views as it walks along the back edge and then heads off down the dirt track at the end of the field.

Day 6: Margaret and Mike used to live on Cyprus and they are keen to pass where they used to live and also show us the astonishing amphitheatre they visited years ago at Kurion. They are on the way to our destination today and we take the coast road and enjoy the views along the way. They point out where their house was we pass before we stop at the Roman ruins at Kourion. Here we see the remains of an old house with mosaic floors but more impressive still the amazing amphitheatre which looks in exceptional condition and is still used for performances today. There are a couple of Cyprus Wheatears here and Stephen spots four very distant Griffon Vultures. We get lovely views of Alpine Swifts and he masses of poppies, Crown Daisies and other flowers are amazing and again there seem to be lots of Painted Ladies passing through.

We next head down to the coast, below the rocks of Kensington Cliffs, in the vain hope of an early Eleanora’s Falcon or perhaps some Griffon Vultures but we have to be happy with Kestrel and Jackdaws. The view is impressive and the sea a beautiful blue and aquamarine. We move on towards the peninsula and as we arrive at the marshes we are surprised to discover there is a new hide! We head down to the first one to check it out but to be honest it is very quiet with hardly anything to look at - there is no pool or anything just acres of reeds in front of it. We soon head back to the vans but are pleased to discover two Rüppell's Warblers on the way! There are Reed Warblers singing and back at the vans Sue notices a bird flitting around the trees. She missed the Bonelli’s Warblers the other morning so it is nice she has found one for herself and as we try to get better views we realise there are three of them!

We move on to the next hide, pausing to look at Purple Heron, Cattle Egrets, Little Egret and Marsh Harriers as we go. This hide also seems to have nothing in front of it, until after a few moments a Little Crake comes walking into view at the edge of the dense vegetation! There is great excitement as it gets closer and we enjoy fabulous views for some time as we enjoy our lunch.

We drive on and find a shallow pool with about six Glossy Ibis and we soon find there are also waders, including many Ruff, Marsh Sandpipers and Snipe. Nearby are two Hoopoes feeding quietly and, in the background, a noisy Black Francolin is calling. We scan the back of the field and surprisingly manage to find it. We attempt to drive round towards the gravel pits and find a few birds such as Black-eared Wheatear, a and Whitethroat but the tracks look very muddy and we decide to be cautious and stick to the main tracks and roads.

We arrive at another pool where there are even more Ruff including a lovely white-headed bird. There are perhaps 10 or more Marsh Sandpipers, Green and Common Sandpipers, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plovers and lots of Yellow Wagtails of different sorts. Mary finds a Masked Shrike again - she seems to have knack for them! Mike B picks out a Garganey and there are masses of Swallows and Swifts passing through

We drive on and as we head round to Ladies Mile we pause to check out the Greater Flamingos and more importantly, gulls out on the water. They are Slender-billed Gulls but the heat haze is awful. Margaret discovers a selection of orchids growing at the side of the road here - a nice mix with Bug Orchid, some spectacular Bee Orchids and a stand of Lax-flowered Tongue Orchids. As we are looking at these Tessa looks into the trees the other side of the road and finds a stunning make Collared Flycatcher!! What a beauty! He is perfect and we soon realise there is actually a second nearby. Then as we drive the rest of this road to the end we find more migrants including another Collared Flycatcher, two Redstarts and an astonishing seven more Rüppell’s Warblers, including at least four superb males. These are Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcap, Chiffchaffs and we wonder what we have driven past without knowing!

It is slightly surprising that there are not further migrants along the beach, but at the far end is a group of half a dozen Black-winged Stilts and in the furthest pool both Black-headed and Slender-billed Gulls and surprisingly a Caspian Gull! We check the seafront and are pleased to find a lovely Armenian Gull plus perhaps two more first winter birds and a Yellow-legged Gull too.

We have run out of time and head for home, where we enjoy a short break before our evening meal and then a quick look for Cyprus Scops Owl for those who have not seen it yet. We are amazed how quickly we find it this time and we get fantastic views within minutes and very happy with our day, we head to bed!

Day 77: Since we didn’t explore Paphos Headland very much last time - we didn’t even see the mosaics - we decide to head back and spend more time there and arrive to find a flock of Night herons flying over. As we enter the grounds a flock of Purple Herons flies over too! There are several Starred Agamas basking in the morning sun - big lizards with large heads. One of the first birds we glimpse is a Nightingale, then we start finding warblers - Whitethroat, Sardinian, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and then in the trees we are delighted to discover an Eastern Orphean Warbler! This is a great find rather like a giant Lesser Whitethroat and always scarce.

We make our way towards the large covered area where the main mosaics are under cover and pass through trees with more common warblers and a nice Tree Pipit then at the far end find a Woodchat Shrike. Amongst the ruins are Northern and an Isabelline Wheatear and we enjoy superb views of a smart male Subalpine Warbler. The mosaics are well worth seeing and quite astonishing – but as naturalists we can’t help but identify all the various and birds in them – with very accurate representations of Tiger, Leopard, Wild Boar, Mouflon and a Brown Bear amongst them. Further down are more mosaics and ruins including tall pillars and here we discover two Short-toed Lark, an Isabelline Wheatear and several Yellow and White Wagtails. There is now a constant stream of Painted Ladies passing through!

We walk back towards the main building again and discover a rather duller male Rüppell’s Warbler, then walk down the slope past the amphitheatre which seems so empty without all those Yellow Wagtails that were here the other day. We find more common migrants but nothing else of note and so we head back out for lunch on the sea front, where we get brief views of a Kingfisher. We enjoy an ice-cream before heading out of town and up into the hills. Driving through Paphos we are absolutely amazed at the shear number of Painted Ladies passing through. There must be tens of thousands if not millions of them – they are constant even in the middle of town!

We make a short stop at a group of small pools on the way. They can be good for crakes and we are thrilled to find two male Little Crakes walking around right out in the open! These are exceptional views and we watch them for a while before checking the other pools but there seem to be no more. A Great Spotted Cuckoo flies over calling and, in the distance, we find a Woodchat Shrike. There is a lot of noise form frogs and Roy scans carefully with his scope until he finds one - the endemic Cyprus Water Frog. We are almost at the point of leaving when suddenly Roy noticed there is a female Little Bittern stood quietly in the corner!

We continue up into the hills, where we take a dirt track to explore the area. We find two Tawny Pipits on the track then make a stop when we spot Great Spotted Cuckoos chasing each other. Scanning the area we find them quickly then they are chased back towards us by and end up very close indeed and we enjoy astonishing scope-filling views! There are more and we see at least six from this spot, as well as great views of Cyprus Wheatear, Tree Pipit, various warblers and lots of Corn Buntings. We spot Kestrels but despite our best efforts all seem to be Common Kestrel - this is a well-known spot for Lesser!

We drive onto another spot and find more wheatears of three species here – Northern, Black-eared and Cyprus. There are more Great Spotted Cuckoos and Kestrels but little else of note so again we move on. At our next stop we are amazed to find three Common Cuckoos including two females of the ‘hepatic’ colour form. We enjoy superb views of them as well yet more Great Spotted Cuckoos! There is a close Woodchat Shrike here and yet more Corn Buntings, a Cyprus Wheatear and still lots of Painted Ladies passing through. We try driving out the end of the track and down the hill but come to a prison! We turn round and pass four more Great Spotted Cuckoos just on this short piece of road! We think through all the places we stopped and where we saw them and conclude we may have seen as many as 18 Great Spotted Cuckoos this afternoon!

Back at the hotel we have a look at Margaret’s paintings as she stayed back at the hotel to relax and paint today – and wow they are fabulous – really capturing the scenery and little details. We then finish the day after our evening meal with our traditional round-up of the holiday in which each person gets to choose a favourite species from the trip (we decide on three this time!) a favourite place and a ‘magic moment’.

Although three other spots get a mention, the favourite place that sores the most votes by far is Paphos Headland with nine people choosing this spot as the place they enjoyed the most, due to the sheer number of species we saw there plus the wonderful views of Pallid Harrier and those wonderful Yellow Wagtails. We then go round the group to hear what species they have enjoyed seeing the most and wow – it is incredible the number of species that get a mention. With each person allowed three species you might expect the same species to crop up many times but instead we have a huge spread with 21 different species getting a mention. These range from orchids to flamingos, Bonelli’s Eagle, Cyprus Warbler, those Hepatic Cuckoos and even Zitting Cisticola gets a mention! A few species get more than one ‘vote’ including Rüppell’s Warbler and Black Francolin with two, Masked Shrike and Great Spotted Cuckoo with three and Collared Flycatcher, Hooded Wheatear and Little Crake with four, but the winner with six votes is the wonderful Pallid Harrier - a well deserved winner after the fabulous views on this trip of at least three birds.

Magic moments can be very unpredictable and this time there is much hilarity around the ‘Cheeky-cheeky’ nuts and the disappointing results from eating them! Mike is convinced she sold us the wrong nuts! Other things that get a mention are the great view of Cyprus Scops Owl, the close up Pallid Harrier, the birding outside the supermarket and the astonishing mass of Painted Ladies passing through in their millions! There is however an easy winner - those fabulous masses of Yellow Wagtails at Paphos Headland on our first visit - landing in the bare bushes like Christmas decorations and covering the tops of the walls - it was truly special. It has been a wonderful trip and there are thanks to everyone for the fun and laughter as well as their enthusiasm.

Day 88: Today we travel home but our flight is not until this afternoon, so we have plenty of time to do some birding after breakfast. Yesterday a Semi-collared Flycatcher was at Asprokremnos Dam so we decide to head out there and see if it is still around, starting our search the far side of the dam. There is a Wood Warbler in the trees here, plus a nice male Rüppell’s Warbler plus Lesser Whitethroat and Chiffchaffs but no sign of any flycatchers.

We head back to the dam itself and we’re surprised to discover a singing male Cyprus Warbler. It puts on a great performance singing from the tops of the bushes for some time. There is also a female Subalpine Warbler here and we find a Purple Heron perched right in the top of one of the trees. A Night Heron is roosting in the tamarisks below and we spot a distant Whinchat, Zitting Cisticola, another Wood Warbler and various other common migrants. Time flies by and we must fly too, so we head back to the hotel to do our last minute packing and then, after making our fond farewells to the lovely staff at the hotel, we make our way to the airport and our flight back home.

BIRDS Ruddy Shelduck Common Swift Mallard Pallid Swift Teal Alpine Swift Garganey Hoopoe Red-crested Pochard Kingfisher Ferruginous Duck Crested Lark Black Francolin Short-toed Lark Chukar Sand Martin Little Grebe Barn Swallow Shag Red-rumped Swallow Night Heron House Martin Little Bittern Tawny Pipit Cattle Egret Meadow Pipit Squacco Heron Tree Pipit Little Egret Red-throated Pipit Grey Heron White Wagtail Purple Heron Yellow Wagtail - Blue-headed race Motacilla flava flava Glossy Ibis Yellow Wagtail – Grey-headed race M f thunbergi Greater Flamingo Yellow Wagtail - Black-headed race Motacilla feldegg Griffon Vulture Yellow Wagtail - M f ‘supercilliaris’ race Bonelli's Eagle Yellow Wagtail – M f ‘dombrowski’ race Marsh Harrier Nightingale Pallid Harrier Common Redstart Long-legged Buzzard Whinchat Common (Steppe) Buzzard Common Stonechat Kestrel Siberian (Caspian) Stonechat Little Crake Blue Rock Thrush Moorhen Blackbird Coot Northern Wheatear Stone-curlew Isabelline Wheatear Black-winged Stilt Black-eared Wheatear Spur-winged Plover Cyprus Wheatear (endemic) Little Ringed Plover Hooded Wheatear Ringed Plover Blackcap Kentish Plover Common Whitethroat Dunlin Lesser Whitethroat Little Stint Eastern Orphean Warbler Green Sandpiper Sardinian Warbler Wood Sandpiper Cyprus Warbler (endemic) Common Sandpiper Rüppell’s Warbler Redshank Spectacled Warbler Greenshank Eastern Subalpine Warbler Marsh Sandpiper Zitting Cisticola Common Snipe Cetti's Warbler Ruff Reed Warbler Black-headed Gull Great Reed Warbler Slender-billed Gull Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Yellow-legged Gull Wood Warbler Armenian Gull Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler Caspian Gull Chiffchaff Lesser Black-backed Gull (Baltic) Collared Flycatcher Feral Pigeon Great Tit Wood Pigeon (endemic ssp) Collared Dove Short-toed Treecreeper (endemic ssp) Laughing Dove Woodchat Shrike Cuckoo Masked Shrike Great Spotted Cuckoo Cyprus Scops Owl (endemic) (endemic ssp) Jackdaw REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS Hooded Crow Starred Agama (endemic ssp) House Sparrow Snake-eyed Lizard Spanish Sparrow Cyprus Marsh Frog (recently split sp) Chaffinch Linnet BUTTERFLIES AND DRAGONFLIES Goldfinch Swallowtail Greenfinch Large White Siskin Small White Serin Painted Lady (thousands!) Crossbill (endemic ssp) Clouded Yellow Ortolan Bunting Paphos Blue Cretzschmar's Bunting Common Blue Corn Bunting Cleopatra Orange-tip Processionary Moth caterpillars Scarlet Darter Red-veined Darter

ORCHIDS Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis Bug Orchid Orchis coriophora Naked Man Orchid Orchis italica Giant Orchid Barlia robertiana Mount Carmel Orchid Ophrys attica Woodcock Orchid Ophrys umbilicata Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera Lax-flowered Tongue Orchid Serapias laxiflora Plough-share Tongue Orchid Serapia vomeracea