Cyprus Day 2 - Caspian Stonechat

Day Two 3^rd April:

We woke up to a much cloudier and unsettled day today and although neither of us said much as we headed to Cape Greco I think we were both hoping for a bit of a fall today. Early signs were good, a Marsh Harrier quartering the fields together with a ringtail Harrier ( most likely Pallid) and at the end of the headland more pipits and wagtails flying through including two Red-throated Pipits. A little further back from the masts at Cape Greco is an area with more bushes and greenery and it was here where there were even more birds to be seen. I was watching a shattered looking Great Spotted Cuckoo resting in a small tree when some shouts from a couple of other birders and Pete dragged me down to a stunning male Caspian Stonechat! The first really good bird of the trip and a really good species for Pete’s Western Palearctic list. I had never seen a Siberian Stonechat of any race in full adult plumage so it was a pleasure to watch this pristine bird for the best part of an hour, noting the distinctive Wheatear like tail pattern and in comparison with our Stonechat's as home it looked more like a snowball!

Great spotted Cuckoo

Caspian Stonechat

This stunning bird is usually only found in a small area west of the Caspian Sea in Asia

The pines area of Cape Greco was also especially busy today with an incredible amount of warblers. We found Eastern Subalpine, Eastern Bonnellis , 1 Ruppells Warbler, 2 Eastern Orphean Warbler and a stunning male Collared Flycatcher but we still missed a male Menetries Warbler that was found by another visiting birder.

Tree Pipit

 Having spent most of the day on Cape Greco we decided to explore the Paralimni Area in the late afternoon and I think we both realised the potential of the site within a couple of hours, although it is only a shadow of it’s former self as it has sadly been drained ( I worry deeply about habitat loss in the Middle East, I think in my lifetime most wetlands will be lost, thank god there are organisations out there such as Birdlife Cyprus that are fighting for at least some areas to be saved.) we still had a hell of a list of birds including a lifer for me after I flushed a Corn Crake out of a stubble field and another lifer for Pedro being his first ever Citrine Wagtail! We decided that we would check Paralmni every day which turned out to be a very good idea indeed!

Male Pallid Harrier

Cape Greco: 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Shag, 1 Sand Martin, 1 Caspian Stonechat, 1 Great Spotted Cuckoo, 2 Red-throated Pipit, 1 Eastern Bonellis Warbler, 1 Collared Flycatcher, 2 Eastern Orphean Warbler,1 Ruppells Warbler, 1 Sardinian Warbler, 1 Eastern Subalpine Warbler, 1 Eastern Olivacaous Warbler, 20 Chiffhcaff, 4 Willow Warbler, 1 Whinchat. Paralimni/Sotira Pools: 1 Blue Rock Thrush, 2 Spotted Crake, 1 Corn Crake,2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Kentish Plover, 1 Common Snipe, 2 Marsh Sandpiper, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 106 Ruff,15 Common Ringed Plover,  5 Spur Winged Plover, 1 Black Franklin, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Stone Curlew, 15 Little Stint, 1 Citrine Wagtail, 2 Pallid Harrier , 2 Red-throated Pipit, 1 Laughing Dove, 3 Ferruginous Duck.