Agia Triada

A day of contrasts, we started at the small fishing harbour of Agia Triada just outside Paralimni and walked along the coast for a couple of kilometres enabling me to spot a greater sand plover with 7 grey plover, plus an Audouin's gull. The latter was a Cyprus first for me and the sand plover was the first I have seen on Cyprus away from Paphos headland. 

Then we went to Famagusta view point and saw the abandoned holiday resort of Varosha, apparently one of the most exclusive resorts in Europe until as recently as the early 1970's, a favourite of  stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, and Brigitte Bardot. These days it's all distant views, photography is strictly prohibited and I couldn't even look at it through my binoculars. 

A visit to northern Cyrpus - Famagusta South Lake

Local birder Peter Bromley and I visited Turkish occupied northern Cyprus today. It's the first time I've been able to go because car hire companies in southern Cyprus which I rely on won't allow it, but as a passenger in Peter's car there were no problems. We had to show our passports at two check points before driving through parts of the no go zone in Famagusta, with abandoned houses and businesses falling into ruins. 

The reason for the visit was to go to Famagusta south lake where there have been two white-headed ducks for about a week. After spending an hour here, we headed off to Mia Milia just east Nicosia, an outstanding site for water birds, before ending at the completely dry Kouklia wetlands where we saw a good selection of farmland birds including many larks. More of that later.

All of my previous sightings of white-headed duck have been in Spain with the last being at Laguna la Tarelo, Donana north of Cadiz in 2017. Smart little ducks and although there are apparently no recognised subspecies, I was still delighted to see these birds from the Asian population, most likely Turkey.

It's difficult photographing a bird with a white head and dark body in bright sunlight, hand held on your phone, through somebody else's scope at a distance of about 200m when the bloody things keep diving and are seemingly determined not to be on the surface at the same time, so give me a break here.....

Viewing at Famagusta was not particularly easy but the light was good. There were about 50 Greater flamingos, 50 ferruginous ducks, 40 pochard, loads of shoveler and teal, five great white egrets and about 30 cattle egrets, plus a couple each of Armenian and Caspian gulls. 

Continuing our journey in the north - Mia Milia and Kouklia Wetlands

Following our visit to Famagusta south lake we decided to make the most of our excursion into the north and pressed on towards Nicosia and Mia Milia sewage works. Regular readers will know that when on holiday abroad, nothing gets the Davies pulse racing like a visit to the nearest sewage works. In these hot dry countries they're often the only source of water for miles around and of course there's an abundance of food for the birds. In 2018 I spent three weeks in Melbourne Australia, of which two weeks were spent at Werribee sewage works (opens in a new window)! Sewage works are often top birding spots, I read somewhere that Werribee was rated as the second best wetland in the whole of Australia. So I was more than happy to visit Mia Milia today.

Highlight today was a juvenile common crane, a Cyprus first for me, as was an avocet, which obligingly posed in the same photo as the crane. There were good numbers of waders, with 50 spur-winged plover, 10 spotted redshanks, 3 Temminck's stints, little stint, ruff and redshank with 3 green, 8 wood and 3 common sandpipers, plus 110 lapwings.

There were lots of cattle egrets in the area, mainly roosting at the sewage works and feeding in nearby fields.

Shore lark again on the Great Orme

I was on the Great Orme for 8am today and it was a very different day to yesterday. For the first hour I was completely alone, not even a dog walker, and it was windy with very threatening skies but didn't actually rain. Then the threat became reality as a bank of heavy rain hit me and I decided to call it a day. 

In that dry period it was nice to locate the shore lark for myself and be able to watch it without other people about. It's a nice looking bird, and a wonderful location to see it.

Shore lark on the Great Orme

I was pleased to catch up with the shore lark on the Great Orme today after missing out last week. It's been elusive during its two week stay and went AWOL from lunchtime on Monday to Friday afternoon. 

The drive from home was through heavy drizzle and mist as far as Holywell, but then it brightened up and was a glorious day on the Orme with great big skies! 

This was a site tick for me. In recent years I've also seen snow bunting and Lapland bunting here.

Long-tailed duck, Taylor Park

Long-tailed Duck, Taylor Park
Photo © John Tymon

I was delighted to find a long-tailed duck at Taylor Park this afternoon whilst taking the toddler grandchild to the swings. It's the eighth record for St Helens and I've now managed to find three of them. My previous finds were at Eccleston Mere in 2005 and Prescot reservoirs in 2015, so with todays bird being in 2025, my next predicted sighting is 2035!

This coot kept chasing it.

Pochard and Goldeneye at the flash

The pochard flock at the Flash continues to build, with 59 off the car park this morning, apparently my largest flock ever at the Flash though I'm sure that must be more down to my under-recording in the 1980s & 90s. Certainly my largest flock this century. Also a build up of goldeneye today with 20 inc. 5 drakes.

Cattle Egrets

Yesterday I was at Martin Mere and saw a flock of 44 cattle egrets flying over the fields behind Sunley's, the largest flock of cattle egrets that I have ever seen in the UK. Earlier a dawn count had revealed at least 51 birds. Like little and great white, cattle egret has really spread in recent years to the extent that they now breed in the Southport area and last year I heard of a roost containing over 500 birds in Somerset. 

Even so, despite their dramatic increase they're still quite localised. For example, there's only ever been one record of the species in St Helens and that was way back in 2008, despite there being many square miles of suitable looking habitat on the Rainford mosslands. As the cattle egret flies, it's just 14km (9 miles) from the herd of cows at Dairy Farm Road to the flock of 51 cattle egrets at Martin Mere, but they never seem to make it. 

Greater Manchester does a little better but not much. I've seen five at Pennington Flash over the past 45 years, but it's still classed as a Greater Manchester mega. Meanwhile, Brockholes nature reserve near Preston on the Ribble, recorded it's first ever cattle egret just a few weeks ago.

Today I went for a walk on the Great Orme with Elaine. The birding highlight was this cattle egret flying over the sea below the lighthouse. It's certainly the first that I have ever seen at the Orme and when I checked my database, it turns out that it's only the second that I have ever seen in Wales. Perhaps I should get out more......

Billinge Hill vismig

Billinge Hill vismig 8am-10am most birds heading SSW: Woodpigeon 2939 in 50 flocks almost all before 9am & included one albino bird, redwing 93 in 10 flocks, fieldfare 61 in 3 flocks, stock dove 11, skylark 32, chaffinch 60 mainly in groups of 1-3 birds but one flock of 11, reed bunting 6, pink-footed goose 170 with 25 S & 145 E, song thrush 4.

Greater scaup, Pennington Flash

I don't normally bother with the greater part of this birds name, but I feel that in this instance I need to make clear that I am not referring to last Saturdays lesser scaup, which incidentally has not been seen again since. These birds showed quite nicely at the western end from Mossley Hall farm.

Jack snipe and merlin, Barrow Lane

Barrow Lane this morning, a jack snipe flushed from  the wood sandpiper pool by two mallard, flew low to the other side of the pool and landed again deep in vegetation. 

Also today, breathtaking view of a merlin again, low over the road hunting starlings, 20 fieldfares over, green sandpiper still and female / 1st winter stonechat. 

No geese at all this morning, though I was delayed because I called in at Pennington Flash first after being informed of 2 greater scaup there.