A WALK ON THE WILDSIDE---PAUL FOSTER

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Saturday 20 June 2015

More from Cyprus

Corn buntings were extremely abundant on the farmland areas,shame its not the case here in northern England,the jingly call is never far away in the countryside!


This trip I hired myself a decent 4 wheeled drive to navigate the many off road situations that I found myself in.It served as my hide when i was out with the camera too!It just give you that extra bit of elevation when behind the lens!

 Red footed falcons were feeding voraciously on the abundant insects that were about.I could have spent the entire day just photographing these birds alone!

One of the endemic species to Cyprus is the aptly named Cyprus warbler.The male was catching grubs and insects for its brood of chicks nearby!

A quiet few moments were spent with these birds,they were pretty common,once you picked up on their call!

Another farmland bird was the black headed bunting,numbers seemed to be down on previous years visits!


Female Cyprus warbler!

Male again!


Spur winged Plover were to be found around Lady's mile near to Limassol!


Possibly my favourite of all the Shrike family...Masked Shrike,I was told of a good area were a few pairs breed!

What I took to be a female Montagues Harrier turned out to be a Pallid Harrier,2 birds were present in Anarita!
The light neck collar is a key identification feature in females and juveniles!

A Reed warbler gives an angry glance to a Cettis warbler,possibly disputing territories!
Short toed larks were about on the farmlands around Mandria district!

Crested Larks were common too!

Good numbers of Turtle doves were about the areas but were difficult to get near.A very skittish bird!What a shame numbers are rapidly declining here in the UK!

A good landscape  with plenty of wild flowers in evidence!


Female Red Foote Falcon

Another male Red Footed!

I only saw 3 of these birds on my trip..Creutszmar Bunting.Currently there is one present on Bardsey Island in Wales, attracting good numbers of birders from far and wide!


The only Hoopoe that I saw all week!


And to finish off a female Kestrel poses nicely!
Thanks for looking in and hope you all stay well!

3 comments:

  1. Brilliant Paul,with a wonderful selection of birds must have been very enjoyable.

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  2. Yes,thanks Martin.There is certainly a good selection of birds to see at spring time.This will have been my 5th trip out there now and I am learning more about the areas on each visit!

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  3. Paul. Some super looking birds to whet our appetites for sunnier climes !! The car's not bad either !! Think the male cyprus warbler is my fave. Speak soon.

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