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Vacational Trip Reports
Cyprus Aug. 18th - Sept. 1st
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<blockquote data-quote="The Hairy Highlander" data-source="post: 1668039" data-attributes="member: 73907"><p><strong>Tuesday 1st Sept.</strong></p><p><strong>Last day at Akrotiri</strong></p><p></p><p>Amazingly, the night before whilst watching the <strong><span style="color: Red">Alpine Swifts</span></strong> being pursued by the 3 <strong><span style="color: red">Elenora’s Falcons</span></strong>, Ingrid had agreed to let me go out on one last mad dash around Akrotiri for a few hours in the morning before we prepared to go home to Scotland. I knew I was pushing my luck as our flight was at 17:00 and we still had our bags to pack, so I promised I’d be back by 13:00. I knew there was a few more species to be found at Akrotiri so I stopped in at the St Nikolias Church for a look before doing the circuit around the salt lake. In the church grounds 3 <strong><span style="color: red">Willow Warblers</span></strong> and a single <strong><span style="color: red">Olivacious Warbler</span></strong> were noted along with a <strong><span style="color: red">Lesser Grey Shrike</span></strong> and several <strong><span style="color: red">Crested Larks</span></strong>. As I approached the fenced garden 3 <strong><span style="color: red">Bunting-like</span></strong> birds rose from cover and landed just out of view. My immediate thought was <strong><span style="color: red">Cretzschmar’s</span></strong> but I really didn’t know, I would need better views to confirm. They rose again and this time landed on an open patch of ground allowing enough time for me to get a proper look at them through the scope. My Initial identification was spot on, they were <strong><span style="color: red">Cretzschmar’s</span></strong>, another lifer! A quick stop at Sylvanas revealed no more <strong><span style="color: red">Demoiselle Cranes</span></strong>, thankfully my luck was in on the 28th, they were the only birds that I knew of that had been seen on the salt lake during my two weeks on Cyprus.</p><p>A last look in at Bishop’s pool was good, not nearly as many birds as the other times but a single <strong><span style="color: red">Marsh Sandpiper</span></strong> was new for me and the sight of Juv. <strong><span style="color: red">Elenora’s Falcon</span></strong> chasing and almost catching a <strong><span style="color: red">Greenshank</span></strong> was excellent entertainment, and the unexpected sight of a <strong><span style="color: red">Stripe-necked Terrapin</span></strong> basking on a rock at the edge of the pool was noteworthy.</p><p>One of the birders that I had met at the Birdlife Cyprus meeting, Jason, had arrived. We searched the area for a while longer but because of the inactivity we decided to take a drive through the eucalyptus plantation in the hope of finding some roosting <strong><span style="color: red">Raptors</span></strong>. We approached from the Zakaki Marsh end and joined a track that led west through the plantation, stopping every so often to search the trees for birdlife. On one of these stop-offs a nice male <strong><span style="color: red">Red-backed Shrike</span></strong> and 100+<strong> <span style="color: Red">Bee-eaters</span></strong> were noted, then a <strong><span style="color: red">Honey Buzzard</span></strong> was seen rising from the outer edge of the plantation and drifting of south. A detour off the track and out on to the salt lake was a good move, a couple of <strong><span style="color: red">Lesser Grey Shrike</span></strong> and a <strong><span style="color: Red">Spectacled Warbler</span></strong> were soon found and what turned out to be my last bird lifer in the form of an <strong><span style="color: red">Isabelline Wheatear</span></strong> was observed at fairly close proximity. I had mentioned to Jason about the <strong><span style="color: red">Stone curlews</span></strong> at Mandria, as he had never managed to find them I offered to show him were I had seen them before returning to Pissouri, so we made our way to the site. We weren’t to be disappointed as a total of 31 <strong><span style="color: red">Stone curlews</span></strong> were present, more than double what I had seen the first time round and to top it off, they did a fly-by at fairly close range which allowed me to get some flight shot. Not a bad end to the holiday with a further 3 lifers added in a short amount of time.</p><p>Amazingly, the new ticks hadn’t quite finished with the <strong><span style="color: red">Isabelline Wheatear</span></strong>, a MAJOR surprise was to be had back at Pissouri!</p><p></p><p>Picture the scene: I arrive back at Pissouri in good time so there was one last opportunity to enjoy a soak in the pool. After a few lengths it was time to come out and prepare for the journey home so I wrap myself in a towel, strip of my trunks and sat down with a coffee. Then I hear Bob shout : ‘Sandy, quick get your camera there’s a<strong><span style="color: red"> Gecko</span></strong> running across the road at the front of the house’, but I wasn’t to bothered by seeing another <strong><span style="color: red">Gecko</span></strong>, I had seen a few already. My curiosity got the better of my though, so I went to investigate. Bob was by now standing in the middle of the road pointing down at the ‘<strong><span style="color: red">Gecko</span></strong>’, but he had made a schoolboy error, it was no <strong><span style="color: red">Gecko</span></strong>, it was a 12 inch long <strong><span style="color: red">Chameleon</span></strong>!! Panic ensued as there was a superb chance to photograph this elusive creature and my camera was already packed, the only chance I had to get photos before the<strong><span style="color: red"> Chameleon</span></strong> melted into the undergrowth was to capture it and get someone to hold it while I went for the camera. What happened next must have been pure comedy to everyone on the scene.....Hearing the commotion, Helen and a few of their Cypriot neighbours had gathered round, I had at this point totally lost the plot and dived, half naked with only a medium sized towel and no shorts on, towards the <strong><span style="color: red">Chameleon</span></strong>, grabbed it by the tail with one hand and placed it on my shoulder. After a short impromptu photo shoot with the <strong><span style="color: red">chameleon</span></strong> I released it from its captivity and watched as it jerkily moved off into the grass, never to be seen again!</p><p>To be honest, getting to see a stunning creature like that in the wild and on European soil was a total surprise and after seeing lots of fantastic birds, insects, reptiles and amazing scenery during the two weeks, the <strong><span style="color: red">Chameleon</span></strong> episode on the last hour of the trip goes down as the most memorable moment, one I’ll probably never forget!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Hairy Highlander, post: 1668039, member: 73907"] [B]Tuesday 1st Sept.[/B] [B]Last day at Akrotiri[/B] Amazingly, the night before whilst watching the [B][COLOR="Red"]Alpine Swifts[/COLOR][/B] being pursued by the 3 [B][COLOR="red"]Elenora’s Falcons[/COLOR][/B], Ingrid had agreed to let me go out on one last mad dash around Akrotiri for a few hours in the morning before we prepared to go home to Scotland. I knew I was pushing my luck as our flight was at 17:00 and we still had our bags to pack, so I promised I’d be back by 13:00. I knew there was a few more species to be found at Akrotiri so I stopped in at the St Nikolias Church for a look before doing the circuit around the salt lake. In the church grounds 3 [B][COLOR="red"]Willow Warblers[/COLOR][/B] and a single [B][COLOR="red"]Olivacious Warbler[/COLOR][/B] were noted along with a [B][COLOR="red"]Lesser Grey Shrike[/COLOR][/B] and several [B][COLOR="red"]Crested Larks[/COLOR][/B]. As I approached the fenced garden 3 [B][COLOR="red"]Bunting-like[/COLOR][/B] birds rose from cover and landed just out of view. My immediate thought was [B][COLOR="red"]Cretzschmar’s[/COLOR][/B] but I really didn’t know, I would need better views to confirm. They rose again and this time landed on an open patch of ground allowing enough time for me to get a proper look at them through the scope. My Initial identification was spot on, they were [B][COLOR="red"]Cretzschmar’s[/COLOR][/B], another lifer! A quick stop at Sylvanas revealed no more [B][COLOR="red"]Demoiselle Cranes[/COLOR][/B], thankfully my luck was in on the 28th, they were the only birds that I knew of that had been seen on the salt lake during my two weeks on Cyprus. A last look in at Bishop’s pool was good, not nearly as many birds as the other times but a single [B][COLOR="red"]Marsh Sandpiper[/COLOR][/B] was new for me and the sight of Juv. [B][COLOR="red"]Elenora’s Falcon[/COLOR][/B] chasing and almost catching a [B][COLOR="red"]Greenshank[/COLOR][/B] was excellent entertainment, and the unexpected sight of a [B][COLOR="red"]Stripe-necked Terrapin[/COLOR][/B] basking on a rock at the edge of the pool was noteworthy. One of the birders that I had met at the Birdlife Cyprus meeting, Jason, had arrived. We searched the area for a while longer but because of the inactivity we decided to take a drive through the eucalyptus plantation in the hope of finding some roosting [B][COLOR="red"]Raptors[/COLOR][/B]. We approached from the Zakaki Marsh end and joined a track that led west through the plantation, stopping every so often to search the trees for birdlife. On one of these stop-offs a nice male [B][COLOR="red"]Red-backed Shrike[/COLOR][/B] and 100+[B] [COLOR="Red"]Bee-eaters[/COLOR][/B] were noted, then a [B][COLOR="red"]Honey Buzzard[/COLOR][/B] was seen rising from the outer edge of the plantation and drifting of south. A detour off the track and out on to the salt lake was a good move, a couple of [B][COLOR="red"]Lesser Grey Shrike[/COLOR][/B] and a [B][COLOR="Red"]Spectacled Warbler[/COLOR][/B] were soon found and what turned out to be my last bird lifer in the form of an [B][COLOR="red"]Isabelline Wheatear[/COLOR][/B] was observed at fairly close proximity. I had mentioned to Jason about the [B][COLOR="red"]Stone curlews[/COLOR][/B] at Mandria, as he had never managed to find them I offered to show him were I had seen them before returning to Pissouri, so we made our way to the site. We weren’t to be disappointed as a total of 31 [B][COLOR="red"]Stone curlews[/COLOR][/B] were present, more than double what I had seen the first time round and to top it off, they did a fly-by at fairly close range which allowed me to get some flight shot. Not a bad end to the holiday with a further 3 lifers added in a short amount of time. Amazingly, the new ticks hadn’t quite finished with the [B][COLOR="red"]Isabelline Wheatear[/COLOR][/B], a MAJOR surprise was to be had back at Pissouri! Picture the scene: I arrive back at Pissouri in good time so there was one last opportunity to enjoy a soak in the pool. After a few lengths it was time to come out and prepare for the journey home so I wrap myself in a towel, strip of my trunks and sat down with a coffee. Then I hear Bob shout : ‘Sandy, quick get your camera there’s a[B][COLOR="red"] Gecko[/COLOR][/B] running across the road at the front of the house’, but I wasn’t to bothered by seeing another [B][COLOR="red"]Gecko[/COLOR][/B], I had seen a few already. My curiosity got the better of my though, so I went to investigate. Bob was by now standing in the middle of the road pointing down at the ‘[B][COLOR="red"]Gecko[/COLOR][/B]’, but he had made a schoolboy error, it was no [B][COLOR="red"]Gecko[/COLOR][/B], it was a 12 inch long [B][COLOR="red"]Chameleon[/COLOR][/B]!! Panic ensued as there was a superb chance to photograph this elusive creature and my camera was already packed, the only chance I had to get photos before the[B][COLOR="red"] Chameleon[/COLOR][/B] melted into the undergrowth was to capture it and get someone to hold it while I went for the camera. What happened next must have been pure comedy to everyone on the scene.....Hearing the commotion, Helen and a few of their Cypriot neighbours had gathered round, I had at this point totally lost the plot and dived, half naked with only a medium sized towel and no shorts on, towards the [B][COLOR="red"]Chameleon[/COLOR][/B], grabbed it by the tail with one hand and placed it on my shoulder. After a short impromptu photo shoot with the [B][COLOR="red"]chameleon[/COLOR][/B] I released it from its captivity and watched as it jerkily moved off into the grass, never to be seen again! To be honest, getting to see a stunning creature like that in the wild and on European soil was a total surprise and after seeing lots of fantastic birds, insects, reptiles and amazing scenery during the two weeks, the [B][COLOR="red"]Chameleon[/COLOR][/B] episode on the last hour of the trip goes down as the most memorable moment, one I’ll probably never forget! [/QUOTE]
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Cyprus Aug. 18th - Sept. 1st
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