Clayheads on Tour in Cyprus 2011 - Thursday 21st April

It was a damp start again to the morning and by the time we were on the outskirts of Paphos it was raining. It was still raining when we arrived at Aspro Dam and so we carried on up to Nata Ford. Unfortunately, our low fuel light came on and so we headed back down towards the coast. We returned to Aspro Dam and checked out the area above the car park, where two days ago there had been three Collared Fly and a Semi-collared. We soon found two Blackcaps and heard a Nightingale calling. We had brief views of it several times but it never really showed well. While we were stalking it, we saw a male Cyprus Warbler and then a Great Spotted Cuckoo moved through the conifers.

Great Spotted Cuckoo, Aspro Dam

We were again running out of time and so we headed down to the Mandria fields. We paused to check the fields and had two Stone-curlews and two Chukars, and there were at least two Black Francolins calling. We parked on the beach and had a Squacco over plus three Wheatears in the grass before we headed off to pursue a calling Francolin. We eventually located it in a field and slowly drove down the lane, stopping every so often. It continued to call and we knew it was in the field directly in front of us. I scanned several times but I just couldn't see it. Then I finally found it - perched up in a bush. I tried to set the scope up but it soon dropped out of sight. We also had 50+ Yellow Wagtails in a field by the side of us with one Black-headed, a Grey-headed and many Blue-headed. A Sedge Warbler was also singing plus three Turtle Doves.


Stone-curlew and Chukar, Mandria Fields
Our day trip out was along the bottom coast. At Secret Valley Picnic site we had 5+ Cyprus Warblers and two Chukars. In the Aphrodite Rock car park another pair of Cyprus Warblers were present. At the Sanctuary of Apollo, a Black Francolin was calling plus another Cyprus Warbler . At the Kourion Stadium , a Marsh Harrier flew over plus Cyprus Warblers and Cyprus Pied Wheatear were seen. At Kourion itself, we had Cyprus Pied Wheatear, Cyprus Warbler feeding young, a Woodchat, a Marsh Harrier over plus two Alpine Swifts and several Tawny Pipits.


Swallowtail and Huge Lizard type thing (answers to nick.smith907@ntlworld.com pls)