28th April 2013 Beachy N1 Clear

Red-throated Diver 1E
Great Crested Grebe 1 on the sea
Common Scoter 27E
Sandwich Tern 6E
Commic Tern 24E
Bonxie 1E
Swallow 10
Black Redstart 1
Stonechat 7
Wheatear 1
Common Whitethroat 9
Blackcap h
Chiffchaff h
Willow Warbler 1
Carrion Crow 2 in off the sea
Redpoll h

Beachy Head and Hodcombe from Belle Tout

East Dean from Belle Tout

Cornish Farm

Gorse in bloom at Birling



27th April 2013 Beachy NE2 Clear and cold

Little Egret 2E off Cow Gap
Swallow 10
Tree Pipit 1
Wheatear 5
Grasshopper Warbler 1
Lesser Whitethroat 3
Common Whitethroat 15
Blackcap 2h
Chiffchaff 1h
Willow Warbler 1
Long-tailed Tit 2
Linnet c.40
Corn Bunting 5

Low tide off Whitbread Hollow

Tree Pipit at Belle Tout



25th April 2013 Beachy S1

Long-eared Owl 1 ex.
Swallow c.8
Whitethroat 1

 

coughing up a pellet

 



 

Long-eared Owl in Chat Vale

Clearly a very grey individual it is interesting that Van Duivendijk notes that individuals from northern Europe are greyer than individuals from western Europe. The BTO map foreign ringing recoveries as:

Foreign location of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Colour of location: Ringed in Britain & Ireland, Found Here; Ringed Here, Found in Britain & Ireland 

21st April 2013 Beachy NE1 Clear and sunny

Red-throated Diver 2E, 1 on sea
Great Crested Grebe 1E
Black-necked Grebe 2 on sea near s/p
Canada Goose 2E
Red-breasted Merganser 2E
Scoter 20E
Sandwich Tern 5E, 5W
Arctic Tern 1 feeding off Birling
Lapwing 1
Whimbrel 1E
Greenshank h
Swallow 8
Pied Wagtail 1
Robin 10
Black Redstart 1 first-year male singing
Whitethroat 12
Blackcap 3
Firecrest 1



 

Arctic Tern off Birling Gap

Lingering whilst feeding enabled appreciation of its short bill, no-necked appearance, grey throat, ear-coverts, breast and belly contrasting with its white cheeks, uniform pale grey upperwings, all-white flight feathers when viewed from below and pencil-fine narrow black trailing edge.

 

Black-necked Grebes off Birling Gap

 

Common Whitethroat at Birling

20th April 2013 Beachy NE2 Clear and sunny

Red-throated Diver 7E, 2 on sea
Great Crested Grebe 1E
Canada Goose2W
Shelduck 1E, 1W
Scoter 6E
Mallard 3
Arctic Skua 2E
Sandwich Tern 7E, 2W
Commic Tern 1E, 2W
Auk sp. 2E, 1W
Whimbrel 4E
Bar-tailed Godwit 3E
Swallow 3
Pied Wagtail 2
Whitethroat 1
Blackcap 1
Chiffchaff 2
Willow Warbler 1
Firecrest 1

Firecrest in the Old Trapping Area



18th April 2013 Beachy W5

Corncrake 1 ex. Sussex 349
Blackcap 1

Corncrake in Chat Vale (Matt Eade)

17th April 2013 Cape Greco, Oroklini & Larnaca

Awoke to a fine calm morning. We walked the Cape, Picnic Site, ploughed field and pines before driving to Oroklini and Larnaca checking the Salt Lakes and Sewage Farm before catching our flight home.

Greater Flamingo 1
Mallard 10
Garganey 5
Shoveler 6
Sparrowhawk 1
Kestrel 6
Hobby 1
Chukar 8
Quail 1
Moorhen 20
Coot 10
Black-winged Stilt 60
Collared Pratincole 1 ex.
Little Ringed Plover 1
Spur-winged Plover 10
Little Stint 6
Ruff 2
Marsh Sandpiper 1
Wood Sandpiper 10
Common Sandpiper 2
Little Gull 1
Black-headed Gull 1
Slender-billed Gull 6
Yellow-legged Gull 12
Collared Dove 2
Cuckoo 1
Swift 6
Short-toed Lark 20
Crested Lark 30
Sand Martin 2
Swallow 100
House Martin 6
Tree Pipit 1
Nightingale 3
Whinchat 1
Cyprus Pied Wheatear 3
Fan-tailed Warbler 1
Spectacled Warbler 20
Cyprus Warbler 3
Whitethroat 10
Blackcap 2
Collared Flycatcher 1
Red-backed Shrike 1
Woodchat Shrike 2
Magpie 2
Hooded Crow 15
House Sparrow 30
Spanish Sparrow 40
Greenfinch 6
Goldfinch 6
Ortolan Bunting 20



 

 



our final dawn at Cape Greco

 

looking along Cape Greco from the army camp

the south-easternmost point of Cyprus so no surprise such a migrant trap

 

 

Male Pied or Cyprus Pied Wheatear at Cape Greco

whilst presumably a Cyprus Pied being so white-crowned, weak suffusion to its underparts and extensive white in its tail pattern not such an easy male to assign!

 

Tree Pipit at Cape Greco

 

Lizard at Cape Greco

 

 

 

 

Garganey at Larnaca Sewage Farm

 

 

Wood Sandpipers at Larnaca Sewage Farm

 

 

 

Collared Pratincole at Larnaca Sewage Farm

 

Tekka Mosque, Larnaca



16th April 2013 Cape Greco S5

We awoke to a S5 wind after overnight thunderstorms. It was very windy at the Cape but more sheltered around the Picnic Area where we found a male Sardinian Warbler and an Olive-tree Warbler. We then tried the pines and the ploughed field before returning to a quiet Cape and Picnic Area.

Purple Heron 10
Common Buzzard 1
Kestrel 4
Peregrine 1
Chukar 12
Audouin's Gull 3
Baltic Gull 1
Yellow-legged Gull 5
Collared Dove 3
Turtle Dove 2
Short-toed Lark 2
Crested Lark 30
Swallow 80
Red-rumped Swallow 7
House Martin 10
Tawny Pipit 2
Tree Pipit 3
Nightingale 6
Redstart 1
Whinchat 3
Wheatear 4
Cyprus Pied Wheatear 2
Eastern Black-eared Wheatear 2
Olive-tree Warbler 1 ex.
Spectacled Warbler 15
Sardinian Warbler 1 male ex.
Cyprus Warbler 3 males ex.
Whitethroat 1
Blackcap 12
Woodchat Shrike 4
Jackdaw 4
Hooded Crow 4
House Sparrow 30
Spanish Sparrow 1
Greenfinch 10
Goldfinch 10
Ortolan Bunting 9
Corn Bunting 4

 



Male Sardinian Warbler at Cape Greco



 

 

Male Cyprus Pied Wheatear at Cape Greco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olive-tree Warbler at Cape Greco

our best find of the trip being described as 'very rare', or 'a very scarce passage migrant, possibly overlooked' in Cyprus

 

Male Cyprus Warbler at Cape Greco

 

Red-rumped Swallow at Cape Greco

 

the small church at Cape Greco

 

View from our Konnos Bay Villa

 

 

Purple Herons over Cape Greco