Dermot Breen's Blog: woodchat shrike

Showing posts with label woodchat shrike. Show all posts

Thursday, 24 January 2019

Cyprus 31st August 2018

I had another look at Limassol Salt Lake this morning but no sign of any cranes again. I checked an area of shrub around Kourion about 15km west of Limassol and had a nice selection of passerines in the area including my first Cyprus Wheatears. I had one probable fly-over Cretzschmar's Bunitng the previous day and another around the Kourion in the morning but I eventually had cracking views of an adult male feeding by the roadside further inland near Kouris Reservoir.
For the remainder of the day I headed inland and up to the Troodos Mountains. I caught up with all of the endemic subspecies up there excluding of course the Scops Owl which is very hard to pick up if they aren't calling like they do in Spring. At my first stop I could hear a pair of Jays kicking up a right racket and was amazed to see that they were mobbing a perched Goshawk. I haven't seen many perched Goshawks before.

Cyprus Warbler

Cyprus Wheatear

Lesser Grey Shrike and Woodchat Shrike.

Woodchat Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike

Cyprus Jay Garrulus glandarius glaszneri

Adult Northern Goshawk

Cyprus Coal Tit Parus ater cypriotes

Cyprus Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla dorotheae

Eurasian Wren

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

Cyprus 30th August 2018

More serious catchup. I spent a few days in Cyprus back in late August/early September. I was hoping for five new birds which I managed to successfully see in the end. The Autumn migration had yet to kick into full effect but I still managed to record 117 species in just over five days. I stayed in Limassol for the duration which meant I was centrally located on the south side of the island and more importantly very close to the Limassol Salt Lake to check for Demoiselle Cranes first thing in the mornings. The weather proved to be very hot throughout the stay and the country had undergone a long period of drought meaning that standing bodies of freshwater were very difficult to come across. Most of these consisted of extremely deep reservoirs with concrete or rocky sides which weren't particularly popular with birds.
I found Cyprus Warblers to be quite tough to see during the trip. It would appear that there has been an explosion in the population of Sardinian Warblers in the last decade or two on the island and this seems to have had a negative effect on the closely related Cyprus Warbler. Sardinians were extremely common and combined with the skulking behaviour of both species meant it took a while to see the endemic species. Sardinians also winter on the island unlike Cyprus Warbler so may be out competing them?

Adult Red-backed Shrike

Juvenile Lesser Grey Shrike

Adult Lesser Grey Shrike

Crested Lark

Ferruginous Duck

Juvenile Northern Goshawk

Eleonora's Falcon

Cyprus Warbler

Monday, 30 September 2013

Inishbofin & Inishmore

A few shots from the last week or so. I didn't make it out to Inishbofin for the Eastern Kingbird on Wednesday. There was a great sense of relief knowing that I had seen the first European record last year on Inishmore. Unfortunately like last years bird it too disappeared overnight.
Visiting birders had found a Blackpoll Warbler, Common Rosefinch and two Wrynecks while dipping on the kingbird. Wryneck is an extremely rare species in county Galway with only two previous records, both relate to specimens picked up on Eeragh Island lighthouse (off the West end of Inishmore) on 6th October 1886 and 19th September 1912. I was on Inishbofin the following day and while one of the Wrynecks had been seen first thing that morning we failed to see it. However towards the end of the day Anthony McGeehan found a juvenile Woodchat Shrike up at the East end. While it was on show for long periods it was a little distant hence the record shots. It quickly disappeared and wasn't seen later that evening. Galway only recorded it's first Woodchat Shrike last Autumn shortly after the Eastern Kingbird which was also in the same area.

I was back out on Inishmore for the weekend to see if there was much around and the answer was relatively disappointing. Saturday was particularly bad with just two Curlew Sandpipers and a Jack Snipe. A single Blackcap and a handful of Goldcrests were really the only passerine migrants seen. Sunday was a little better with a Reed Warbler, Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaffs, 10 Goldcrests, Spotted and Pied Flycatcher. I'll be back out with a few others from this Friday for a week at least and fingers crossed for some decent birds.