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Saturday 10 April to Saturday 17 April 2010 with Dan Brown as leader Cost: £1420 plus about £240 for flights Single room supplement: £140 Maximum group size: 12 with 2 leaders
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Lying on one the Western Palearctic’s major flyways, Cyprus offers the chance to witness the spectacle of spring migration whilst encountering many of Europe’s scarcer resident species, plus of course, the island's two endemics. During mid-April a wide range of species is possible from large flocks of migrating larks and bushes full of warblers to Caspian Plovers and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. Based in the west of the island, this single-base holiday will be located within easy traveling distance of a myriad of habitats from the famous Paphos headland, renowned for its migrants, to the mountains of the Troodos and the saltpans of Akrotiri. The pace will be leisurely with some days broken into optional sections and lunch each day consisting of a relaxing picnic of local specialities prepared by the leaders. This, together with classic Mediterranean birds, stunning scenery and (hopefully) fine weather should make for a delightful spring holiday. Day 1: Our tour begins with a flight from London to Cyprus and once there, we’ll transfer to our hotel in Paphos and there should be time for some birding close by on the famous headland. Night is Paphos. Days 2-7: We have timed this tour to coincide with a peak in migration across the island and by mid-April the majority of breeding migrants should have also returned. Days will commence with an optional pre-breakfast visit to one of the local sites in search of freshly arrived migrants. Overhead may well be small groups of Short-toed Larks, Black-headed and White Wagtails, and Tree and Red-throated Pipits, whilst the scrub could produced Isabelline, Black-eared, and Northern Wheatears, Eastern Olivaceous, Ruppell’s and Eastern Bonelli’s Warblers, and both Ortolan and Cretzschmar’s Bunting. In amongst these commoner species we’ll also keep an eye open for the likes of Cinerous Bunting. On one day we’ll visit the Akrotiri Marsh which contains a variety of habitats from saltpans to freshwater pools and reed-beds. Here we will look for Greater Flamingo, Squacco and Purple Herons, Ferruginous Duck, Black-winged Stilts, passage waders including Marsh, Curlew and Broad-billed Sandpipers, Great Snipe, Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns, and Slender-billed Gulls. On our way to or from Akrotiri we will stop at Kensington Cliffs in the hope that a few of the Eleonora’s Falcons have returned to their traditional breeding ledges. The cliffs are also home to the last colony of Griffon Vultures on the island. On another day we will explore up into the Troodos Mountains. This beautifully scenic region is of great interest to geologists and botanists but also holds a number of very interesting subspecies of commoner bird species as well as several impressive residents. With this perfect backdrop we will hope to see Griffon Vultures, Bonelli’s Eagles, Pallid and Alpine Swifts, Crag Martins, local forms of Coal Tit and Short-toed Treecreeper, Masked Shrike and Crossbill. The coast to the north and east of Paphos is riddled with river valleys flowing down from the Troodos and these provide ample habitat for migrants to feed up before continuing north and are well worth time taken to explore them. We’ll hopefully have ample opportunity to compare the likes of Subalpine, Sardinian, Ruppell’s, and Eastern Orphean Warblers, often virtually in the same bush while Great Spotted Cuckoos should be in evidence around any pine stands. In the wetter areas there is a chance of Little Crake, Bluethroats, and Savi’s Warblers, whilst the dry hillsides are home to the two endemics; Cyprus Wheatear and Cyprus Warbler, as well as Black Francolin, and during the course of the week we will have ample opportunity to enjoy the latter three species. As well as the commoner migrants we should be keeping our eyes open for Pallid Harrier, Red-footed Falcon, Cream-coloured Courser, Bimaculated Lark, Citrine Wagtail, and Collared Flycatchers – April is an exciting time to be on Cyprus. The Akamas Penisula in the north-west of the island will make a superb day out. Ancient olive groves, Mediterranean scrub, pine copses and wildflower meadows make this a wonderful area for species such as Bee-eater, Roller, Hoopoe, Blue Rock Thrush, Woodchat and Lesser Grey Shrikes. We’ll visit the Baths of Aphrodite, an idyllic shaded pool where legend holds that Aphrodite would bathe after entertaining her lovers. This area is now also great for migrants and we will be on the look out for Wrynecks, Eastern Bonelli’s Warblers, Semi-collared Flycatchers, Golden Orioles, and Ortolan Buntings among others. This is a reminder that Cyprus is rich in history and for those that wish, there will be time to visit the amazing Roman mosaics at Paphos. Day 8: If the flight time permits, there will be chance for some last minute birding before we transfer to the hotel for the flight back to London, where the tour ends.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated December 2009
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