Ideal weather conditions for spring migration? (1 Viewer)

[nowhereblue]

Hi there

Am visiting Cyprus for the first time - have had an amazing first 24 hours with plenty of life ticks.

Am staying in Paphos and probably will do most of my birdwatching in this immediate area. Was wondering if there were any particularly "ideal" weather conditions for spring migrants in the paphos area? Am assuming south to south easterly winds with some could cover to force the birds to land?

Also, another question - am assuming that the birdline cyprus number is a premium number so quite expensive to call from a UK landline?

Any advice on the above much appreciated!

all the best

M

 

[rob lee]

Hi M

Have visited Cyprus a couple of times in the past, always good birding. You`re right with the wind direction & a good overnight thunderstorm wouldnt come amiss either. I always used to be on the headland at first light & would regularly see Quail coming in off the sea as well as other species including Nightjar, S.E.Owl, G.Oriole, Night Herons etc. Also had a fly-by summer plumaged G.B.H. Gull.
Dont know if its still operating but there used to be an information centre based at the Apollo Hotel along the Tomb of the Kings road. Hope this helps.

Rob.

 

[nowhereblue]

hi rob

thanks for that - the early morning tip sounds great will try that tomorrow am!

the winds are currently brisk westerlies for the next few days which probably explains why its all a bit quiet at the moment here in paphos. Although its "quiet" i still managed to see 2 Cretzchmar buntings, 1 isabelline wheatear, 2 nightingales, 10 black headed wagtails, 2 blue headed wagtails, 2 alpine swifts and lots of hoopooes and spanish sparrows. Not bad at all if its quiet...!

will check out the apollo hotel as well! many thanks for the help

M

 

[nowhereblue]

hi rob - what sort of information centre do they have at the apollo hotel? Is it specifically for birdwatching / recent sightings etc? Am mindful i might get some funny looks if i walk into a random hotel in paphos and start asking if anyone has seen any ruppell's warblers of late! lol!

 

[rob lee]

If I remember correctly there used to be a representative from the ornithological group present in the morning around the pool out the back of the hotel who would inform of latest sightings etc. You could always ask at reception if this is still the case. Looks like you should get a bit of east to the winds from Saturday night through to Monday. Would be interested to hear how you get on with the early morning forays.

 

[nowhereblue]

rob - the early morning foray was amazing this morning.. what a great tip!

i really struggled to get out of bed early this week (this is primarily a holiday after all!) but i went early this morning and was rewarded with citrine wagtail, 7 red throated pipits, 3 tawny pipits, 30 to 40 black headed, grey headed and blue headed wagtails, tree pipits, 2 to 3 short toed larks (i think i heard the calls) plus a few wheatear (isabelline and northern) and then 10 garganey flew in off the ocean... that was between about 7 to say 9am this morning. needless to say i'm setting the alarm early for tomorrow and will try to be there earlier! the rest of the day was really good as well with 4 night herons, purple heron, stone curlew, woodchat and masked shrike, crezchmar and ortolan and subalpine warbler. my best day yet!

 

[nowhereblue]

i should add that the early morning sightings were all from the tip of the headland... as there are fewer people at that time the wagtails, pipits etc seem to congregate on the short grass and rocks just by the sea... later on in the day they don't seem to frequent the tip... PLUS the light is so much better in the morning to see them as the sun is behind you looking out onto the tip...

 

[rob lee]

Excellent stuff, yes its a balancing act when on holiday, I usually came back in need of a break after too many early mornings & late nights.
The tip of the headland is where I used to start as well, normally with scope set up scanning the sea & listening for overhead migrants before moving offf along the coastal footpath before too many joggers got about. Is the hole still in the archealogical park fence ? when I was last there it was always worth looking in early on as well. Normally thats where most of the Larks, Pipits & Wagtails would end up. Dont know if you have transport, but the fields around Mandria were always worth a look & not too far from Paphos either. Had a nice flock of Blue cheeked Bee-eaters last time I was there, but be aware you are near the airport & could potentially attract the attention of the Police, I did !! No problem finding the Francolin here either.
Make the most of your holiday, it does`nt look like the weather`s in a hurry to change here for the forseeable future. :C

Rob.

 

[nowhereblue]

hi rob - no i didn't hire a car this time round sadly but i will definitely do so next time to pick up a few more species! I missed a blue cheeked bee eater on paphos headland by an hour but overall the message i got from people was that paphos was quiet and so was the rest of cyprus bird wise - still had a brilliant time for me personally though. lots of new species!

michael