No. 12. Some secretive birds of the Reed bed.
(Note: Click on the photo to enlarge the image) Should you ever be inclined to take a trip to Lady's Mile, at the Limassol Port end of the Akrotiri peninsula, you will doubtless notice a large wooden hut positioned in the reeds on the western side of the road. This is the Zakaki Marsh bird hide, and it is gradually disappearing into the rapidly expanding reed beds. Unless a reed bed is actively managed to maintain some areas of open water, their value as sites for bird watching can very quickly be greatly diminished. Even so, reed beds usually sustain a wide range of bird species, from the smallest of warblers and tits, through kingfishers, ducks and waders, to the largest of herons and harriers. But because of the secretive nature of the habitat, actually seeing any such birds can require patience and a slice of good fortune. The following selection of photographs were mostly taken in the space of a few hours at Zakaki, in November 2018, when there was still an area of open ...