No. 22 A Calendar of some 2020 Bird Pictures

Note: Remember to click on the photo to enlarge the image.

2020 has been a somewhat challenging year in terms of getting out to visit birding locations. I have therefore done most of my bird watching at Secret Valley, Ayia Varvara and occasional visits to Akrotiri Marshes. However I have still been lucky enough to see some species that were new to me, and have managed to get some interesting and pleasing photographs. I have therefore picked out the following pictures as a sort of calendar selection of the year (though there are many others I could have included). 

January - Black Redstart 

This bird is a regular winter visitor at Secret Valley, and I usually get my first sighting in early November. The red tail is the distinguishing feature of the Redstarts, and the frequent bobbing action is also distinctive. This photo shows an unusual angle of the male during preening on the wall by the Clubhouse car park.

Black Redstart - getting its feathers sorted

February - Cyprus Scops Owl

This species is resident in Cyprus and is now recognised as being a separate species (separate to the Eurasian Scops Owl). It is a very small owl, even smaller than the Little Owl (see Tweet No.10) but has amazingly good camouflage. My photograph was taken outside the Environmental Centre at Episkopi where the bird was perched in a tree by the main entrance - and was still very hard to see. The call of the Scops Owl is very simple but distinctive - a short monotonous two-note repetition, usually heard after dusk.

Cyprus Scops Owl - brilliant camouflage

March - Cretzschmar's Bunting

A fairly small but attractively coloured member of the Bunting family, with a blue-grey head and rusty-red throat markings and underparts. It is a breeding visitor and passage migrant to Cyprus, usually arriving in March - which is when I took this photograph at Anarita Park.

Cretzschmar's Bunting - small but attractive

April - Collared Flycatcher

This is a fairly common spring migrant, widely distributed throughout Southern Europe. The male (pictured) is distinctly coloured (black and white) with a very distinctive white collar around the neck.  It is often heard by its single thin whistle call. Like most flycatchers it is readily spotted by its habitual feeding technique of flying out and immediately returning from trees and shrubs, catching  insects on the wing.

Collared Flycatcher - distinctive white collar of male

May - Long-legged Buzzard

This impressive raptor is frequently seen at Secret Valley and Mandria, in its natural habitat of scrub-covered foothills and valleys. It is now a common resident of Cyprus having expanded its  presence across the island since the first breeding records were made as recently as 1992. It is generally only found in SE Europe (Greece and Turkey) but is more widely found in North Africa, the Middle East and into Asia.

Long-legged Buzzard - spectacular and often seen at Secret Valley

June - Zitting Cisticola

This is one of the smallest members of the Warblers and is also known as the Fan-tailed Warbler. It has rather dull brown colouring, is often seen perching on tall grasses, and has one of the most monotonous calls that you are ever likely to hear - a continuously repeated "zeet.... zeet... zeet" - as it flies around in a wide circling pattern. It is hard to see due its small size and effective camouflage in dried grasses and low shrubs, but rather attractive when seen close up.

Zitting Cisticola - tiny but noisy

July - Green Sandpiper

This is one of the five species of Sandpiper that are common passage migrants to Cyprus (Common, Marsh, Wood, and Curlew Sandpiper are the others). It is usually seen in freshwater pools and non-saline wetlands and is usually first seen when you inadvertently disturb it - and it flies away at speed making plenty of noise. It has rather dark upper parts (green-black?) and breast but with distinctly white belly and rump. They breed in Scandinavia (surprisingly in fir trees) but overwinter in Africa.

Green Sandpiper - but there's no obvious green colour

August - Glossy Ibis

From a distance this spectacular bird appears to be black but, on closer examination, the adult has deep purple-chestnut plumage and glossy green wings. In the breeding season (April-June) it has distinct white marks at the base of the down-curved bill. In winter the neck is more brown with many white streaks and markings. It can often be seen in large flocks, flying over the reeds into or out of wetlands (such as Akrotiri Marsh) in long single-file groups. It is one of the most widely distributed species in the world, breeding in the warmer regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and southern and Eastern Europe.

Glossy Ibis - juvenile in summer plumage

Glossy Ibis - adult winter colours

September - Black-tailed Godwit

This fairly common passage migrant is most often seen in spring (Feb-May), less often in autumn (Aug - Nov). It is quite a large wader with long legs and a very long straight bill, which is a distinct reddish-pink colour in autumn. It is usually seen on freshwater wetlands, reedbeds and marshes and is not especially shy. The bird pictured was seen at Akrotiri Marshes where it was feeding with a similarly coloured (but separate species) Bar-tailed Godwit. Both birds were in winter plumage, which is rather dull compared to the very deep russet-orange plumage of the summer display.

Black-tailed Godwit - impressive bill length

October - Little Grebe

This bird is a common winter visitor, passage migrant and resident of Cyprus. They are small diving ducks that feed underwater, chasing and catching small fish. There have been a number of individuals (I have seen up to 8 on the two ponds) that have been resident at Secret Valley for the last 3 months. They are easy to see out on the water but are quite hard to photograph as they are shy and always dive just as you press the shutter! They always look to me like a floating powder puff. The old name for them was "dabchick", referring to their tendency to "dab" or dive.

Little Grebe - the floating powder puff

November - Bluethroat

Another very small and shy water bird, a member of the Thrush family. It is a common passage migrant and winter visitor, generally here between October and February. It mainly lives in reedbeds, marshes and ditches at low elevations. It is about the same size as a Robin, but much more shy and retiring. It is therefore quite hard to see but the colouring is so unusual - with a bright blue bib on the throat with a red surround against the white underparts - that it is worth waiting to see. There are also distinct red patches at the base of the tail, and the throat of the male is white in winter. The females and juveniles lack the blue throat in winter.

Bluethroat - male in winter colours

December - Common Buzzard

This bird is now a common passage migrant to Cyprus, mainly seen between August and April. It is usually seen at low elevations, over farmland, river valleys and reedbeds (where I would have thought that it must compete with the more common Marsh Harrier). In the UK this species is now the commonest bird of prey and also reputed to be the most numerous European raptor.  It is happy to feed on both freshly caught prey and carrion, which may explain its current success..

Common Buzzard - always impressive

All Photographs by Trevor Fordham

23rd December 2020