No.24. Some Buntings and other late spring sightings

(Remember to click on the photographs to enlarge the image)

The first couple of weeks of April have provided sightings of some of the less common birds around the golf club. I have spent some time away from Secret Valley, in the foothills above the village of Anarita, where I have seen and photographed, amongst others,  the following species. Hopefully they might be of interest to you.

1. Ortolan Bunting

Buntings comprise quite a large family of European birds,  closely related to Finches, most of which are seed eaters.

The Ortolan Bunting  is an attractively coloured bird with an olive/grey head with distinct yellow "moustache" stripes extending from the beak down each side of the throat. There is a yellowish-white ring around each  eye.  At this time of year the breast and flanks are a pinkish-orange-brown colour, while the back is a fairly rufous brown.. 

It is a very attractive bird that is rather shy, so it can be hard to see - especially from a distance as it is easily mistaken for a sparrow or other finches or bunting. I saw one foraging in the grass of the olive grove adjacent to my garden (in Secret Valley) for the first time last week, but I also saw a flock of about a dozen birds sheltering from a strong northerly wind on a rock face at Anarita.

As Ortolans pass through Europe on their southerly autumn migration many of them are still trapped by hunters with nets. Tradition has it that, once caught, the unfortunate birds are kept in the dark and fattened up on millet seed. They are then drowned in Armagnac, roasted, and then eaten whole.  The species is (supposedly) fully protected by the EU Birds Directive, but the trapping tradition unfortunately continues. Apparently President Mitterrand in 1996 consumed several Ortolans for his final meal. Serve him right if they were responsible for killing him!

Ortolan Bunting - one of many sheltering from a cold northerly wind

The attractive Ortolan Bunting feeding on the ground

2. Cretzschmar's Bunting

This Bunting is, at first glance, similar in appearance to the Ortolan Bunting, but has a blue-grey head and rusty-red moustachial stripes. The ring around the eye is white. The back and tail are  almost identical to the Ortolan's plumage, but the breast and flanks are a darker rusty red and it is a little smaller . 

Unlike the Ortolan it is not very shy and can be readily spotted feeding in small flocks, as I witnessed this year in Anarita Park, seeing about 15 feeding together in roadside weeds. Large flocks are apparently often seen in Israel during March, when the birds are migrating from their winter area south of the Red Sea. They tend to spend the summer in coastal districts of Greece and Turkey, as well as Cyprus.

The bird in the photograph below had just finished bathing in a shallow stream, hence the very fluffed up appearance of the feathers - and the somewhat cross expression from having been photographed as it got out of the bath!

Cretzschmar's Bunting, feeding alongside the Ortolans

A slightly wet Cretzschmar's Bunting, fresh from bathing

3. Corn Bunting

The Corn Bunting is a very commonly heard bird in the meadows and lower hillside pastures of the Cyprus foothills and coastal strip. It used to be a very common bird of the cereal growing counties of the UK, but modern harvesting techniques (over the last 40 years or so)  have now rendered this species a comparitive rarity. 

 Unlike the Ortolan and Cretzschmar's Buntings, the Corn Bunting is a rather drab brown bird. Its call is very distinctive from February onwards, often lasting well into the summer months.  Once heard and recognised, the short rather abrasive call of the male bird (sounding a bit like a jangling bunch of keys) is always recognised - and becomes a bit monotonous as the bird persistently defends its territory from rival males.

The males always sit in very prominent positions, usually on tall weeds or on the tops of bushes. The beak is very distinctive, opening to a very wide gape when in full song. At this time of year (late spring in Cyprus) the Corn Bunting feeds mostly on grubs, insects and caterpillers, which are excellent fodder for the young nestlings.

Corn Bunting bringing home the family grub

4. Whinchat

The Whinchat is a common spring and autumn visitor (March-May, Sept-October) to Cyprus, stopping here during its migratory passage to and from many of the Northern European countries. It is usually seen in open country, rough pastures and tussocky grassland or gorse-covered habitats. It's name is derived from the Scottish word "whin", meaning gorse. It is not a particularly shy bird and the male, in particular, often sits in very obvious low perches.

It is very similar in appearance to the Stonechat (they are both species of the same genus) which is resident here during the winter months. Both species have very similar colouration of the back, breast, rump and tail, but the Stonechat's is more intense. The head of the female birds is also similar in both species, being a light brown colour, but the Whinchat female has a distinct cream coloured eye stripe. The head of the male Whinchat is much darker than the female's, but the eye stripe is a much more distinct white colour. The jet black colour of the male  Stonechat's head and its white collar are not matched in the Whinchat.

Male Whinchat, hoping for some warmer weather

5. Whitethroat

This attractive member of the Warbler family is most commonly seen here during March and April, again on its migratory passage to more northerly European countries from south of the Sahara. 

The adult male bird has a soft grey head with a white eye-ring. The throat, rather obviously, is a very pure white. The wings are a chestnut brown, that contrast with the grey-brown colour of the back and tail. The bird can be hard to see as it prefers to hide away in dense scrub and low hedgerow bushes. 

The Whitethroat can often be detected when the male scolds you if you disturb it's hiding place (much like the more easily seen Sardinian Warbler). They are one of the commonest and most widespread of European summer visitors, but always nice to see.

The Whitethroat - attractive but unspectacular 

6. Subalpine Warbler

This is another small grey, brown and buff member of the Warbler family. While the female has a pinkish-buff breast the male has a much more strongly coloured rufous-brown throat and front. It is not an easy bird to see as it tends to frequent the low scrubby weeds of highland stoney habitats. 

The Subalpine Warbler is distributed in the summer months in southern Turkey and Greece, Italy, Spain and in all the Mediterranean islands. I have only seen them at the archaeological site at Paphos headland and in the stoney upland areas above Anarita. In the winter months it is resident in the North African countries that border the Mediterranean. 

Male Subalpine Warbler - small but colourful

7. Common Redstart

Having spent the winter in the sub-Sahara Sahel region of Africa, the Common Redstart travels north in early spring to inhabit the rest of Northern Europe. It is often seen in Cyprus between mid-March and April. The male is very brightly coloured, the rusty-red/orange of the breast and tail standing out against the charcoal grey of the back and head, as well as the splash of white across the forehead. The female is much less striking, being grey-brown above and buff-white below.

The bird pictured below appeared on the power cable outside my house during the first week of April, and then flitted into the olive grove, where it spent the rest of the day feeding on insects and behaving much like a flycatcher. When it perches it continually twitches its bright red tail up and down - very eye-catching.

Male Common Redstart - surprisingly colourful

8. Wryneck

This is an unusual bird to see as it is very well camouflaged by its grey and brown colouring, which merges with the scrubby foliage in which it spends much of its time. It's about the size of a small shrike, though it is actually a member of the woodpecker family - though it looks nothing like the more common Spotted and Green woodpeckers. It derives its name from its peculiar habit of twisting and turning its head around at seemingly impossible angles.

The Wryneck has a small pointed beak that is used much of the time for collecting ants, its principle source of food. Its distinctive features are the relatively long faintly-barred tail, brown scales on off-white underparts, a black eye-stripe, a black central crown streak extending down the centre of its back, buff mottled wings and a finely barred yellowish throat. 

In the UK this bird is now more-or-less extinct. It spends much of its time on the ground, but can also be seen perching crosswise on horizontal branches. It is normally very discreet in its habits. It has taken me three years to find and photograph this very shy bird, but I was finally successful last week in finding a pair of them feeding in Anarita Park. It is a summer visitor to most European countries, peaking in Cyprus between mid-march and April. It winters in Africa.

Back view of the Wryneck showing some of the markings that help its camouflage

Wryneck scuttling through the foliage

The adult Wryneck searching for ants on the ground

All Photographs by Trevor Fordham

18th April 2021