Trevor's Tweet

  N.B Remember to click on the photograph to increase the size of the image The exceptionally long and cold winter that we experienced at the start of 2022 contributed to a rather homebound few months for me, with little golf or birding at Secret Valley. Consequently I spent little time on bird photography during the first two months of the year. However, when I did venture out it was mainly to Akrotiri Marsh where I saw several of the more common winter migrants.  The following few species have been included as they are largely  pictures that I have not previously shown. 1. Curlew The Curlew is an uncommon passage migrant in Cyprus, and the pictured individual was seen up on the common land at Anarita Park. It is the largest of the waders and is readily identified by its long downward curved bill (which is even longer than that of the similar Whimbrel, pictured in an earlier Tweet).  The most distinctive feature of the Curlew is its slightly mournful whistling call,...

  [Remember to click on the photograph to enlarge the image] After a long, hot and very dry summer - when I actually saw very few birds of interest - the autumn months of September, October and November saw an inflow of migratory species making their way back to southerly destinations. While I didn't see much at my usual inland sites (Secret Valley, Mandria, Anarita and Ayia Varvara) the Limassol sites of Akrotiri Marsh, Zakaki and Lady's Mile proved more fruitful. The following pictures show some of the birds seen in the second half of the year. 1. Black-winged Kite The Cyprus birding grapevine had a few reports of sightings of this uncommon raptor during late October/early November, but it took me four visits to Akrotiri before I was lucky enough to see one. But it was well worth the wait as the bird was most unusually coloured, being pure white with a grey back and black fore-wings. The amber-red eyes were especially eye-catching!  It was unfortunate that just as I saw the ...

[Remember to click on the photograph to enlarge the image]  It has been another strange year for bird watching, constrained as it has been by Covid restrictions in the early months. But, undeterred, I sallied forth at every opportunity to see what I could see. I have  presented some of my earlier sightings and pictures in previous 'Tweets' but my 2021 bird photography folder still has a lot of unexhibited pictures. So the following pictures have been selected on a fairly arbitrary basis, but will hopefully include a few pictures of birds, or their poses, that may be of interest to anyone who opens this Tweet - and the next one. 1. Goldfinch This brilliantly coloured finch was lucky to escape extinction in the UK during the 19th Century when many thousands were trapped for their attractive songs and bright visual appearance as caged birds. Fortunately their numbers have now recovered and flocks of them are very commonly seen and heard as they gather seeds from meadows, roadside...