Cyprus in Spring (Part 3)

Tuesday 5th March - Tomb of the Kings and the Archaeological Site

First full day of the tour with all the group together and the weather had definitely taken a turn for the better,with wall to wall sunshine and light winds. First up was the Tomb of the Kings, oddly named as no Kings have ever been buried there. Whilst the botanists got down to serious stuff I wandered off looking for some migrant birdlife. The site is ideal for Wheatears but I found only two, a Northern Wheatear  that sort of posed and an Isabelline that shot off and I failed to relocate. 

Bound to be a Black Redstart here....

....and so it proved

Hooded Crows everywhere.

A Kestrel that sat and watched me for an age.

The Cyclamen persicum were particularly good here

More Starred Agamas

In the afternoon we visited the archaeological site on the headland, very few new birds, though we did have good flybys of the Great Spotted Cuckoo.

I revisited the site of the orchids that I had found on Saturday. I was surprised by how quickly the stems of Ophrys flavomarginata had gone over, however, more were on the way. This time I found Ophrys sicula close to the stone walls.

Ophrys flavomarginata

Ophrys flavomarginata

Ophrys sicula

Ophrys sicula

...and, of course, Ophrys umbilicata

Wednesday 6th March - Somewhere in Cyprus and the Pegeia Forest

Moving day. Today we left our hotel in Paphos and headed for our new base, the Aphrodite Beach Hotel on the Akamas Peninsular. However, there were one or two targets to be seen en route as it were. Earlier in the week I had discussed with Yiannis some of the birds that I would love to see and we joked how people expected the tour check list to be delivered in full. When I mentioned Scops Owl I was reminded that the Cyprus Scops Owl is now considered to be a separate species - Otus cyprius. Never did I suspect that Yiannis had something up his sleeve. I have seen photographs of Scops, normally taken at night and illuminated by a poor torch.  So, when summoned to look up in a tree I was dumbfounded to see not one, but two owls, posing in broad daylight. I was so overcome that my first action was to hug Yiannis in thanks - just before I managed to get the camera out, I am not surprised that some of the photographs are poorly focused as I was shaking so much with excitement.

Cypus Scops Owl, Otus cyprius

Cypus Scops Owl, Otus cyprius

Cypus Scops Owl, Otus cyprius

Cypus Scops Owl, Otus cyprius

Next stop was of a botanical nature where we managed to record the Giant Orchid, Himantoglassum robertianum, formerly a Barlia. These are truly large and very variable in colour.
.

The Giant Orchid, Himantoglossum robertianum

The Giant Orchid, Himantoglossum robertianum

The Giant Orchid, Himantoglossum robertianum

The Giant Orchid, Himantoglossum robertianum

Then a real stunning orchid, Ophrys iricolor, sometimes called the Rainbow Orchid.

Ophrys iricolor

Ophrys iricolor

Ophrys iricolor

Ophrys iricolor

Crab spider

And yet another Ophrys flavomarginata

Having visited the Pegeia forest picnic site just a few days earlier I recorded very little. However, a pair of Anacamptis syriaca stems caught my eye.

Thursday 7th March - The Baths of Aphrodite

Our first foray from our new base was a walk down the road to the Baths of Aphrodite, unfortunately the verges on either side had been treated with weedkiller, destroying almost everything. At about half distance I was treated to the flyby of a blue butterfly - a Paphos Blue. Top target on the butterfly list and a lifer - only problem - it didn't stop. However, at the botanical gardens adjacent to the Baths several specimens were flying, raising expectations of some photographs during the day. In fact I spent most of the day staking out some Small Flowered Broom, Genista sphacelata, the larval host plant of the species. I finally managed some records of both male and female but the open wing shots left much to be desired.

Paphos Blue, Glaucopsyche paphos

Paphos Blue, Glaucopsyche paphos (m)

Paphos Blue, Glaucopsyche paphos (f)

At the end of the day I was surprised how few records I had taken, I had literally spent all day waiting for one butterfly - but what a cracker!