We
booked a one week holiday package direct from Gatwick Airport
to Paphos (Easyjet now operate a regular service direct to Paphos
on the west coast of Cyprus) which included accomodation at
the Kefalos Beach Village Resort, just a 10 minute walk to Paphos
Lighthouse which is worth checking daily during migration. Car
hire direct from the Airport for a week was competitively priced
at € 180 for an Opel Astra.
We
found A Birdwatching Guide to Cyprus by Arthur Stagg & Graham
Hearl good for directions to sites but unfortunately the winter
season had been quite dry and many of the marsh pools adjacent
to Dams were dried out and poor for birding. Birding sites regularly
covered included Akrotiri & Phassouri reedbeds, Zakaki marsh
and pools, Lady's Mile, Bishop's Pool, Kensington Cliffs, Mandria
Beach, Asprokremmos Dam, Aphrodite Bath and adjacent caravan
site, also nearby on the Akamas Peninsula Smiyies track and
Paphos Lighthouse and surrounding areas.
Migration
was slow at the start of the week but picked up in the later
half after plenty of rain, which dropped variable numbers of
Pied & Collared Flycatchers, Orioles, Wood Warblers, Orphean,
Barred, Olivaceous & Supalpine Warblers and massive numbers
of Blackcaps, not to mention the high-light of the week, two
Caspian Plovers male and female, both on seperate days at Mandria
Beach and a lifer for us both..Mega!
A
new birdline is up and running and is updated daily Phone no.
00357 25934076
