Friday, 19th April..........success amongst the snow.

We set off straight after breakfast and , despite my misgivings, got through the rush hour traffic in Limassol without mishap on our way into the Troodos Mountains. It wa sa pleasant journey at the onset , but turned cooler as we gained elevation. We stopped at a fish farm area where I managed Grey wagtail , of which there's only a few known sites. Wren and Blackbird were in song so there was almost a UK atmosphere to things.

We pressed on and , quite soon , reached Troodos village, a mixture of the inevitable tourist facilities and a selection of chalet type structures. We went on higher and began to see lenses of snow left over from the winter, besides feeling the penetrating cold.  Jays and Coal Tit were easily seen , both of which have been suggested candidates as endemic species at one time or another ( notably by David Armitage Bannerman,   no relative I would add !! ). A single Cyprus Pied Wheatear sat atop a fence and provided excellent views. Driving up the road even higher I cracked the jackpot by noticing a single bird sitting at the very top of a gnarled, bare tree trunk..... a Crossbill, a species which has certainly been the subject of a lot of conjecture on Cyprus in recent times. I'm told a "red male" has never been seen , and this bird, despite giving out the typical  pose of a singing male on its favourite perch, was definitely a green type. I also thought the bill to be slightly deeper and more robust in build than in Common Crossbill  ( perhaps best not to set that particular hare coursing I thought later ! ).  Try as we might we couldn't find a Short toed Treecreeper, definitely a rather robust type here that wouldn't seem out of place among similar brethren in South America and , again, a suggested candidate for endemic status.  And then it started snowing and sleeting somewhat seriously so we decided to return later and head back down the hill.

We did , went to Akrotiri , where we had similar waders to yesterday  and where it started to rain rather heavily ( cyclonic stuff with all the accompanying thunder and lightning ). We gradually made our way back to the hotel given it was early afternoon , calling in at convenient birding spots. At Lady's Mile a few Caspian and Armenian gulls  provided some interest. A quick circuit of a couple of the pools provided a highlight to the day when we found 4 Spoonbills feeding very close to us. I've never been closer so it was a situation where we looked at them and they looked at us !!  After returning to feeding they soon took off after providing excellent close up views that will doubtless be treasured .  So we trailed back to the hotel late afternoon where the weather decided to improve......