The day dawned bright and sunny with little wind, so we decided to cover the usual areas on the Akrotiri peninsula and then strike off elsewhere. We checked the area around the Cat Sanctuary , where Chaffinch breed in what is thought to be their only lowland site on Cyprus ( it's common in the upland forests ) and had a few of the Serins that are there. A Common Buzzard near to the Tower Hide was the only bird of interest so we moved on to the Rabbit farm pools .
There was a good variety of waders , including at least 70 Ruff, 2 ( new ) LRP, 2 Temminck's Stint and at least 4 Common Sandpiper. A single Common Snipe remained to taunt optimistic visitors !!
nearby 40/50 Garganey flew west over the sea , which provided a wonderful backdrop of azure blue.
We decided to move on to Kensington Cliffs , our ill fated destination of a few days ago for which we couldn't find the correct access road !!
Arriving at the cliff top we selected a convenient spot and waited. Throughout the afternoon we had views of Eleonora's Falcon several times, the first bird to arrive back a couple of days ago, Kesret, Jackdaw, a single Yellow legged Gull and a single Cyprus Pied Wheatear. Local information suggested that the griffon Vultures arrived back "around 4pm " so we waited patiently, only to have our vigil interrupted by two rather charming female security officers who wanted all our particulars given we were overlooking the Military Base, ( bloody residential area I would add ! ). In the end they only took down the details of yours truly which included passport number, driving licence number and mobile phone number ! I proffered my card as confirmation and felt like confirming my inside leg measurement was 28 " , but remained on my best behaviour as it had turned into a jolly occasion. All the passengers of other parked cards had wandered off so were never approached !!
But I ask you......and we never saw the Griffon Vultures either despite waiting.
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