Home
> General
Info > Geography
> Nature/Flora
> Birdlife
Birdlife
Cyprus serves as a staging post for migrating
birds flying between Europe and the Nile delta. Hundreds of
thousands of birds pass through the island and spring and
autumn.
Overgrown orchards and olive groves are the
haunt of little owls, which nest in cracks and holes in the
trees. Endemic Cyprus warblers, considered by some to be a
relative of the widespread Sardinian warbler, can be seen
searching for insects.
The overhead wires serve as ideal lookouts for
red-footer falcons. Bee-eaters and rollers also survey the
terrain for insect quarry while buntings are the wires as
long perches to advertise their territories. The quails’
‘wet-my-lips’ call is often the only clue as to
their whereabouts.
In the autumn and winter the seeds provide food
for larks and house sparrows, sometimes including the Spanish
sparrow. Bare fields are the haunt of hooded crows and magpies.
Watching Sites
Koruçam Burnu
Situated north-west of Sadrazamköy village,
the area between the village and the cape is a mixture of
grassland with small strips of farmland. The road of Sadrazamköy
is good, however from there to the cape it is in a bad condition
and sometimes not passable by car. This is a good area in
the spring and offers many interesting species:
Marsh harrier, sparrow hawk, quail, stone-curlew,
bee-eater, hoopoe, wagtail, whinchat, isabelline, northern
and black eared wheatear, red-backed and woodchat shrike and
Cretzschmar’s bunting.
Geçitköy Reservoir
The reservoir was completed in 1989 and has
become a valuable stopover site for migrants. It is next to
the main Girne-Güzelyurt road and easily accessable from
the main road south of Geçitköy. Because the water
supply is permanent, bird watching is possible all year round.
Many different spicies of waterbirds have been
seen here including bittern, squacco, and purple herons, shoveller,
pochard, and little crake.
In the surrounding grasslands: great spotted
cuckoo, northern wheathear, bee-eater, roller, bonelli and
wood warbler.
In winter: white wagtail, stonechat, robin and
thrush. Breeding birds include little owl, Cyprus pied, wheatear,
cetti’s fan-tailed and Cyprus warbler. To the north-east
of the reservoir is Kornos Peak; griffon vulture and osprey
can be observed flying here.
Gönyeli and Kanliköy Reservoirs
Both reservoirs are north-west of Lefkosa. Kanliköy,
the largest, is easily reached by following the road north
from Kanliköy village to the dam. Gönyeli is tricky
to find. Leave Gönyeli northwards traveling uphill past
a Mercedes showing room the right. At the crest of the hill,
turn right onto a narrow road, left immediately, then sharp
right onto a dirt track. The track leads down to the dam.
Excluding the very hot summer months of June,
July and August the reservoirs provide good bird watching
all year round and more than 110 bird species have been seen
at the two sites. Kanliköy is a quiet area, whereas Gönyeli
is popular at the weekends for picnickers and fisherman.
If the water supply lasts until September, Kanliköy
becomes an excellent site for migrating waders and herons
including squacco heron, little egret, avocet, greenshank
and sand piper.
Gülseren and Glapsides Wetlands
The Glapsides wetlands are near Famagusta, between
the two junctions leading to the village of Tuzla. There are
several different tracks off the main road down to these wetlands.
Gülseren is on the northern edge of Famagusta.
Unfortunately most of the site lies within the Gülseren
military camp. It is forbidden to take fotographs or videos
here. Do not attempt to enter the area from the coast. If
there is water here, it is excellent for waders, herons, gulls
and terns.
Glapsides is important for ducks, waders, herons
and many species of gulls. Spring migration brings kingfischer,
black-necked grebe, gadwell, shoveller, garganey, pallid,
hen and marsh harrier, osprey and spur-winged plover.
The land between the floodlands includes the
forest of Salamis. This often holds large numbers of great
spotted cuckoo, bee-eater, roller, spotted and pied flycatcher,
golden oriole and red-backed shrike. Resident breeders in
the area include barn owl, spectacled warbler and black francolin.
Lake Mehmetcik
A shallow, natural, seasonal lake which lies
west-south-west of Mehmetcik in the Karpas Peninsula. The
lake is visible on the left shortly before you arrive at the
village. The migrant visitors here are: little bittern, glossy
ibis, garganey, pintail, little stint, curlew, sandpiper,
spotted redshank and greenshank. The surrounding area attracts
many songbirds throughout the winter.
The Karpaz Peninsula
The under-developed peninsula offers many attractions
to migrating birds, and the number of species during both
seasons in high. Various larks, wagtails, warblers and raptors
are easy to spot. At Zafer Burnu, the cape beyond St Andreas,
is an excellent site for visible migration. In the spring
you can see the passage of falcons, harriers and buzzards.
There are official shooting seasons for the
game birds. The KKKKD in the Northern Cyprus Society for the
Protection of Birds and Nature (KUSKOR).
|
