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Paphos

Vasilias Nikoklis Inn

The area is an unspoiled paradise for bird watchers at any time, but particularly during the migration season. Francolin, kestrel, vulture, hoopoe, warbler and kingfisher are often to be seen in the valley. Every year swallows nest in the bar and dining room.

Turning north from the main Paphos to Limassol highway you reach the Asprokremnos Dam, which holds back a large Cyprus reservoir with steep rocky sides. During the migration period the dam and its surroundings often hold some interesting birds. Asprokremnos Dam and Reservoir can hold much of interest, including Spectacled and the endemic Cyprus Warblers, Woodchat and Masked Shrikes, Chukar, amazingly confiding Little Crakes, various herons and sundry waders. The deserted Cyprus village of Finikas, overlooking the shallow part of the reservoir, is an attractive spot, and can be excellent for migrants. Great Spotted Cuckoos and raptors including Long-legged Buzzard can also be found here and up the nearby Dhiarizos Valley.

Dhiarizos Valley, a few miles south of Paphos, offer the only real extensive freshwater in Cyprus and you should see Black Francolin, Woodchat Shrike, Tawny Pipit, Short-toed Lark and several wheatear species as well as waders, herons, warblers, Kingfisher, hirundines and, possibly, Little Crake, Baillon's Crake and Masked Shrike.

Pissouri is situated in the southwest of Cyprus amid typically Mediterranean hill country and is an excellent base from which to explore the best birding areas in Cyprus.

The area is cut by a number of seasonal Cyprus rivers, which are mostly dry by April, but in places quite extensive pools of water remain and these are sometimes surrounded by reeds.

Along these river beds, or in adjacent cultivation, you should find such species as Eurasian Hobby, Common Quail, Stone-curlew, Great Spotted Cuckoo, European Scops Owl, European Bee-eater, European Roller, Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Wryneck, Greater Short-toed and Crested Larks, Red-rumped Swallow, Tawny Pipit, Northern, Black-eared and Isabelline Wheatears, Red-backed, Woodchat and Lesser Grey Shrikes, the elegant Masked Shrike, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Spanish Sparrow, and Cretzschmar’s and Ortolan Buntings, all of which occur regularly alongside more familiar species such as Common Kestrel, Common Snipe, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared and European Turtle Doves, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, Common Kingfisher, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Tree Pipit, White and Yellow Wagtails, Common Nightingale, Common Redstart, Whinchat, Great Tit, Common Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Common Linnet and Corn Bunting. The warbler family is also well represented with Sedge, European Reed, Great Reed, Olivaceous, Wood and Willow Warblers, Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Blackcap and Common Chiffchaff all likely, together with resident species such as Cetti’s and Cyprus Warblers, and Zitting Cisticola (or Fan-tailed Warbler).

We also have a good chance of finding Balkan (or Eastern Bonelli’s) Warbler, which has been split from Bonelli’s Warbler. At this season European Pied and Collared Flycatchers can sometimes be found together, providing the observer with a rare opportunity to compare these species in the field. The wet areas regularly hold Little and Baillon’s Crakes, although as ever these secretive birds can prove hard to see.