And so it begins

As you’ve probably gathered by now, I’ve not been particularly hot on updating the blog of late… However, as I’m now in Cyprus carrying out my first season of field work (and with lots of pretty things to photograph) I’ll do my best to keep you updated over the next few months.

Suffice to say that the lead up to my departure from the UK on the 5^th April was a little bit hectic, with most of my time spent running around like a headless chicken trying to organise kit and logistics for both me and my fantastic MSc student Alli (who’s now out in Portugal collecting data from our other study population). Unfortunately a lot of our equipment wasn’t quite ready in time, or hadn’t arrived in the post, prior to my departure but you can see from the photo below that I wasn’t short of a doo-hicky or two.

A serious case of excess luggage

Having arrived in Cyprus, I thought it only fair to spend a couple of days acclimatising and exploring the island. This did ultimately also lead to me doing a fair bit of birding… A few of the more interesting feathered bits and bobs are pictured below.

Blue-cheeked bee-eater. They don't come much
better than this (apart from rollers, of course)

Montagu's harrier

Masked shrike

Spur-winged plover

Greater sandplover and broad-billed sandpiper

Great spotted cuckoos

Sardinian warbler

The landscape and wildlife out here in general are wonderful. There’re wildflowers all over the hillsides, including Cyprus’s famously diverse bee orchid species and more tongue orchids than you can shake a stick at.

 

View from Evretou Dam

Androlikou

Long-eared hedgehog. Their hearing is
exceptional, their ability to dodge less so

Ophrys mammosa

Ophrys umbilicata

Tongue orchids

Southern skimmer

I’m now very much settled in my new home in the village of Kritou Terra. I share the courtyard with the Cypriot family next door, a plague of cats, and a particularly curious dog called Brenda. More importantly, I’ve got at least three pairs of rollers breeding within earshot of my front door (I can hear a pair of them chattering away as I type).

Chez Phil

Finally, a roller!

A new nest site

Thanks to the previous census work carried out in the vicinity of the village by Derek Pomeroy and Frank Walsh I’ve been fortunate enough to locate several historical nest sites locally. After spending a few days driving around the study area I’ve managed to locate at least fifteen pairs; only another five to go to make the ideal study population size! Watch this space...