Birding/ Bird watching on Cyprus

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ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

Friday 16 ^th of February 2018 and I had decided to make a last day birding tour on Cyprus. 150 € extra, but anyway, I would have had to pay 70€ for a taxi from Hotel Ajax here in Limassol to the International Airport in Larnaca.

I was in the reception 10 minutes before 7. I checked out and I had a very quick breakfast before I went out to the parking lot. My Guide arrived when I stepped out. We loaded my luggage and we were ready for a new day with bird watching adventure.

Limassol, early morning from my hotel room

So we left Ajax Hotel behind and we were soon out of Limassol working our way up the mountain. We will look for birds at the Troodos Visitors Center. And I hope to get a picture of the Coal Tit and the Short-toed Treecreeper. We drove up the mountains and I was happy that I had my luggage in the back. It was cold, there were even snow on the ground around Troodos Visitors Center. So I brought out my boiler suit.

We didn't see much birds on the road, a few Hooded Crows and the Magpie that I wanted to have on picture. But the Magpie is impossible to get on picture as it is a very shy bird.

Driving up the misty mountains

Driving up the misty mountains

Driving up the misty mountains

We stop to take a picture of a Strawberry tree

Driving up the misty mountains

Troodos Visitors Center and we can see the snow

To see the map in a full window click HERE

We were soon seeing the Short-toed Treecreeper but they were sitting high up in the trees so it was impossible to get any pictures. I walked along the Atlante Trail while my Guide drove the car to the next parking place. We had several Chaffinches flying around, Black birds and the Short-toed Treecreeper, but nothing on photo.

We walked back towards the car and my Guide spotted two crossbills, an adult male and female sitting at the top of a small pine tree. My Guide got a picture but there was a helicopter flying over us and the birds got scared and escaped before I could take any pictures.

Troodos Visitors Center - Atlante Trail

Troodos Visitors Center - Atlante Trail

The helicopter disturbe the birds

We leave the Troodos Visitors Center and we take off the road at the Livadi Tou Passia to see if we could see any birds. I saw two beautiful Jay birds, a very shy bird and I never got any pictures, but I got a good view of them bathing in a puddle. We drive on and we stop at another area with many small birds flying around before we continue towards Athalassa Park in Nicosia.

Looking for birds at Troodos

Looking for birds at Troodos

We stop for a picnic lunch

We stop for a picnic lunch in a park and we can look out for birds while eating. We stopped for 20 minutes or so before we took off. We will stop at the Athalassa Park and last stop at the Achna Dam before the airport in Larnaca. Arriving to the capital Nicosia we had a little hard time to find the Athalassa Park.

We gave up, but suddenly, when on our way to the Achna Dam, we passed a sign saying Athalassa Park. Still not easy to find, but after a stop to ask for the way we found the park. Later on when I check the map I discover that we were at the Environmental Information Center Athalassa National Forest Park instead of the Athalassa Lake in the Athalassa National Forest Park.

Passing almond trees on the way to the Athalassa Park in Nicosia

On the way to the Athalassa Park in Nicosia

On the way to the Athalassa Park in Nicosia

Almost at the Athalassa Park

Gate to the Athalassa Park

We park the car and we walk down to the pond. My Guide is confused, he had expected a lake but it was only a pond. We are soon spotting a Common Kingfisher in one of the bushes. But no pictures as the bird was sitting in the bush. But I manage to get pictures of the Eurasian Coot. We have seen several of the Eurasian Coot around Cyprus but they have been very shy.

Surprisingly shy, I remember them from New Zealand, they were very aggressive attacking big swans. I was even attacked by one of the Eurasian Coots. But here they take off as soon as they see my camera. Anyway, now I had the pictures. We returned to the car, time to move on towards Larnaca and the airport and the last stop at the Achna Dam.

At the pond

Ducks in the pond

Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Coot

We approach the Achna Dam and we drove by Achna in the buffer zone. We had Turkish military watch towers on the left hand side and the Greek watch towers on the left hand side. We could also see the abandoned town Achna on the left hand side.

Achna

Achna (Greek: Άχνα; Turkish: Düzce) is an abandoned village in the Famagusta District of Cyprus. It is just north of the Buffer Zone and it is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus. After the 1974 Turkish invasion, its displaced inhabitants built a new village nearby.

New village
The inhabitants of Achna built a provisional tent village in the Achna forest (Dasaki tis Achnas), some hundred meters away from their old village, and later started to build a new village, Dasaki Achnas, near the old location, within the confines of the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area.

Dasaki Achnas' population in 2011 was 2,087.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The war I remember the war from the 70's and UN soldiers were based on the island. Still today, we saw UN vehicles driving around. But it is 40 years ago and the Achna is a ghost town and have been for the last 40 years. There are still landmines in the area and it is a NO GO ZONE. I tried to take a few pictures of the “Ghost Town” when we passed in the buffer zone.

United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus

The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarized zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established in 1964 and extended in 1974 after the cease fire of 16 August 1974, following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and de facto partition of the island into the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus (southern Cyprus save for the British Sovereign Base Areas) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the North.

The zone, also known as the Green Line (Greek: Πράσινη Γραμμή, Prasini Grammi; Turkish: Yeşil Hat), stretches for 180 kilometres from Paralimni in the east to Kato Pyrgos in the west, where a separate section surrounds Kokkina. The zone cuts through the centre of Nicosia, separating the city into southern and northern sections. In total, it spans an area of 346 square kilometres (134 sq mi), varying in width from less than 20 metres to more than 7 kilometres.

The line is also referred to as the Attila Line, named after the Turkish code-name for the 1974 military intervention: Operation Atilla. Turkish forces built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank ditches, and minefields.

Some 10,000 people live in several villages and work on farms located within the zone; the village of Pyla is famous for being the only village on Cyprus where Greeks and Turks live side by side. Other villages are Deneia, Athienou and Troulloi. Some areas are untouched by human interference and have remained a safe haven for flora and fauna

The UN buffer zone is shown in light blue on the map

History
A buffer zone in Cyprus was first established in 1964, when Major-General Peter Young was the commander of the British peace force (a predecessor of the present UN force) set up in the wake of the inter-communal violence of the early 1960s. After stationing his troops in different areas of Nicosia, the general drew a cease-fire line on a map with a green chinagraph pencil, which was to become known as the “Green Line”

It later transpired that the map General Young was using had been borrowed from Major Bill Garbutt of the 14th/20th King's Hussars, whose clerk, Lance Corporal Arnie Greenwood, had marked the cease fire line on the map with the only coloured writing instrument that he had, which happened to be green.

The Green Line became impassable following the July 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus during which Turkey captured approximately 37% of Cypriot territory in response to a short-lived Greek Cypriot coup. A "security zone" was established after the Tripartite Conference of Geneva in July 1974.

Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 353 (1974), the foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom convened in Geneva, Switzerland, on 25 July 1974. According to UNFICYP, the text of the joint declaration transmitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations was as follows:

A security zone of a size to be determined by representatives of Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, in consultation with UNFICYP, was to be established at the limit of the areas occupied by the Turkish armed forces. This zone was to be entered by no forces other than those of UNFICYP, which was to supervise the prohibition of entry. Pending the determination of the size and character of the security zone, the existing area between the two forces was not to be breached by any forces.
-Tripartite Conference & Geneva Declaration,

The UN Security Council then adopted the above declaration with Resolution 355. When the coup dissolved, the Turkish Armed Forces advanced to capture approximately 37% of the island and met the "Green Line". The meandering Buffer Zone marks the southernmost points that the Turkish troops occupied during the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in August 1974, running between the cease fire lines of the Cypriot National Guard and Turkish army that de facto divides Cyprus into two, cutting through the capital of Nicosia. With the self-proclamation of the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Buffer Zone became its de facto southern border.

Traffic across the buffer zone was very limited until 2003, when the number of crossings and the rules governing them were relaxed.

Sectors

SECTOR ONE
Starts at Kokkina exclave and covers approximately 90 kilometres to Mammari, west of Nicosia. Since 16 October 1993, it has been the responsibility of the Argentinian Contingent with 212 soldiers. Sector One Headquarters and Command Company are located in San Martin Camp, which is near Skouriotissa village. Support Company finds its home at Roca Camp, near Xeros in the north. The two line companies are deployed along four permanently manned patrol bases while also conducting mobile patrols from the San Martin and Roca camps.

SECTOR TWO See also: Nicosia International Airport and Ledra Palace Starts at Mammari, west of Nicosia and covers 30 kilometres to Kaimakli, east of Nicosia. Since 1993, it has been the responsibility of the British contingent, which deploys using the name Operation TOSCA .

SECTOR FOUR
Starting at Kaimakli, east of Nicosia and covers 65 kilometres (40 to the village of Dhernia, on the east coast of Cyprus and has been the responsibility of the Slovakian, Hungarian, Serbian and Ukrainian contingent with 202 soldiers.

Crossings
After a nearly 30-year ban on crossings, the Turkish Cypriot administration significantly eased travel restrictions across the dividing line in April 2003, allowing Greek Cypriots to cross at the Ledra Palace Crossing just outside the walls of old Nicosia. This was only made possible after the decision of the ECHR (Djavit An vs Turkey, Application No.20652/92).

These are the crossings now available:

Before Cypriot accession to the European Union, there were restrictions on Green Line crossings by foreigners imposed by the Republic of Cyprus, but these were abolished for EU citizens by EU regulation 866/2004. Generally, citizens of any country are permitted to cross the line, including Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

A 2005 EU report stated that “a systematic illegal route through the northern part to the government-controlled areas exists” allowing an influx of asylum seekers.

Incidents
In August 1996, Greek Cypriot refugees demonstrated with a march against what they regard as the Turkish occupation of Cyprus. The demonstrators' demand was the complete withdrawal of Turkish troops and the return of Cypriot refugees to their homes and properties. Among the demonstrators was Tassos Isaac who was beaten to death.

Another man, Solomos Solomou, was shot to death by Turkish troops during the same protests on 14 August 1996. Aged 26, Solomou was one of many mourners who entered the Buffer Zone three days after Isaac's funeral, on 14 August to lay a wreath on the spot where he had been beaten to death. Solomou was fired upon by Turkish soldiers when he was climbing to a flagpole to remove the flag of Turkey. An investigation by authorities of the Republic of Cyprus followed, and the suspects were named as Kenan Akin and Erdan Emanet. International legal proceedings were instigated and arrest warrants for both were issued via Interpol.

During the demonstrations on 14 August 1996, two British soldiers were also shot by the Turkish forces: Neil Emery and Jeffrey Hudson, both from 39th Regiment Royal Artillery. Bombardier Emery was shot in his arm, whilst Gunner Hudson was shot in the leg by a high velocity rifle round and was airlifted to hospital in Nicosia then on to RAF Akrotiri.

Activism
The buffer zone between the checkpoints that divide Ledra Street was used as a space for activism from 15 October 2011 up until June 2012 by the Occupy Buffer Zone movement.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Turkish watch tower

Ghost town

Ghost town

Ghost town

Another watch tower

We park the car on the east side of the Achna Dam. We walked down to the beach, but the only birds we could see was two Eurasian Coots. We decided to go check out the west side of the Achna Dam before we went to the airport. West side of the Achna Dam is only accessible by a dust road. And my Guide had never seen the water this high before. Good, we drove close to the water line

I was soon screaming STOP. There was a beautiful Isabelline Wheatear sitting next to the dust track and we could come pretty close to get a picture.

Driving on the west side of the Achna Dam

The water is high in the Achna Dam

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

We continued and we were soon stopping for a White Wagtail, these pictures was not so good as the bird was far away. We spotted a sandpiper and I tried to sneak up on the bird. Approaching from behind a tree, but there was a second sandpiper behind me. The bird took off with a warning call and “MY” sandpiper took off as well.

We approached a huge group of Eurasian Coot but they swam away when we came closer. We drove as far as we could before the water stopped us. We spotted a group of Northern Lapwing, but they were as scared as the Spure-winged so no pictures. OK, that was it about the bird watching on Cyprus.

White Wagtail

Sandpiper

A huge group of Eurasian Coots swim away when we approach

We turned around starting to drive back towards Larnaca International Airport. We came around the corner at the end of the dam and we ran in to a Shepard and his sheep. When the sheep had passes us we continued for 50 meters or so. The Isabelline Wheatear was still there and now my Guide wanted to try to get a picture.

So, my last bird picture on Cyprus will be of the Isabelline Wheatear. Now, next stop Larnaca International Airport and my flight back home to Bangkok.

Sheep

Sheep

Sheep

Sheep

Isabelline Wheatear

Isabelline Wheatear

Larnaca International Airport

Larnaca International Airport

My Guide drops me at the airport and we have had 4 nice days looking for birds around the island. I got to see the entire (almost) island, well, not the Turkish part. If you ever come to Cyprus I can really recommend CYPRUS BIRD WATCHING TOURS - BIRD IS THE WORD www.birdingtourscyprus-bitw.com Check out his web page and book a tour. I paid 150 € per day. Very cheap:

• Excellent guide
• Guide that identify all the birds for you
• No need to rent a car
• No need to drive the car
• Just to sit down relaxing enjoying the sights

Check out CYPRUS BIRD WATCHING TOURS - BIRD IS THE WORD on You Tube and Flickr

CYPRUS BIRD WATCHING TOURS - BIRD IS THE WORD is also making trip reports with all the birds we had seen. Well, I only count the birds I have got on photo. Anyway, here is Matt's trip report for the last day. Click HERE for Day 4 Trip Report.

And click HERE for the whole trip report.

Check-in was not open, one of the staff members told me that they would open in 30 to 40 minutes. I ask about the ticket office so I can go to upgrade my ticket. They told me that I had to upgrade at the check-in counter. I asked if the flight was full and they told me that the flight was almost empty.

I went back to the check-in counter but they were still closed. I went to check out a kiosk to see if there was anything to buy. The guy from the check-in came up to me.
- Did you manage to upgrade?
- They told me that I had to do it at check-in

I told him that the flight was almost empty according to the ticket office. He told me that he was the manager so he would keep an empty row for me.

Check-in is not open

Time to board

After check-in I went to the restaurant where I had my dinner. Immigration and security and it was almost time to board the flight. A little more than 4 hours on the plane to Doha in my own row, so it willhopefully be a joyful flight.

+++++++++++++++
Saturday 17 ^th of February 2018 and we have a short stop-over in Doha. Just enough time for me to upgrade the last leg of my journey. And I went to check out what they had to offer in the kiosk/ Mini mart. I ran in to a fridge of Diet Pepsi. I could not believe my eyes.

Arrival to Doha

Arrival to Doha

Arrival to Doha

I grabbed 2 cans of Diet Pepsi and I went to the Cashier.
- You get one free when you buy two
- I only want two cans
- But the third can is for free
- Yeah, but I only want 2 cans

I finished one can while waiting for the flight and I smuggles on board one can, a little something to enjoy in the morning before arriving to Bangkok. The Steward brought the menu. I told him that I would sleep so it was not necessary to bring me any food. I took the opportunity to order my breakfast.
- Do you want me to wake you up for breakfast if you're sleeping?
- No thanks

He kept on fingering on my Diet Pepsi can and I told him to stop. Don't touch my ****** can!
- Sorry sorry!
I asked him if they had the bigger sized tea mugs on board and I told that they had mugs. I asked for a mug of Earl Grey tea and he disappeared leaving my soda can.

PLEASE! Don't touch!

Looks to promising for a nice flight ahead

Preparing for departure

Preparing for departure

Well, I had two mugs of Earl Grey tea before I went to bed. The Steward that could not keep his hands from my Pepsi came with a pyjamas for me. I said thank you and, well, I put the pyjamain to my back pack as you never know when I lose a few hundred kilos, and then, first by then the pyjama can come in handy. It looked to be a nice pyjama.

Well, anyway, don't be surprised if you run in to a picture of me in a pyjama here on www.aladdin.st in the near future.

GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!!!

Kicking off the day with salmon

The food was good, but there was not very much of it

I enjoyed the approach to Bangkok and coming through the immigration was a quick thing. I booked a AOT taxi while waiting for my bag. I was on my way back home not long after having stepped off the plane. Light traffic and I was soon stepping inside my door.

12:37 Off the plane

12:49 Luggage on the belt

13:00 AOT's best guy bring my luggage to the Mini Mart

13:04 A little something for the road

13:00 AOT's best guy bring me luggage and drinks to the car

13:15 On my way back home

Last day of birding on Cyprus and we were not sure we could make it as there was a storm approaching. But we had great weather the whole day. But my Guide sent me a picture taken at my hotel a few hours later, and it looks like I was lucky to escape Cyprus.

I went to buy fruit and from now on it will be fruit salad only. And of course, Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym, I will go there every day. And I will not go to any restaurants,hopefully.

I was late to come home so I postponed my Tiger safari in Nepal until March. Tiger safari in India on the 6th of March. But I need to go to pick up a parcel at Wrist in Singapore. So I will take the opportunity to do some bird watching. But the flights are full so I can only stay 2 nights, back home on Saturday and flying to Chiang Mai on Sunday for 2 days of birding. So, Singapore, only need to bring a few bottles of MAX to bring in my weekend bag.

But I need 2 boxes for my tiger safari in India so I went to get my drinks that I had ordered yesterday. So now everything is ready for my holidays.

I bring a shopping cart

I have ordered 2 cases

Loading the cart

Loading the cart

Time to get back home

48 bottles ready to go to India

Alarm is set to go off at 5 o'clock in the morning, morning flight so I'm better off getting out of bed early. A last pizza with my friend at Via Vai, always good food there. But the place is not very good for my diet. Well, once in a while....

Pizza at Via Vai

OK, let's click HERE to find out if there are any exciting birds in Singapore.

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