This holiday was a surprise birthday present from my wife Sandra, she only told me on the Thursday that we were going so I had very little time for planning an itinerary. We flew out from Newcastle airport on the Sunday on an allocated on arrival package, costing £434 for the two of us, self catering. We ended up at the Atlantica Hotel Complex in Limmassol, an excellent hotel.  We upgraded to all inclusive for another £198 Cypriot pounds for the week which was a good thing, we hammered the bar each night and the food was good. The bar and waitress staff were brilliant, very friendly.

We hired a car from Ascot Car Rentals for three days which cost us £54 Cypriot pounds, the car was a Daihatsu which had seen better days but it did the job.

We covered the main birding areas and I ended up with three new lifers, which I did not connect with on a previous trip to Cyprus some five years earlier.

Systematic List.

Little Grebe.                             6 at Fasouri Reed beds
White Pelican.                          1 at Achna Dam
Squacco Heron.                        12 at Fasouri reed beds, 1 at Kouros Dam
Little Egret.                              1 at Fasouri  reed beds
Glossy Ibis.                              10 at Achna dam
Mallard.                                   3 at Achna Dam
Ferruginous Duck.                     4 at Fasouri reed beds
Marsh Harrier.                           1 at Akrotiri
Kestrel .                                   Fairly common and widespread
Eleonora’s Falcon.                      3 at Cape Aspro
Peregrine.                                 3 at Alektora
Black Francolin.                         1 at Achna Dam, 1 at Kourus Dam
Chukar.                                    2 at Kouros Dam
Moorhen.                                  Good numbers at Fasouri Reed beds
Coot.                                       Good numbers at Fasouri Reed beds, 9 at Achna Dam
Collared Pratincole.                    Good Numbers at Achna Dam
Spur-winged Plover.                   2 at Achna Dam, 1 at Fasouri Reed beds.  *
Ruff...                                     6 at Fasouri Reed beds
Wood Sandpiper.                       1 at Fasouri Reed beds
Yellow-legged Gull.                    Fairly common
Little Tern.                              2 at Achna Dam
Woodpigeon.                            Fairly common and widespread
Collared Dove.                          Fairly common and widespread
Turtle Dove.                             1 at Akrotiri
Great Spotted Cuckoo.              1 at Achna Dam
Swift.                                     Common and widespread
Bee-eater.                              Common and widespread
Roller.                                    2 at1.5km before Achna Dam
Crested Lark.                           Common and widespread
Red-rumped Swallow.                2 at AgiaFyla
Swallow.                                  Common and widespread
House Martin.                          Common and widespread
Cyprus Pied Wheater.                Fairly common around the Island.  *
Zitting Cisticola.                        Fairly Common
Cetti’s Warbler.                        Fairly Common
Great Reed Warbler.                  Fairly Common in Suitable habitat
Olivaceous Warbler      .            1 at Limmassol, 2 at Achna Dam
Spectacled Warbler.                  Family party at Cape Gkreko
Cyprus Warbler.                        Fairly Common in scrubby areas.  *
Willow Warbler.                        1 in hotel grounds
Spotted Flycatcher.                  2 at Kouros Dam.  2 at Akrotiri
Great Tit .                               Common and widespread
Masked Shrike.                         1 at Ypsonas
Starling.                                  Few around hotel gardens
Jackdaw.                                Fairly Common and Widespread
Hooded Crow.                         Very Common
House Sparrow.                       Common
Chaffinch. Fairly                      Common
Serin.                                    2 at Akrotiri
Greenfinch.                             Common at Akrotiri

50 Species in total.
3 Lifers, Cyprus Warbler, Cyprus Pied Wheatear, Spur-winged Plover.

Site names taken from Road & Tourist Map of Cyprus.
* Denotes new species