With the access to Aprokremmos Dam washed out by the recent rains and just a single distant singing male Cyprus Warbler at Kourion, my hopes for the 'birding day' were perhaps beginning to fall...
Phassouri Marsh was a bit busier, with four Marsh Sandpipers overhead, a male Ferruginous Duck and a nice Squacco Heron, but still not quite as busy as I would have hoped for this time of year. Where are all the wagtails and pipits, the warblers and chats?
Driving out onto the dry salt marshes of Akrotiri, we turned our attention to plants while being plagued by mosquitoes... and then three large birds were spotted flying in the distance. Three cranes... three thin-necked, slightly faster flapping than normal... three small cranes with black breasts! Three small cranes which appeared to be gaining height, but then turned and came in to land just over the rise! Driving the bus in the general direction, we came to a sudden halt with three Demoiselle Cranes walking across the track about 20 metres in front of us. Spellbinding...
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