We roll out from Metehan border station at 8:00 in the morning and I can already feel that it will be a hot day. Kuşkor North Cyprus Society for Protection of Birds and Nature organizes bird watching tours every month except in July and August when it is too hot and not so many birds to be seen. Ten enthusiastic birdwatchers are in the mini bus to take us to different places around Larnaca.
The people on the bus were talking intensively about the hunt for small birds in Cyprus. Many migratory birds take the route over Cyprus on their way south, which suites the hunters so that they can shoot or capture as many as possible, something that is not seen kindly by bird lovers in the bus.
The Blackcap is a delicacy here in Cyprus. One way (which is illegal) to capture the birds is to make a sort of batter from the sticky berries of the Cordia Myxa tree. The batter is then placed in various different places and the birds get caught in it.
First stop is Larnaca sewage works were you can find flamingos if you’re lucky. Then we travel along the coast and the passengers are constantly hanging out the window, hoping to see something unusual. Stop No. 2 is outside Larnaca airport, and there we find, not a bird, but a large black and yellow spider, Orb spider, which gets the most attention.
Oriklini Lake is the next place on the tour. There is an EU funded project from 2012 that protects this sensitive natural area, classified as an SPA (Special Protection Area) under the EU Birds Directive. It is time for lunch, and we go down to Larnaca Beach to take our lunch. Not much bird life, however, some tourists sunbathing on the pebble beach. After lunch we stop at Dhekelia fire station. On a field there is a nest of the unusual Stone Curlews.
Last stop for the day is Achne dam, which is a popular hangout for local fishermen. We witnessed an osprey quickly swoop over the water and catch a fish in its claws. The group seemed very happy with the days events as we moved back toward the bus that would take us back to Nicosia.
Some of the birds we saw during the day:
Sparewinged plover
Shelduck
Whiskerd tern
Flamingo
Ruff
Black winged stilt
Redshank
Greenshank
Longlegged buzzard
Kuşkor North Cyprus Society for Protection of Birds and Nature is a non-governmental organization which is dependent on its members’ donations. The organization currently has 110 members; many of them are Turkish Cypriot former hunters who became birdwatchers. “We want to use our influence to change the hunting culture in terms of small birds, preventing them from being hunted to extinction. We want to raise awareness among people on these issues, particularly through education, “said Gavin Croucher, spokesman for Kuşkor.
“It was the first time we were on the south side, normally we go to Famagusta Wetlands, Güzelyurt area, or the whole north coast,” says Gavin. He adds that it will be very exciting when the new water reservoir in Gecitköy is completed. “There will be a massive migration of birds and the water will increase 10-fold,” he said with a smile.
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