First ever trip to the eastern Mediterranean, with a week long visit to the Cyprus at the very start of April timed to coincide with the spring migration period. Based myself in Paphos in the west of the island, flight times from Newcastle were not far off 5 hours each way. Staying in a hotel midway between the airport and Paphos itself, most of the birding locations were relatively local - areas covered were Paphos Archaeological Site, Mandria, Ayia Varvara, Anarita Park, Aspro Dam & Aphrodite's Rock. Less than an hour to the east near Limassol, Akrotiri Marsh was a personal favourite, with the Lady's Mile Beach lagoons nearby very good for waders. Other locations visited included a morning in the picturesque Troodos Mountains (peaking at 1,952 metres), another early morning visit to Cape Greco in the east & a pleasant afternoon watching raptors in the hills around Theletra. Generally the weather was very good, temperatures either side of 20 degrees, usually sunny with a couple of cloudier/mixed days. Birding was excellent with plenty of photo opportunities, around fifteen species I'd never seen before (plus an additional two heard only), as well numerous ones I'd only seen in either a rare migrant context in the UK, or on other foreign trips, which were relatively easy to observe here. Couldn't be a simpler trip really, being a resort destination there lots of different flights and types of accommodation available, you drive on the left same as at home and road signs are generally in both Greek and English. Additionally there's a fair few UK birders visiting and with a WhatsApp group set up you know what species are around/arriving. There were a few targets I hoped to see and missed, plus a few sites I didn't get to, so definitely worth another visit.
© East Ayton Photography