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News in Brief: Cyprus, Spain, Poland & Southern Morocco
‘“More Naked Men over here!”
The cry went up from two ladies of our group crouched behind rocks under an achingly clear blue sky’, writes leader Andy Bunten. ‘Sure enough, there were more excellent specimens of Naked Man Orchids (Orchis italica) among the gleaming limestone boulders.
We’d stopped here, suddenly, as a Long-legged Buzzard, cinnamon in the bright sunshine, had appeared over a valley and we’d tumbled from the bus to get a better look. Inevitably the botanists had spread out and were scouring the verges and fields.
Over the trip their scouring was pretty productive too, with some glorious plants including the astonishingly beautiful Cyclamens looking as pink and succulent as sweets and seemingly growing out of solid rock, their colour perfectly offset by the honey-coloured limestone.
Pride of place somehow always goes to the orchids and we quickly racked up 23 species – including four endemic to Cyprus.
At this time of year, migration is in full swing and waves of Swallows, Red-rumped Swallows and Swifts swept over the meadows urgently catching flies; Rüppell’s and Cyprus Warblers popped out of bushes; Great Spotted Cuckoos chattered from low trees; a gorgeous Common Rock Thrush paraded itself in front of us and a Citrine Wagtail, looking as startlingly yellow as some of the amazing cakes we were seeing in the bakeries, put on a bravado performance just feet away from us.
What a brilliant trip!’
‘If there is a better way of waking up than to the sounds of flocks of Red-rumped Swallows calling softly as they flit past one’s bedroom window, then I’d like to hear it’, says tour leader Andy Bunten. ‘Once again, “The Island of Cyprus” trip was a delight for birds, plants, butterflies and reptiles – and archaeology.
Migration was apace, with bushes, empty a second ago, suddenly possessing a beautifully marked Eurasian Wryneck; fields full of bouncing, leaping wagtails, dapper White plus three varieties of Yellow, including the stunning Black-headed and shorelines with wheatears suddenly revealing themselves as they flew, their white rumps dancing away from us.
Memories of our Citrine Wagtail, standing out even among the beautiful Yellows, of our predatory Masked and Woodchat Shrikes, of our close-up views of the muscularly powerful ‘brookei’ sub-species of Peregrine Falcon and the influx of endemic Cyprus Wheatears will live long in the memory.
Those with heads down rather than up also found many delights. Any trip that records 22 orchids (three endemic) has got a lot going for it. The Cyclamen were gorgeous, the Golden Oak magnificent and the higher altitude Black Pine, supporting the sub-species of Red Crossbill, dark and brooding.
Everywhere butterflies enjoyed the sun and the prehistoric looking Agama Lizards nodded as we passed as if to confirm that we’d made the right choice in coming to Cyprus.
We certainly had.’
'The first “Poland's Mammals: In Search of the Eurasian Lynx!” tour of 2023 was a huge success!’ writes leader Neil McMahon. ‘Multiple sightings of the beautifully grizzled Carpathian Wolf, with a close animal near to our minibus for over half an hour in daylight conditions, was the pick of the canid viewing. We have probably never seen so many Eurasian Bison before on this trip, with almost daily sightings and over 20 animals seen some days. Red Fox, Roe Deer, Red Deer, Eurasian Beaver and Brown Hare were common and we also connected with singles of Raccoon Dog and Wildcat plus a couple of droves of Wild Boar. A huge Brown Bear, Red Squirrels and a couple of Otters were also much appreciated. For many though the most magical sightings were of the mystical “phantom of the forest” after we located and watched at length no less than two different Eurasian Lynx at close range at night! The only “large cat” in Europe, the Eurasian Lynx has proved to be a tough find in previous years but this tour scored spectacularly with lead-ups of tracks in the snow, yowling animals vocal in the forest and concluding with outstanding views.
Some highly sought-after birds were also enjoyed including Hazelhen, Nutcracker, Grey-headed and Black Woodpecker, Goshawk, Long-eared Owl, Ring Ouzels and plenty of Woodcock and Hawfinches.
A very happy if somewhat fatigued band of Naturetrekkers returned to the UK with some amazing memories and experiences!'
'Meandering around Doñana National Park and the remote Sierra Morena, we enjoyed fantastic wildlife, including a stunning encounter with one Iberian Lynx that posed for us at very close quarters! What a thrill to have such prolonged views of this incredibly rare cat’, says tour leader Byron Palacios. ‘We also enjoyed watching Otters, a lovely male Mouflon and Spanish Ibex with birds including Spanish Imperial Eagle, Griffon and Cinereous Vultures, hundreds of Greater Flamingoes, Eurasian Hoopoes, Iberian Magpies and Iberian Green Woodpeckers… to name just a few. All with spectacular scenery in true wilderness with great food and, most importantly, tremendous fun along the way!'
‘Our tour to southern Morocco hit the peak of the migration season and with almost perfect conditions the highlights included both resident and migrant species’, writes tour leader Chris Griffin. ‘We covered a variety of habitats, including the High Atlas, the southern deserts and finally the coast, and achieved a record-breaking 188 species of birds, plus four distinctive subspecies. Other fauna was not ignored and included three mammal species, 14 species of butterfly, six of dragonflies and 10 of reptiles.
Avian highlights included good views of Bald Ibis, African Crimson-winged Finch, Lanner Falcon, Pharaoh Eagle Owl, Black-crowned Tchagra, Moussier’s Redstart and Desert Sparrow, whilst a bewildering mix of larks and wheatears included the much sought-after Thick-billed and Temminck’s Larks and Atlas Wheatear. Warblers were plentiful with Western Subalpine dominating the numbers but a wide range was seen, including displaying Tristram’s Warbler in the mountains and the Saharan form of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in the desert edge. However, perhaps the most dramatic was the flow of Bee-eaters, including good numbers of Blue-cheeked, a species that often arrives later in the year.’
