Sunday, January 11, 2026

6 January 2026 Paphos: Seeking Desert Finch Finding Black-Bellied Plover

 



Sorry if the theme of the most recent blogs have become monotonous but the desert finch is a master of blending in with the landscape and to date I have not been able to sight the wilily little bugger. Paphos still offers great scenery, flowers and bright blue skies so I continue with my efforts.  As I got to the waterfront, there was a mob of people.  Three Kings Day is a national holiday and the President of Cyprus came for a visit.  His visit was covered by the local news outlets and attended by many of the people.  All the extra people were most likely spooking the birds so I did not sight the Desert Finch but I did get a new bird, the Black-Bellies Plover!


The flowers here are salt and drought tolerant, they are also lovely


This church is massive


What could this machinery have been intended to do?


More colorful flowers


A reminder of how long this island has been inhabited


Oh my a very large police presence


So many people are here too


It turns out that the President of Cyprus has chosen Three Kings Day to give Paphos a visit


It is the news of the day


The kestrel is not impressed


Looking for breakfast instead


This plover did not match the golden plovers


But it was not easy to pick out of the mob


The Black Bellied Plover, a new lifebird, the belly is black only during the mating season 


I headed further down the shoreline


A man and his dog spooked the plovers


They landed on an exposed rock ledge


The lighthouse is always a landmark 


A group of goldfinches


An spare anchor 


Passing a Thai place on my wany back


The tumbleweeds are huge in these parts.  This woman is taking hers out for a walk




It has been 3 years and 214 days since we began our Migration

Friday, January 9, 2026

4 January 2026 Paphos: Finishing up the Coastal Trail

 


The above signpost would normally be populated with the names and distances of cities around the world.  This one has instructions for calmness: kiss me, chill out, eat-prey-love, laugh, smile.  A fun set of signs.  We walked to the east and when we reached  the city limits of Paphos the coastal pathway stopped.  We continued through a little area that was undeveloped and soon a section of paved path remerged but it did not last long.   We could see the airport off in the distance at the end of a long bay.  Along our walk I saw a gull and snapped a quick picture.  It turned out to be a Little Gull, a new bird for me and the smallest of all the gulls.



Big planter and huge grist stones


Rock walking


These paddle boats also have a water slide


The water was very clear


A excavated swimming hole


I saw this gull and low and behold it was the rare bird from up by the headlands.  Lifebird #1 for the day, the little gull.  It is the littlest of all the gulls in the world


A fairly informal sign 


For major renovation work.  Entire floors are being added to the resort


Another waterpark, this one is for pirates on vacation


This guitar is about to fall apart


We are at the edge of the city of Paphos


Here is St. Nicholas Church


The sigh indicates that this is the sunset point


One must stand on the platform


Inside we shared the place with half a dozen folks


The decorations vibrant 


Icons and additional artifacts 


St. george killing hte dragon is a popular theme


Everyone is getting in on the act.  Larger figures along the lower row and smaller figures along the upper row  


A closer inspection of the gallery of saints


These carved wooden panels had birds on them


Carved wood all around


Bright colors


This looks like a reunion picture from All Saints Academy 


The candles were burning inside the outside shrine


It is smart to keep the open flames outside


We can see the predominant direction of the wind


Very nice chaple


The pathway has officially ended and now we just  have a dirt track


Exploring we go!


A very large undeveloped tract with paths through it


Just outside the city limits it is almost deserted


But developments are just a short distance away


Off on the distance is the airport


A large bay with smaller buildings


The waters are calm


What more pathway?


But not for long


Serious about fishing


Soaking up the sun


Hearty flowers still in bloom in January


Life guard shack


A couple was tossing the bocci balls


The glass bottom boat that we rode on our last visit here


We have returned to our starting point




It has been 3 years and 212 days since we began our Migration