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