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CYPRUS |
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Flora and Fauna of Cyprus |
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Half past four on a surprisingly chilly spring morning and I find myself lying down in grass, wet from the dew with binoculars poised. No, I’m not preparing to lead an assault on a bunker somewhere in the distance but instead I’m the guest of Cyprus’ version of Bill Oddie, Spiros Kyprianides. We’d spent a pleasant evening the night before poring over maps in his living room, again, for what appeared to be an assault on the beaches. He carefully drew lines across the Mediterranean from the Nile Delta, from Mesopotamia and from Israel plotting the likely routes of migrating birds, Now, hopefully in the perfect position we waited for the first arrivals of the day, and possibly the year, as cranes, flamingos, griffon vultures, swallows, pochards and orioles make their way from their winter homes to the warming climes of northern Europe. In history, Cyprus has been the perfect stepping stone for civilisations that crossed the Mediterranean and for probably millions of years prior to that it fulfilled the same purpose for birds too. Beginning to drift off, a legacy from a late night at Spiros’ and an early morning, I felt a sharp dig in the ribs alerting me to a flight of cranes that flew in changing formation, gracefully across the sky. “They’ll rest here before continuing to central Europe.” Spiros added. I must admit that in the pale cobalt blue of a Cypriot dawn, there was something majestic about these birds winging their way home. Seemingly minutes later, flamingo crossed the sky to the east of us, the rising sun picking out the pale pink of their plumage as their dipping necks urged them on towards the salt lake at Akrotiri. I was quite damp and achy by now. Even though Spiros said the fun had just begun he reluctantly agreed to retreat from our spot to warm ourselves with a drink back at the car. Expecting tea or coffee, I was surprised at the steaming thin milky liquid that filled the cups, “Try it, you’ll love it!” he urged. The first sip reminded me of when as I child I’d tried dissolving a chunk of marzipan in hot water. “That’s pretty close to what it is.” he informed me. “In the past and still today in some parts of the island, farmers who had to work early shifts in the fields would drink piping hot mugs of almond cordial to ward off the cold. It wasn’t unpleasant so I continued with it. I then thought aloud why so many birds choose to use Cyprus as a stopover point and then fly on elsewhere? What about the true expat birds who live here all year round? Apparently there are 365 species of birds which are classified as resident in Cyprus of which, two, the Cyprus Warbler and Cyprus Wheatear are only found on the island. As we stood, marvelling at the day unfolding around us, two large black shapes approached from the southern sky, “Griffons!” Spiros exclaimed excitedly and with binoculars raised we watched them wheel their way northwards towards their summer haunts on the Kyrenia range. Beneath our feet as we stood by the car, little yellow flowers dotted the ground and I bent down to pick one. “Don’t!” yelled Spiros, followed by the embarrassment that he was meant to be keeping quiet whilst we were birding. “Don’t!” he repeated, now more in a whisper. Those are rare plants and you mustn’t pick them. Suitably chastened I wondered at the hypocrisy of the moment when I could see that the tracks of his jeep had squashed several dozen of them! Sensing what I was about to say he quickly jumped in…. “Did you know that there are nearly 1800 species of plant that grow in Cyprus of which nearly 130 only grow here? In terms of concentration that puts Cyprus top five in the world! Oh great I thought, not only a bird boffin but a flower fanatic too. “What are you doing for the rest of today?” he asked as he put his cup away and leapt into the jeep. I found myself following suit and discovered that, having not been given a chance to answer, we were bombing along the road towards Akamas. I had been impressed with Spiros’ knowledge of where to see the migrating birds but he seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to finding rare plants. Leaving the jeep parked precariously near a cliff edge, we waded through lush greenery up towards a craggy valley. Here, away from the eyes of the uninitiated, we found the almost black Cyprus Tulip amongst clumps of lilac Crown Anemones and in the bordering crags little clumps of Allysum Akamasicum, one of the species that takes its name from the only place in the world it grows. I got snapping with my camera and then sat back on a rock to enjoy the undisturbed nature of the place. Spiros joined me, offering me a piece of Soujoukos and a swig from a flask of Zivania. Goats amble past the jeep below us, their bells tinkling in the mountain air. “You could spend a lifetime here and still not see all there is to see. Since I was a boy, helping in the fields with my father, I’ve looked out for the flowers in their different seasons,” he commented. We got up, I thought to head back to the jeep but instead we pressed onwards up the flank of Mouttis tis Sotiras spotting almost hidden slippers of wild orchids amongst the emerald spring grass. It was a revelation to see so much in a country where my experience generally is of a dusty land with desiccated vegetation and not even the hint of water. Totally exhausted, Spiros eventually delivered me home to a pleasant evening, aching feet up, with the remains of his Soujoukos and a fresh bottle of Zivania, spent looking at the photographs I’d taken that day. |
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PAPHOS |
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LIMASSOL |
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LARNACA |
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AYIA NAPA |
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Flora and Fauna of Cyprus |
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