Close Encounters of the Bird Kind: A Ringing Trip to Cyprus

In April I was able to join up with my ringing group in Cyprus to enjoy 8 days of getting to see and ring some fantastic birds. The group has been visiting this particular region of Northern Greek Cyprus for the last 20 odd years. Not only does it provide a nice place to go on holiday, the ringing is also very important in the understanding of migratory birds and where they go. Cyprus is one of Europe's busiest migration routes and every spring thousands of birds pass through the island as they make the jump from Africa into Europe.
Unfortunately, as you are probably aware, ringers aren't the only people catching birds. The illegal, and frankly absurd, delicacy of songbirds in the Mediterranean fuels the trapping of migrants on a huge scale with Cyprus being the epicentre. Lyme sticks, mist nets, box traps... you name it and the Cypriot hunters are using it to catch migrants. This is having a huge effect on migrant bird numbers and makes it even more important that we continue to study them through ringing to see how we might possibly try to combat this issue and help the birds.
Ringing took place at a number of sites in the picturesque landscape - olive tree plantations, marshes, scrub - and I was able to ring 14 new species as well as adding a good number of birds to the life list. The scenery was really surprising to me, as I had no idea what to expect. I found an incredibly beautiful landscape with high crags and hills mixed in with old English type farmland alive with Quail song and Corn Buntings.
In summary, I had an awesome 8 days surrounded by very skilled ringers and extraordinarily friendly people. The birds weren't bad either - pictures are below!