Tuesday 18th Aug.
Myself, my partner Ingrid and our little girl Nighinn were off on our holidays to visit Ingrid’s parents in Pissouri, Cyprus. Personally, I couldn’t wait to get there; the timing of the trip was just about PERFECT for me to get the chance to see a very rare and elusive European migrant species, an autumn specialty on Cyprus – the magnificent DEMOISELLE CRANE!
After our 4½ hr flight from Edinburgh we touched down at Paphos airport at 22:15, the doors of our plane open and we step out into an evening heat wave...easily 30c and about 90% humidity. Bob and Helen (Ingrid’s parents) were there ready to greet us and to take us to their house where we would be staying for the duration of our 14 day trip. Bob tells me that the pool is perfect for a dip even though it’s getting close to 23:00, so when we arrive in Pissouri, I help unload the luggage and get ready for a swim. Bob then tells me that the fridge is full of Keo – a local Cyprus lager and a good one at that!
3 pint size tins later I’m getting itchy feet, so I go for a walk just up the road to see if there’s any sign of LITTLE OWLS. As I round a bend, a small shape on the road catches my attention, something had just moved, I had no idea what it was so I got a little closer and stood still and listened. It was silent at first, I could hear some squeaks followed by some shuffling, and then from out of the grass comes a little nose and a pair of long ears, then finally it shows itself, it was a LONG-EARED HEDGEHOG. If only I had taken my camera with me! As I stood there watching the little mammal snuffling about only 4ft away, another Hedgehog dashes from the grass and down into a ditch, that was all I needed to convince myself I could get some photographs so I ran back to the house, grabbed the camera and returned only to find they had disappeared.....typical, I never learn! This only made me more determined to find them again though, so on the way back to the house, I diverted down a track and stood crouched down and as still as I could.......within 2 minutes, to my disbelief, there from out of the scrub came the Hedgehogs, totally unaware of my presence and rustling about for ants! This time the camera was in hand and I managed to get some shots of before they scurried away....What an excellent omen for the rest of the trip I thought, I’d been on the island for less than 3 hrs and I had my first lifer under my belt!