Bird Monitoring Across the Divide: Final Results from the Cyprus Bird Surveys Project

The Cyprus Bird Surveys Project has come to a successful close, marking a milestone in island-wide bird monitoring and cross-community conservation efforts. Funded by the European Bird Census Council’s Small Grant Fund (2024–2025), the project set out to fill critical gaps in bird monitoring in the part of Cyprus north of the dividing line, ensuring that key species were fully represented in Cyprus’s EU reporting obligations.

Kleides Boat Survey, photo by Markos Charalambides

Expanding Coverage and Building Bridges

Over two years, 18 volunteers from both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, alongside international participants, carried out 88 surveys across the four Important Bird Areas (IBAs) targeted. The surveys focused on six target species:

• Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha calandra
• European Roller, Coracias garrulus
• Common Raven, Corvus corax
• Eurasian Hobby, Falco subbuteo
• Audouin’s Gull, Larus audouinii
• Mediterranean Shag, Gulosus aristotelis desmarestii

The data have now been fully integrated into an all-island monitoring database, directly supporting reporting under the EU Birds Directive. Beyond numbers, the project reinforced collaboration between BirdLife Cyprus and KUŞKOR, paving the way for long-term joint monitoring.

Calandra Lark chick Mesaoria Plain, photo by Peter Bromley

Key Findings

European Roller
Surveys showed the species was present in 90% of the sampled grid squares, with the highest densities in the Karpasia Peninsula and Mia Milia IBAs. Results reinforced the importance of nest site availability for the species, highlighting the success of artificial nest box schemes in areas with limited natural cavities.

Calandra Lark
Surveys extended coverage westward in the Mesaoria Plain, uncovering new areas of suitable habitat and potential important areas for the species. This is encouraging news for a species that has declined sharply in other parts of its range in Cyprus due to agricultural intensification and habitat loss.

Common Raven & Eurasian Hobby
Records of these two species were limited, though notable opportunistic sightings (including a group of 24 Ravens) supplemented the sparse survey data. For Eurasian Hobby, later-season surveys may be needed in the future to capture its breeding activity more effectively.

Audouin’s Gull & Mediterranean Shag
Boat surveys of the Kleides Islands colony, the only breeding site for Audouin’s Gull in Cyprus, provided cautious optimism. The 2025 survey recorded more Audouin’s Gull adults and nests than in recent years, providing preliminary indications that recent conservation measures implemented by KUŞKOR are having a positive effect. The Kleides Islands are also the largest and best-known colony of Mediterranean Shag in Cyprus. While earlier-season surveys are needed to obtain accurate nest counts for this species, the long-term timeseries of available data offers a valuable proxy for understanding population trends at the site.

A Legacy of Collaboration

The project was not without its challenges. In 2024, the conservation community suffered the sudden loss of Dr Martin Hellicar, Director of BirdLife Cyprus and a driving force behind the initiative. The continuation and success of the project stand as a tribute to his vision of island-wide cooperation for bird conservation.

MSc Students mapping Raven and Hobby, KUSKOR archive

Looking Ahead

The Cyprus Bird Surveys Project has delivered critical new data, strengthened conservation partnerships across the divide, and trained a new generation of volunteer bird surveyors. Its results are already shaping national and European reporting, while laying the foundations for sustained, collaborative bird monitoring in Cyprus.

Christina Ieronymidou, BirdLife Cyprus