Back amongst friends for my forth Autumn camp, things have continued to move in the right direction. Everything is so familiar now and even the harsh heat and glare of the day seems to have become more manageable. I have read too many blogs recounting journalists' experiences in Cyprus - the fear, tension, cruelty and elation of freeing something trapped. Young 'activistos' cutting their teeth on a bit of environmental tourism. Notwithstanding, things have become easier and safer, even though the potential for confrontation and violence is still there. Now there is even time for an occasional trip to see some birds not glued to a stick or lying still in a net waiting for the relief of death .
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| The undeniable beauty of a Cyprus dawn. |
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| Bee-eater - Pyla area |
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Cape Pyla Night Time Walk
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As a measure of how things have changed, we volunteers are now allowed unescorted into Cape Pyla, a place administered by the British and in recent years plagued by trappers. A decidedly dangerous place in which to enter. Trappers remain active in this Sovereign Base Area, and indeed we heard a few decoys in the night and saw some furtive figures scurrying around plantations, but the scale of trapping here is now so diminished as to render the numerous poles and net rides redundant. Credit must go to the British authorities, who having been shamed into action a couple of years ago by the combined action of CABS, other agencies and Chris Packham, now own the night, both here on Cape Pyla and in Agios Nikolaos further north.
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| Juv Red-backed Shrike - Achna Dam |
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| Net ride at dawn - Agios Theodoros area |
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Agios Theodorus - night walk and ambush
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Things in the Republic are less rosy - if you'll excuse the pun. There seems to be a decided reluctance on behalf of the environmental and anti-trapping services to get to grips with things. Alas, some populist right-wing politicians support trapping, regarding it as part of Cyprus' cultural heritage and they bitterly resent foreigners trying to stop it. There continue to be some extremely nasty and well-connected mafia type trappers determined to keep prosecuting their cruel crimes and despite some well-mounted ambush operations, the police inexplicably fail to turn up. Agios Theodorus and Moroni areas continue to contain mafia style trappers and represent some of the last remaining dangerous concentrations of trapping.
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| Masked Shrike - Achna Dam |
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| Two British volunteers enjoying a spot of bird watching at Achna Dam |
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| Very nice - a pair of Hoopoes at Achna Dam |
The high-intensity warfare phase seems to have come to an end, at least in the British controlled areas where the operation is moving into a monitoring phase. The situation in the Republic remains problematic and the challenge is more political, trying to persuade those in power and who bear influence to bear down on trapping and illegal hunting. Sadly, as things stand, there appears to be little evidence of this happening soon.
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| Log-legged Buzzard |
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| Male Pallid Harrier - always a favourite of mine |
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| Whiskered Tern - Achna Dam |
