LAKE: 906 waterfowl overwinter in Lake Paralimni

Nearly 17.000 waterfowl spend the winter in the wetlands of Cyprus, the Bird Association and the Game and Fauna Service report in a joint statement on the occasion of World Wetlands Day, which is celebrated every year on February 2.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated a few days after the Midwinter Aquatic Bird Count, which is part of the International Waterbird Census (IWC) of Wetlands International. According to the announcement, in Cyprus, the IWC is coordinated by BirdLife Cyprus in collaboration with the Game and Fauna Service. The Mid-Winter Waterbird Count took place on January 16-17 and 20 recorders covered 50 wetlands throughout the island and counted a total of 16.745 waterfowl from 68 species.

The most numerous species was the Flamingo with 7.758 birds, followed by Sarselli with 2.196 birds. The wetland with the largest number of aquatic birds, but also species, was Alykes Larnaca with 10.431 birds from 30 species. Large numbers of aquatic birds were also recorded in the wetland complex on the Akrotiri Peninsula (2.706 birds), Lake Oroklini (1.073 birds) and Lake Paralimni (906 birds), it added.

Live images from Lake Oroklini

To mark World Wetlands Day, BirdLife Cyprus will broadcast live images and sounds from Lake Oroklini on Wednesday, February 3, at 4pm. According to the announcement, the broadcast will take place through the BirdLife Cyprus Facebook page and viewers will be able to enjoy afternoon images of Lake Oroklini from home, which this year, as every winter, hosts many winged visitors.

It is noted that on February 2, 1971, the Convention on the Protection and Rational Use of Wetlands was signed in Ramsar, Iran, through local and national initiatives and international cooperation. In Cyprus, 2 large Wetlands have been designated as Ramsar of International Importance, the Larnaca and Akrotiri Salines, which enjoy protection status and are visited every year by thousands of aquatic and predatory birds.