An annual survey of the coastal cliffs between Akrotiri and Cape Aspro recorded 404 Eleonora’s falcons, with the largest share, 34 per cent, on the Akrotiri cliffs and 28 per cent at Episkopi, the Akrotiri Environmental Educational Centre said.
The survey, carried out on September 25 and October 6 with the Game and Fauna Service and BirdLife Cyprus, also recorded more than 50 European shags and several yellow-legged gulls along the cliffs and shoreline.
The centre’s manager, Thomas Hadjikyriakou, stressed the importance of systematically monitoring the species, saying Cyprus hosts a significant number of breeding pairs and has a responsibility to monitor and protect the bird of prey.
“Cyprus is the easternmost breeding population of this species,” he said.
Nicolaos Kassinis, a senior officer at the Game and Fauna Service, said the falcon had been closely monitored for more than two decades through annual boat surveys.
“Long-term population monitoring is essential for the effective conservation of a species,” he said.
