This Google Earth video shows the development of the planned Akamas National Park from its creation to the current state of planning.

Not much remains of the original idea of a national park.

With each new planning step of the Environment Department, the Akamas EU Natura 2000 protected area is reduced in size and the separated areas are released for commercial use.

The Corona Pandemic has severely restricted us birdwatchers and photographers in recent months during the spring bird migration.

Luckily, the migratory birds have returned to my waterpoint in the fruit garden around the fig tree. So I was able to welcome a whole range of different types and capture them in the picture and video.

I was particularly impressed by the short visit of the wendehals at the fig tree, and in addition, a bluethroat was staying in the area of the nightingale for several days.

The second video shows you my pictures, which were taken during the observation of the blue-racks during the feeding of the chicks in the brood-cave.

In the second part of the video then another breeding site, where the first flights of the young birds when leaving the brood-cave.

The Mulberry Tree, standing next to the crumbling building, was the meeting place for young and old, also of other bird species.

I just put together a new video with footage from 2015 to 2017.

At that time still recorded with the Canon EOS 1D Mark 4 and the EOS 5D MK2.

Later also RAW video recordings with the 5D MK3 in conjunction with the Magic Lantern software.

My pictures were all taken at Paphos Area, on the road to Nata and on the rocks on the Xeros River to Asprokremmos Dam.

during the Corona Lockdowns you do not have many possibilities to observe the migratory birds at their usual passage points.

In recent weeks, I have been more concerned with the "aliens" so named by many, i.e. the African giant worshippers, who in all colours we have abundantly in our garden on the flowering plants and in the butterfly bush.

I would have to rename the butterfly bush now as the Mantis bush, there is always something going on. Right now in December and January, the front side is illuminated by the sun almost all day. So I observe heavily pregnant females warming up in the sun.

The EU project "LIFE with Vultures", which is managed by BirdLife Cyprus and the Game and Fauna Service, is primarily designed to protect this bird species, which is at home in Cyprus.

The griffon vulture population in Cyprus urgently needs this protection, as birds repeatedly decimate the group through poisoned food and also through shootings.

2020 I was invited to observe a nest with young bird and to document this breeding with photo and video.

At the end of August 2020, the young griffon vulture I observed left its nest for the first time, as far as so good.

Kostis is a young griffon vulture, born 2020 in Cyprus.

Thefootage were taken during the monitoring of the nest as part of the EU project - LIFE with Vultures - which was created to protect griffon vultures in Cyprus.

The video shows the behaviour of the young Kostis at the nesting site in the last weeks before his first flight. The changing distance of the cameras to the nest is approx. 120 to 150 m.

The video can be found on my YouTube channel at
https://youtu.be/o0UhdgOBo8M