Our Turkey tour once again produced a fine selection of Western Palearctic specialities and a decent selection of more widespread Mediterranean species. We began amidst the marshes and lagoons of the Adana peninsula seeing a diverse range of species such as Black Francolins, Black & nesting White Storks, Collared Pratincoles, Gull-billed Tern, White-throated & Pied Kingfishers, European Rollers, Calandra Lark, Delicate Prinia, Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robins & White-spectacled Bulbuls.
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| Black Francolin |
The following morning we headed north towards the Taurus Mountains, seeing Pygmy Cormorants in the river as we paused to take photos of the incredible Grand Mosque before stopping in a lovely secluded valley where we found European Honey Buzzard, Middle Spotted & Syrian Woodpeckers, Kruper's Nuthatch and a displaying Ruppell's Warbler.
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| The Grand Mosque, Adana |
Upon reaching the Ozsafak Pension where we'd be staying for the next couple of nights we dropped our luggage into our rooms, had lunch and a short rest before heading over to Demirkazik Gorge. Alas no Wallcreepers would appear, but a pair of Western Rock Nuthatches were seen well, along with the first of many Long-legged Buzzards we'd see on this tour, 3 Red-fronted Serins and an extraordinary encounter firstly with a very close Ortolan Bunting and then an even closer Rock Bunting right beside our van.
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| Demirkazik Gorge |
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| Ortolan Bunting |
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| Rock Bunting |
As the weather was superb we decided to drive up the track past the ski centre and see how high up we could get. The track had recently been graded and as the weather had been dry for some time it was surprisingly easy going and we managed to get up quite a way. This proved to be a very good move as we almost immediately found the much-wanted Crimson-winged Finch (not Asian anymore due to recent lumping!) close by - what a result. Many Finsch's Wheatears were around on the rocky hillsides, a Woodlark sang its heart out, the distinctive song of a Black-headed Bunting resounded across the hillside and higher up in a scrub covered narrow valley we encountered at least 3 Barred Warblers on territory, a much-wanted bird for some of the group.
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| Barred Warbler |
The next morning was one that everyone in the group had been looking forward to, the tractor drive up into the mountains and our chance at Caspian Snowcock. Well, it took a while but eventually we had superb scope views but it needed a yomp up a steep slope to get a decent view but boy it was worth it.
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| This was the best I could do with Caspian Snowcock |
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| The view from where we saw snowcock |
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| Aladaglar Mountains |
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| Snowcock transport |
There were at least 3 individuals seen, with the first sighting of a flying bird that disappeared off to our left and disappearing down into a distant valley. But we needn't have worried as one pair flew down towards us and across the cliffs right in front of us, landing quite a way away but in the high-powered Swarovski scope looked very majestic! I'm sure this sighting and the sound of the male calling away above us will be one of the major highlights of the trip. Following on from this we did incredibly well with more views of Crimson-winged Finch, but more importantly several Radde's Accentors were around and giving repeated views, whilst Ring Ouzel, Common Rock Thrush, Alpine Chough, Alpine Accentor and White-winged Snowfinches were all seen during our time here.
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| Alpine Accentor |
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| Radde's Accentor |
We had pretty much cleaned up so returned to the pension for breakfast before heading to the Emli Valley, which was a bust due to high winds, although we found another Barred Warbler before heading back up into the mountains where we found our first White-throated Robin, along with Blue Rock Thrush and some impressive Alpine Swifts.
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| Breakfast at Ozsafak Pension |
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| The beautiful Emli Valley |
Early the next morning we were heading to the superb Sultan Sazligi Marshes, stopping en-route amidst an open landscape of arable fields under a clear blue sky. Here, Calandra Larks were ultra common and in every field, with European Bee-eaters sat on wires and Corn Buntings beginning to become numerous, and a little later we encountered flocks of Rose-coloured Starlings in their fine breeding plumage. Upon arrival at the marshes we followed the boardwalk where a Moustached Warbler was singing away from a tall reed stem allowing us to have amazing views in the scope. We found another one later, with Great Reed Warblers singing away, Bearded Tits "pinging" away, Pygmy Cormorants flying overhead and a fine group of Citrine Wagtails as well.
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| Sultan Sazligi Marshes |
A short boat trip gave us some views of one of the many Savi's Warblers reeling away and a brief female White-headed Duck. But upon our return there was a group of White-headed Ducks visible from the boardwalk as we walked back to our vans. Reluctantly leaving the marshes, we drove a few kilometres away to an arid plain where several Turkestan Short-toed Larks were scoped before setting out on the long drive to Gaziantep.
The following morning found us walking up a rocky track on the outskirts of the city in search of Pale Rockfinch. Numerous Upcher's Warblers were present, along with our first Cinereous & Cretzschmar's Buntings.
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| Cinereous Bunting |
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| Cretzschmar's Bunting |
A Syrian Woodpecker was seen, and we also added Eastern Rock Nuthatch to our list with several pairs resident in this valley. Once at the top we staked out the area but couldn't find any rockfinches, but did find a pair of Eastern Orphean Warblers, Black-headed Bunting, several Eastern Black-eared Wheatears and a Sombre Tit.
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| Black-headed Bunting |
After another fine picnic breakfast we drove just over an hour to Birecik, where we headed straight the marshes along the Euphrates River where we quickly found Iraq Babbler, despite the day warming up rapidly! Several Squacco Herons were present, a Little Bittern flew by, as did a Purple Heron, whilst a flock of around 80 Northern Bald Ibis were feeding in a nearby field and others were perched on top of some nearby electricity pylons.
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| Iraq Babbler |
We drove further around and had another singing Moustached Warbler, but better yet were our first Dead Sea Sparrows. And even better was our first pair of Menetries's Warblers skulking in some nearby bushes.
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| We let these kids look at Bald Ibis through the scope... They were amazed! |
After a while the male became extremely confiding and gave incredible views right in front of us and I don't think i've ever seen this species so well. In the late afternoon we drove up to some low lying hills in search of See-See Partridge, and instead found a Pale Rockfinch feeding on seed heads on the hillside above us! However, a partridge was seen briefly by the second van and as we walked across the hillside found 5 Bimaculated Larks, many Little Owls and had a couple Black-bellied Sandgrouse flying past.
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| Little Owl (Lillith's) |
We ended the day with a group of Desert Finches coming to drink at a small pool.
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| Desert Finch coming to drink in the evening light.... |
With no sightings of Kurdish Wheatear along our route, this morning we drove over 3 hours to Nemrut Dagi (2134m) where we again found them easily. This is one of the most wanted birds of the tour and we spent quite a while watching a pair on a rocky mountainside, with Finsch's Wheatears, White-throated Robin and Cinereous Bunting also present.
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| Kurdish Wheatear |
Some of the group headed up higher to view the tombs and sculpted heads that have made this site so famous. Both White-winged Snowfinch and Shore Larks inhabited the higher reaches of the mountain and once everyone was assembled we headed back towards Birecik. It was unfortunate that the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater colony has been disturbed by building works, but we did find a flock of Slender-billed Gulls, a couple of Armenian Gulls and an Eurasian Griffon Vulture along the way.
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| Eurasian Griffon was a surprise! |
We ended the day with a Pallid Scops Owl perched overhead and a fine meal sitting along the banks of the Euphrates River.
The next morning we visited a large lake where we found the previously reported Marbled Duck and had repeated views of Delicate Prinia, and at least 15 Dead Sea Sparrows and a singing Yellow-throated Sparrow - another WP mega!
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| Yellow-throated Sparrow |
We checked out the same area as yesterday, seeing more Desert Finches but couldn't locate any partridges, so headed to a site 90 minutes away where 5 See-See Partridges were scoped. Result! As we drove back to the highway, a pair of Red-wattled Lapwings were spotted beside the road - another Western Palearctic mega!
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| See-See Partridge |
Our last morning began on the outskirts of Birecik with a group of 4 See-See Partridges showing incredibly well in the early morning sunshine, and much closer than yesterday. A singing Menetries's Warbler and an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler were also much appreciated and a Rufous-tailed Scub-Robin also put in an appearance. On the way back to our hotel to pack for the journey home, we called into the nearby lake where we enjoyed fine views of the marsh terns again, and also enjoyed a confiding Yellow-throated Sparrow once again to round off another successful Turkey tour.
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| Yellow-throated Sparrow |
All that was left was the drive back to Cukurova Airport and our flights back to the UK...
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| Turkey rocks!! |
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