Southern Central Turkey April 10
Participants: Jonty Hiley (aka Arsene Wenger), Xander (aka X-man) Hiley, Mark Hiley (aka Phileas Fogg)
Itinerary
8th April - Snake Castle, Gavar Golu, Isikli and Durnalik
9th April - Birecik and Halfeti
10th April - Karatas and Cukurova Delta
11th April - Sultan Sazligi
12th April - Sultan Sazligi, Demirkazik
13th April - Demirkazik
14th/15th April - Goksu Delta
We'd booked 9 days for this birding trip, but inevitably ended up rushing around taking in as many new sites and birds as we could. The quality of birding was superb. Turkey wasn't overflowing with birds, as is sometimes the case in the Donanas of this world. Effort is required to see good birds, but it is well worth it. We picked up 190 species all together including highlights such as Caspian Snowcocks, See-see Partridges and Striated Scops Owls. Plenty of banter was also had and we met a lot of characters (heroes and villains) along the way.
Accommodation
Adana – Allstar Airport Adana Hotel – 80 euros when booked through the Internet for a double room. Not cheap, but convenient, very comfortable with an excellent breakfast. Found on the main D600 just a few kilometres away from the airport
Birecik – Motel Merkelam – 40 lira for a double room. A basic hotel, just on the West Bank of the River Euphrates. Next door is a 24 hour diner for basic grub.
Karatas – Hotel Baris – Again 40 lira for a double room, so quite reasonable. The hotel is found at the bottom of the main street close to the sea. Be prepared to wake up the owner if you want an early start. No breakfasts.
Demirkazik – The Safak Pension on the Camardi road just outside of Demirkazik was the only viable option, and though expensive at 100 lira for a treble room, we were welcomed with a hot stove and the excellent service of Hassan Safak.
Goksu Delta – We stayed in Hotel Lades in Tasacu, paying approximately 80 lira for a treble room overlooking the sea.
Literature
CAUTION
We used the Prion Guide, Dave Gosney’s guide, and Hillary Welch et al. Guide to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. All are out of date with regards to access, birds and accommodation etc. We used the Turkey GeoCenter Road Map, which doesn’t show many of the small villages in Turkey.
8th April – Adana to Birecik
Our nights sleep was cut short by the prayer call, which prompted us to take an early morning stroll around the hotel in Adana. Straight away we noticed many Laughing Doves together with Common Doves on the wires. White-spectacled Bulbuls, House Sparrows and Blackbirds were present whilst overhead the sky was full of hirundines and Swifts. A flock of 6 Glossy Ibis and a Kestrel powered over as we returned to the hotel for breakfast.
We took the D400 east out of Adana before turning off to Snake Castle, which was well signposted (Yilankale). On the track towards the castle were 10 Short-toed Lark together with many Crested Larks and Corn Buntings. Each rocky outcrop in this area seemingly held a singing Blue Rock Thrush and a Rock Nuthatch. We parked at the top of the track and walked up to the castle, noting a huge hirundine presence including House Martins, Sand Martins, Swallows, Red-rumped Swallows, Crag Martins and about 6 Little Swifts. On the castle Black-eared Wheatears were singing, and best of all as we scanned the cliffs – a Golden Jackal came into view. The sly git had been watching us the whole time
The way down from Snake Castle proved even better than the way up. A few distant blobs in the sky quickly materialised into a passage of over 30 Lesser Spotted Eagl
es and 15 Black Storks heading north together with a Marsh Harrier and a Kestrel. Also in the area were 3 Long-legged Buzzards.
Onwards we drove to Gavar Golu, a fantastic site just North of the town of Nurdagi. We had excellent views of a Lesser Spotted Eagle on the ground, and driving along the dykes in the area produced our first Pied Kingfisher and our first of many Graceful Prinias. The wetlands held Spoonbills, Little, Cattle and Great White Egrets, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits, Spur-winged Plovers, Grey and Purple Herons, and numerous Black-winged Stilts. The reedbeds and open areas were alive with Black-headed Wagtails and Spanish Sparrows and we als
o picked up Hoopoes, a Steppe Buzzard, and more Long-legged Buzzards.
We attempted to return to Nurdagi via the south
ern end of the wetlands, but found the going very difficult. Would have been fine in a 4 x 4. Despite the place being absolutely teeming, any birding on this stretch was sacrificed, with X-man solely focussed on not skidding off the edge of the road.
Our epic day continued as we headed towards Birecik, stopping in the evening at the villages of Isikli and Dernalik. As we noticed at several points during the trip, we had arrived a few weeks too early for some of the summer visitors. The orchards here were still bare, though we did pick up numerous Lesser Whitethroats, a Eastern Rock Nuthatch, Sombre Tits, and several Syrian Woodpeckers.
We arrived at Birecik after dark but with still enough energy to head to the Gulhane Tea Gardens to search for the Owls. We soon had enlisted a party of half a dozen young Turks to assist us in our successful search. The day finished with us eating Kebabs with 2 Bruce’s Scops Owls hunting overhead. A fantastic start to our trip!
9th April- Birecik and Halfeti
This area is quite rightly renowned as one of the top birding sites in the Western Palearctic. It didn’t disappoint. We were up before dawn to head to the Bald Ibis Centre. Plenty of Waldrapps were in evidence here and on the surrounding
cliffs. We headed up the wadi, making plenty of stops en route and heading up onto the plateau to scan the area. In the clumps of vegetation in the wadi, we had a number of Menetries Warblers and also a Redstart, and many Blackcaps. Further up, as we were watching the Rock Sparrow colony, a game bird shot across the gorge. A second one followed, giving us good enough views to confirm its identity as a See-see, a real highlight for us on the trip. We also had a Roller, numerous Black-eared Wheatears, and our only Woodpigeon of the trip.
It was on this walk that we got into our first serious trouble with Kangals, the huge dogs that plague this country. We had to gingerly take an alternative route to avoid their attention and reached the main road and our car with a sigh of relief. There were plenty of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers on the banks of the Euphrates, where we sat enjoying our first of many bread, chocolate and Ayran breakfasts.
We spent late morning on the series of gravel pits on the west bank, hoping to catch up with the Iraq Babblers. Though unsuccessful in this respect, we did a find a host of other excellent birds including: 15 Prinias, 8 Menetries Warblers, 12 Reed Warblers, a fine Red-backed Shrike, and a dozen Dead Sea Sparrows. Over the water were 30+ Pygmy Cormorants, and a couple of Gull-billed and Common Terns.
In the afternoon, we headed south of Birecik to a series of pools and reedbeds on the Euphrates. En route, we picked up more Dead Sea, House and Tree Sparrows, and also Little Owls and a Garden Warbler. Many Coots were present, and we also saw a female Little Crake on the reed edge. 
Late afternoon, we relaxed with some Cay by the river at Halfeti, and watched a Pied kingfisher patrol the far bank. On the river itself we saw Black-headed Gulls, and also a Slender-billed Gull together with an Armenian Gull, and in the surrounding hills we found Eastern Rock Nuthatch, Blackcaps and a few Blue Rock Thrushes. Our itinerary only allowed for one day in this area, though another day in the Wadi and by the Euphrates would definitely have resulted in more birds. Nevertheless, we bashed back towards Adana on the motorway (roughly 3 hours). A migrating flock of 8 Black Kites drifted over in the fading evening light.
April 10th – Cukurova Delta
We had spent the previous night at the Hotel Baris and so were well positioned to explore the sea front at Karatas in the hope of finding some migrants. In the harbour itself were Sandwich and Common Terns as well as Baltic and Yellow-legged Gulls. Our migrant search was cut well short though. As we headed into some wasteland, we noticed a timid dog limping away from us. ‘Don’t worry’, I told Xander, ‘its not interested’. ‘Maybe not’, he responded, ‘but they are’ he said gesturing 90 degrees to the left. I glanced round. Oh crap. A pack of 6 stray dogs bearing down on us about 40 yards away, the car about 150 yards away. X had already made the decision and was sprinting back. I bounded after him, having to jettison the scope in order to have any chance of making it. We did make it, but that was the end of the migrant search.
Akyatan Golu was our next stop, a huge lake renowned for good birds and poor viewing. We picked our way round the Western edge of the lake, getting close enough to see that there were thousands of waders and a huge pelican out there, but far enough away to prevent identification of them. Near the village of Kapi, we found a place to leave our car and creep to the edge of the lake. In the reedbed surrounding the lake were many Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Spanish Sparrows, Prinias and reeling Savi’s Warblers, however our attention was drawn to the water/mud itself. Some prolonged scanning revealed 14 species of wader – Ruff and Dunlin in their 1000s, 100+ Black-tailed Godwits and similar numbers of Grey Plovers, 30+ Kentish Plovers, 30+ Ringed Plovers, 500 Avocet, 5 Little Stints, small numbers of Knot and Curlew Sandpipers, Spur-winged Plovers and Black-winged Stilts, and best of all 2 Broad-billed Sandpipers and 2 Marsh Sandpipers. Also present were 300+ Greater Flamingos.
Our next sop was Tuzla Golu, a short drive West of Akyatan. This lake didn’t hold the same concentration of waders, but regular stops along the northern edge turned up a good variety of water birds. We found small flocks of Wigeon, Shoveler and Pintail, and also a raft of Terns including 50 Gull-billed Terns interspersed with 4 Caspian Terns, standing out like a sore thumb with their huge carrot bills. Little Terns and Common Terns were also noted, as were smaller numbers of Flamingos, Avocets, Glossy Ibis and waders.
We followed the Seyhan river dykes back up to Adana, by turning North at the village of Tabaklar. Again, ‘dyking and birding’ came up trumps. We completed the ‘three kings’ challenge by nailing 6 White-breasted Kingfishers, a similar number of Common Kingfishers and also a Pied Kingfisher. The White-breasteds were easily located by their laughing call, and were frequently perched up on the telegraph wires. We also had sublime views of Penduline Tit, Hoopoes, and our first Masked Shrike by the dyke. Overhead were Jean le Blanc (Short-toed Eagle) a bonus flock of 10 Common Cranes and a female Harrier sp. (almost certainly Pallid but our views weren’t good enough to confirm the i.d.). All along this route, we were accompanied by the usual throngs of Purple Heron, Grey Heron and Little Egrets.
April 11th – Sultan Sazligi
After a jam-packed first 3 days, we headed to the Sultan Marshes for what would prove (largely thanks to the weather) to be a less hectic period of birding. The Sultan Pansiyon was cold and expensive at 100lira a night, but is fantastically situated for birding. The surrounding buildings and nearby orchards held Hoopoes, Blackcaps, Lesser Whitethroats, Syrian Woodpeckers, Little Owls and we got cripplingly good views of a Long-eared Owl. From the Pansiyon, you can see down to the edge of the marshes. The shoreline held Lesser-short toed Larks, Calandra Larks, over 200 Black-headed Wagtails and large numbers of White Wagtails. On the water itself were Garganey, Shovelers, Pochards and Coots. Whiskered Terns hawked over, and Wood Sandpipers, and Ruff frequented the water edge
.
We were talked into a boat trip over the marshes with ‘the captain’ (90 lira). Would have been beautiful on a good day, but the weather had set in and we were soon very cold and very wet. There were huge numbers of Swifts and Swallows, and perhaps 30 Marsh Harriers at a conservative guess. For a long time there was nothing else of note, but the mood lightened when we found a White-headed Duck in an open expanse of water. The captain moored our punt on an island, and whilst he set about warming us up with a small fire, we braved the rain and damp optics to find 2 sublime Citrine Wagtails and over 30 Red-throated Pipits in the area. A Savi’s Warbler was reeling away despite the downpour, and a reed scan also showed up 3 Reed Buntings.
The trip back to Ovalifcik was similarly unpleasant, though we did pass a number of Squacco Herons. The rest of the day was a bit of a wash out. Many of the minor tracks around the Sultan Marshes are inaccessible after poor weather. Furthermore, like other birding sites in Turkey, this place is pretty wild. There aren’t comfy hides which overlook teeming lagoons! Even the old observation towers provided limited viewing due to the variable water levels (caused by drainage?).
April 12th – Sultan Sazligi – Demirkazik
Again, poor weather made this day slightly disappointing. We did brave a bit of birding around Agcasi Baraki, a small reservoir on the South East side of the Marshes. Here were a couple of Ruddy Shelduck, a few Great-crested Grebes and over 200 Teal. A real bonus was a Cretzchmar’s Bunting on the hillside. We cut our losses after half an hour here and drove the hour’s journey to Demirkazik. Here it was snowing quite heavily! Thankfully, Hassan Safak got the stove going, which allowed us to spend the afternoon thawing out at the Safak Pension. To make matters worse, X-man had been struck down by Sultan’s Revenge (probably inevitable!). A check of the Internet revealed that the weather was due to brighten up by the 13th, and the next day held the promise of the legendary Caspian Snowcocks, so not all was lost.
In fact, things got 
a lot better before then. A break in the weather in the late afternoon allowed us to head to Demirkazik gorge. Here, we got some amazing view of a host of mountain specialities. The best views were of at least 5 Wallcreepers, showing down to 10 metres at times. We also had an Alpine Accentor, half a dozen Northern Wheatears, a few Blue Rock Thrushes, and numerous Black Redstarts, Shore Larks and Linnets. Overhead were 3 Alpine Swifts, and at least 100 Red-billed Choughs. Isabelline Wheatears were present in good numbers, as they had been throughout out stay at the Sultan Marshes.
April 13th – Demirkazik
It was up at 5 a.m. and with just enough time to locate the calling Scop’s Owl, before we were bundled onto Hassan’s tractor for the rocky ride up to ‘Snowcock plateau’. It was quite literally a case of hanging on for dear life. There are no health and safety rules in the Aladag Mountains. 
We weren’t too bothered, though. The Red-fronted Serins and Finsch’s Wheatears saw to that. At the plateau itself it wasn’t too long before we heard the haunting Curlew-like bubbling call of the Caspian Snowcocks. Two birds flew across the valley landing clearly on some crags. They were quickly in the telescopes, and really were one of the highlights of the trip. As we were watching them in the scopes, a couple of Ibex wandered right between them.
Snowfinches and Shore Larks provided a momentary distraction from the Snowcocks. It would have been nice to stay watching them all morning. We’d long since lost feeling in our fingers and toes, though. It might have been April, but 6a.m. at 3000metres is still bloody cold. To make things worse, Fogg’s coffee tasted of washing up liquid and was undrinkable. The tractor ride back to Safak Pension was even hairier, but we were welcomed there again with a hot stove, and also breakfast and a play with Simbad, Hassan’s dog. By mid-morning, the weather was sunny, clear and hot, a total transformation from the day before. It was back up to the gorge for more views of Wallcreeper and co. We had Rock Sparrows, Snowfinches, Red-fronted Serins, more Alpine Accentors and Shore Larks, a fine male Rock Thrush and above, 2 Golden Eagles being mobbed by a pair of Lesser Kestrels. Fantastic!
Again, we would have liked to stay in Demirkazik for longer, but our itinerary dictated that we finish the trip off at Goksu Delta. We headed South via the ‘best birding road in Turkey’, leading from Camardi (300m west of the river) to Kaynarca. We were pretty sceptical about this claim, but no-one was complaining when the bone-crusher, a huge Lammergeier drifted over by the village of Kavakligol. In various places along this road, we had 4 Golden Eagles, 6 Long-legged Buzzards, common Kestrels, Little Owls. And that was just the raptors. We, unfortunately, were a couple of weeks too early for the likes of Upcher’s and W.T. Robins, but in the orchards, we did encounter a number of passerines, the highlight of which was a Nightingale.
A big evening drive took us to Hotel Lades in the Tasucu on the western edge of the Goksu Delta.
April 14th – Goksu Delta
An unbelievable site, and a great way to end our trip. The sun shone, and we were up from dawn to dusk making the most of it. Heading back east out of Tasucu, we took the route which runs between a dyke and the abandoned factory. A strange bugling song caused us to stop the car and get out and investigate. We were lucky. Straight away, seasoned traveller Fogg picked out a male Black Francolin atop a mound towards the factory. This was the first of at least 10 we heard calling throughout the day (mainly early morning and evening). We had views of 3. In the vegetation around the dyke were a couple of Eastern Olivaceous Warblers, together with a couple of Blackcaps and Lesser Whitethroats. Woodchat and Masked Shrikes joined the party and also were present were White-breasted and Common Kingfishers.
Unfortunately, the bridge that leads into the holiday village had collapsed forcing us to leave the car and continue on foot. Nevermind, it allowed us fantastic photo opportunities of nesting Red-rumped Swallows which we would probably have missed otherwise. It was a bit of at trek through the village but it did yield good views of Bulbuls and another Olivaceous Warbler. On the return trek through the village we found an Ortolan Bunting. We reached the beach and had a quick scan at the passing Gulls. An adult Audouin’s Gull accompanied some Yellow-leggeds. From the viewing platform on the South West side of Akgol, we had Red-crested Pochards, Coots, and not a whole load else on the water. There were, however, at least a dozen Ravens passing overhead, and huge numbers of Marsh Harriers quartering every inch of reedbed.
Our most productive strategy for birding the delta was to explore the numerous agricultural tracks and dykes around the northern edge of Akgol. We were bagging up on Herons. 2 Bitterns were a fantastic addition to a list which already included Squacco, Grey, Purple, Little E, Cattle E and Great White E. We spent a few hours at a watchtower on the northern edge of Akgol. The lake was too far to view, but that didn’t bother us too much, as around the watchtower itself we had 2 Grey-necked Purple Gallinules, a Bluethroat and a Little Crake. Whilst eating a classic lunch of bread, cheese and Milka, and watching dozens of Alpine Swifts, a large raptor made a beeline straight for us. It circled for a bit before heading inland giving us enough time to study it and take the photos that would confirm it as a Greater Spotted Eagle.
In the late afternoon, we found a route around to Paradeniz Lagoon. More Black Francolins were present and we had excellent views of a pair of Lesser Kestrels. Various pools held large numbers of Greenshanks, Spotted Redshanks and a few Marsh Sandpipers with Ruffs and Wood Sandpipers, which were seemingly everywhere.
April 15th – Goksu Delta and Gorge
We found an alternative route to the holiday village and got onto the old airstrip. Again, the birding was first rate. We had a Roller in the dunes, and on the deck with several Black-eared Wheatears, and a Tawny Pipit, was a fine Pied Wheatear. From the fishing hut on the South side of Akgol, we had decent views over the lake to reveal White-winged Black Terns and a variety of ducks. Plenty of migrant passerines were present and included the Grinch- a skulking Wryneck, 2 Ortolans and 2 Nightingales. The stone-crushing Great Reed Warbler had eluded us so far, but it wasn’t long before we had a couple in the reeds. Later on, the X-man picked out a lone Collared Pratincole.
We drove up to Goksu Gorge for a spot of lunch and a change of habitat. At least 50 Ravens were croaking overhead, and before too long we had seen more Alpine Swifts, a Buzzard and a Peregrine. A walk down to the river was rewarded with a couple of Sombre Tits. After some lemon throwing and tyre rolling, it was sadly time to head back to Adana.
April 16th – Adana – Istanbul
What should have been a smooth end to the trip turned out very differently due to the ‘Ash Crisis’! The Stansted flight was cancelled and we were bundled on the Stuttgart flight only for that to be cancelled as well. Nevermind, we were kept entertained first by a Honey Buzzard seen from the departure lounge of Sabiha Gokcen airport, and then by a Dutch dance troupe.
Forced to hunker down in Istanbul for the night had its up side. The Bosphorous was teeming with hundreds of Yelkouan Shearwaters, and as well as excellent numbers of Cormorants and Shags, it even threw up a pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins. Ring-necked Parakeet was also added to the trip list!
April 17th – 20th Istanbul – Barcelona – Cerbere – Perpignan – Cerbere – Paris – Amiens – Dunkerque – Dover – London
For another time.
Little Grebe – common
Great-crested Grebe –common
Yelkouan Shearwater – Bosphorous was teeming with them
Cormorant – local
Shag – Bosphorous
Pygmy Cormorant – 30+ on west bank of Euphrates at Birecik
Pelican sp. – almost certainly Great White at Akytan, but far too distant in the heat haze
Bittern – 2 at Goksu
Squacco – common at Goksu
Cattle Egret – not as abundant as expected
Little Egret
Great Egret – seen most days
Grey Heron
Purple Heron – seen most days, very common at Sultan and Goksu
Black Stork – 15 migrating at Snake Castle
Glossy Ibis – seen most days
White Stork – widespread
Bald Ibis – captive bred birds hard to miss in Birecik
Spoonbill – small flock at Gavar Golu
Greylag Goose – a few at Sultan Sazligi
Ruddy Shelduck – 2 at Agcasi Baraji, many at Goksu
Shelduck – 50 Akyatan Golu
Wigeon
Teal
Mallard
Pintail
Garganey – many at Sultan Sazligi
Shoveler
Red-crested Pochard – 100 Goksu
Pochard
White-headed Duck –1 Sultan Sazligi
Black Kite – migrating flock of 8 near Birecik
Lammergeier – 1 ad. on close to Camardi
Short-toed Eagle – seen most days
Marsh Harrier- large numbers at Sultan and Goksu
Harrier sp. – probably Pallid at Cukurova Delta
Sparrowhawk
Steppe Buzzard – outnumber by Long-legged Buzzard about 5 to 1.
Long-legged Buzzard – common, a bird of many habitats.
Lesser Spotted Eagle – migrating flocks at Snake Castle and on D400 east of Adana
Greater Spotted Eagle – 1 Goksu Delta
Golden Eagle – 2 at Demirkazik Gorge, and 4 on ‘best birding road’
Lesser Kestrel – 2 at Demirkazik and a pair at Goksu
Kestrel – seen everyday
Peregrine – seen at Goksu Delta and Gorge
Caspian Snowcock – 2 above Demirkazik with Hassan
Chukar – heard not seen
See-see – 2 in the wadi at BIrecik, 1 near Halfeti
Black Francolin – fairly common (15+ altogether) around Goksu Delta
Water Rail – many squealing at Sultan Sazligi
Little Crake – one south of BIrecik, one at Goksu
Moorhen
Coot
Purple Gallinule – 2 by viewing platform north of Akgol, Goksu.
Crane – flock of 10 Cukurova Delta
Black-winged Stilt – common at all wetlands
Avocet – 500+ Akyatan Golu
Collared Pratincole – just 1 at Goksu Delta
Little Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover – frequent at Aykatan and beaches of Goksu
Grey Plover
Spur-winged Plover – 40 altogether paired off at various places around Goksu Delta
Lapwing
Little Stint – 5 Aykatan Golu
Curlew Sandpiper – as above
Dunlin – 1000 Aykatan
Broad-billed Sandpiper – 2 Aykatana
Ruff – the commonest wader on the trip
Snipe
Black-tailed Godwit
Spotted Redshank – 30, some in full summer plumage around Paradeniz Lagoon
Redshank
Greenshank –
Green Sandpiper – seen on Euphrates
Common Sandpiper – in various places including Goksu Gorge
Marsh Sandpiper – at Aykatan and Paradeniz Lagoon
Wood Sandpiper – common
Black-headed Gull – common
Slender-billed Gull – on Euphrates at Halfeti
Audouin’s Gull – offshore Tasucu
Baltic Gull – a few individuals seen
Yellow-legged Gull – common
Armenian Gull – on Euphrates at Halfeti
Gull-billed Tern – 50+ on Tuzla Golu
Caspian Tern – 4 Tuzla Golu
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Little Tern – Tuzla Golu
Whiskered Tern – at least 12 Sultan Sazligi
White-winged Tern – 2 on Akgol (Goksu)
Feral Pigeon
Woodpigeon – 1 at Birecik
Collared Dove – seen everyday, very common
Laughing Dove – seen everyday
Striated Scop’s Owl – 2 seen at Gulhane Tea Gardens, Birecik
Scop’s Owl – in Hassan Safak’s orchards
Little Owl – seen most days
Long-eared Owl – orchards near Ovalifcik
Swift
Alpine Swift – large numbers on passage at Goksu
Little Swift – 6 at Snake Castle
White-breasted Kingfisher – 6 on Seyhan River, 2 by disused factory, Goksu
Kingfisher – Goksu is teeming with them
Pied kingfisher – 1 Gavar Golu, 1 Euphrates, 1 Seyhan River
Roller – Birecik and Goksu dunes
Hoopoe- seen everyday
Wryneck - fisherman’s hut, south of Akgol,Goksu
Syrian Woodpeckers – present wherever there are orchards
Calandra Lark – 6 on shores of Sultan Sazligi, 1 Goksu
Short-toed Lark – fairly common
Lesser short-toed Lark – shore of Sultan Sazligi
Crested Lark – very common
Skylark – seen most days
Shore Lark – many around Demirkazik including a flock of 40
Sand Martin
Crag Martin – only seen at Snake Castle
Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow – seen most days
House Martin
Tawny Pipit – airstrip at Goksu
Red-throated Pipit – common at both Sultan Sazligi and Goksu Delta
Yellow Wagtail – present at all wetlands 80% feldegg, the rest flava
White Wagtail – common
Grey Wagtail – Seen on stream at Durnalik
White-spectacled Bulbul – a bird of the built up areas
Wren –heard in Demirkazik gorge
Alpine Accentor – a flock of 10 at Demirkazik gorge
Nightingale – singing near Kaynarca and also 2 at Goksu Delta
Bluethroat – 1 at Goksu Delta both days
Black Redstart – common in Demirkazik
Redstart – samamiscus in Birecik wadi
Whinchat – 4 at Goksu Delta
Stonechat
Isabelline Wheatear – common north of Nigde and around Sultan Marshes
Northern Wheatear – a dozen above Demirkazik, and more at Goksu airstrip
Black-eared Wheatear – seen most days
Pied Wheatear – Goksu airstrip
Finsch’s Wheatear – 3 on slopes above Demirkazik
Rock Thrush – a fine male at Demirkazik gorge
Blue Rock Thrush – seen most days
Blackbird
Cetti’s Warbler – heard most days
Graceful Warbler – common at all wetlands
Savi’s Warbler – present in all large reedbeds
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler – very common
Great Reed Warbler – Goksu Delta
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler – Goksu and holiday village
Menetries Warbler – 15 Birecik west bank
Lesser Whitethroat- very common on passage
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Sombre Tit – Durnalik and Goksu Gorge
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Great Rock Nuthatch – 1 at Durnalik, 1 at Halfeti
Western Rock Nuthatch – frequent around Snake Castle and most rocky outcrops
Wallcreeper – incredible views of at least 5 Demirkazik gorge
Penduline Tit – pair Seyhan River banks
Red-backed Shrike – Euphrates west bank
Woodchat Shrike
Masked Shrike – 2 at Goksu Delta, 1 Seyhan River bank
Jay
Magpie
Alpine Chough – Demirkazik
Red-billed Chough – 200+ Demirkazik
Jackdaw – Istanbul
Raven – many around Goksu Delta and Gorge
Starling
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow – present at all major wetlands
Dead Sea Sparrow – pistachio groves Euphrates west bank
Tree Sparrow
Rock Sparrow – colonies in Birecik wadi and Demirkazik gorge
Snowfinch
Chaffinch
Red-fronted Serin – a few pairs nesting in Demirkazik gorge, and flock of 20 on the slopes above Demirkazik
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Rock Bunting – ‘best birding road’ and a pair at Goksu Gorge
Ortolan Bunting
Cretzchmar’s Buntin – 1 Agcasi Baraki
Reed Bunting – 3 Sultan Sazligi
Corn Bunting – roadside common
Other wildlife
Golden Jackal
Bottle-nosed Dolphin
Terrapin sp.
Small White
Eastern Dappled White
Wall Brown
Large Wall Brown
Swallowtail
Common Blue
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
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