Trip Report: Turkey, April 18-26, 1998
José Tavares, Ankara, Turkey;
Tavares@tr-net.net.tr
Ankara
- Common Swift, Apus apus
- Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
- Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis
- Great Tit, Parus major
- Magpie, Pica pica
- Jackdaw, Corvus monedula
- House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
Road from Ankara to Aksehir, 20 April, under rain and cloudy skies
(through Polatli and Yunak).
- White Stork, Ciconia ciconia. Abundant everywhere, by the roadside.
Probably migrants grounded by the poor weather.
- Buzzard species, Buteo sp. A few seen near the road.
- Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus. 1 male near Hacifakili.
- Ring-tail harrier, Circus sp. 1 female or immature bird north of Yunak.
- Lesser Kestrel, Falco naumanni. Many. Some "kestrels" seen by the road
side could also be normal Kestrels (F. tinnunculus).
- Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus. 1 near Yunak.
- Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
- Long-eared Owl, Asio otus. 1 dead on road south of Polatli (23 April).
- Common Swift, Apus apus
- Roller, Coracias garrulus. Abundant, migrants everywhere.
- Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha calandra. Abundant on the steppe. Many
groups of dozens of birds on the roads (maybe due to the fact that the
steppe was very soggy). Had to stop many times not to hit any bird.
- Crested Lark, Galerida cristata.
- Swallow, Hirundo rustica. Clearly migrating through.
- Red-rumped Swallow, Hirundo daurica. Clearly migrating through.
- House Martin, Delichon urbica. Clearly migrating through.
- White Wagtail, Motacilla alba.
- Wheatear species, Oenanthe sp. A few seen from the car, poor views.
- Lesser-grey Shrike, Lanius minor
- Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis
- Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
- Magpie, Pica pica.
- Jackdaw, Corvus monedula.
- Hooded Crow, Corvus corone cornix
- Rook, Corvus frugilegus. Near Yunak and Cankurtaran.
- Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra. Singing.
Aksehir Gölü, 20 April. Only for 2 hours around lunch time.
Tried to get to the lake shore near the village of Ortaköy, and
followed a stream (canal?) from this village, but its water drained
directly into the wide belt of very tall reedbeds that surround this lake,
so was not able to reach the shore. The birds I have seen were either on
the land side of the reedbeds, or flying overhead. There had been a huge
fall of migrants in the region, and there were birds everywhere. This
lake looked very promising, and it was unfortunate that I could spend so
little time there.
- Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea. 2.
- Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax +3.
- Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus. 1-2.
- Pelican species, Pelecanus sp. +15 flying over the middle of the lake,
seen briefly over the tall reedbeds. Probably there were a lot more
pelicans than the +15 I saw.
- White Stork, Ciconia ciconia
- Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos. A few flying around.
- Aythya species, Aythya sp. A few flying around.
- Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus. Common. +5 seen.
- Buteo species, Buteo sp. 1-2, probably B. buteo.
- Merlin, Falco columbarius. 1 over the agricultural fields near
Ortaköy.
- Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
- Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus. A few.
- Unidentified Tringa sp. waders, 1-2, either Wood or Green Sandpiper.
- Ruff, Philomachus pugnax. +10 seen
- Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos. 2-3
- Black-Headed Gull, Larus ridibundus. Many
- "Commic" Tern, Sterna sp. 2-3, probably S. hirundo.
- Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
- Hoopoe, Upupa epops
- Wryneck, Jynx torquilla. 1
- Crested Lark, Galerida cristata.
- Short-toed Lark, Calandrella brachydactyla
- Swallow, Hirundo rustica.
- Sand Martin, Riparia riparia.
- Pipit species, Anthus sp. Probably A. trivialis.
- Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava feldegg
- White Wagtail, Motacilla alba.
- Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
- Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra.
- Acrocephalus species, Acrocephalus sp. Either A.
schoenobaenus or A. paludicola.
- Cetti's Warbler, Cettia cetti
- Nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
- Common Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus
- Phylloscopus species, Phylloscopus sp. Extremely abundant,
everywhere.
- Whitethroat species, Sylvia sp. Either S. communis
or S. curruca
- Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla
- Collared Flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis
- Semi-collared Flycatcher, Ficedula semitorquata
- Robin, Erithacus rubecula
- Blackbird, Turdus merula
- Song Thrush, Turdus philomelos
- Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio
- Woodchat Shrike, Lanius senator
- Hooded Crow, Corvus corone cornix
- Spanish Sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis
- Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra
- Suslik common in the agricultural fields near the lake.
On the road from Aksehir to Egirdir, 20 April.
- Little Egret, Egretta garzetta. 2 south of Egirdir (road to Kovada).
- Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea. 8 south of Egirdir (road to Kovada).
- Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus. 1 male in the mountain pass south of
Aksehir.
- Gull species, Larus sp. 1 big gull, and a group of smaller
gulls very far away, in the middle of Egirdir lake.
- Little Tern, Sterna albifrons. 1 south of Egirdir (road to Kovada).
- Blue Rock Thrush, Monticola solitarius. Egirdir lake.
- Willow Warbler, Phylloscopus collybita. 1 picked dead from road south of
Egirdir (road to Kovada).
- Bufo bufo at night on road through Kovada mountains (23 April)
- Bufo viridis at night on road through Kovada mountains (23 April)
- Frog species, Rana sp. Hundreds on road south of Egirdir (road to
Kovada) on 23 April. This road crosses a small wetland, and the frog
chorus there was unbelievable! There were many pairs in copulation on
the road, and many dozens of smashed frogs around. I picked many
dozens of live frogs and threw them back to the wetland.
- Crab species, at night on road through Kovada mountains (23 April).
Antalya - Camyuva - Kemer, 21-23 April
- Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo. 2 on sea at Olympus.
- Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea. 1 near Antalya.
- Little Egret, Egretta garzetta. +5 near Antalya.
- Quail, Coturnix coturnix. 2 flushed from rocky cliff faces near
Olympus, probably fresh arrivals from the sea.
- Scops Owl, Otus scops. 2/3 calling near Camyuva.
- Bee-eater, Merops apiaster. +50 in one group in a valley near Olympus.
- Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
- Crested Lark, Galerida cristata
- Swallow, Hirundo rustica
- Red-rumped Swallow, Hirundo daurica
- House Martin, Delichon urbica
- White Wagtail, Motacilla alba
- Northern Wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe
- Cetti's Warbler, Cettia cetti
- Nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
- Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra
- Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla
- Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca
- Whitethroat, Sylvia communis
- Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata
- Blackbird, Turdus merula
- Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus xanthopygos. Common around
Camyuva.
- Hooded Crow, Corvus corone cornix
- Jay, Garrulus glandarius
- Rock Nuthatch, Sitta neumayer
- Great Tit, Parus major
- Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis
- Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
- Serin, Serinus serinus
- Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris
- House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
- Mauremys caspica. 1 dead near Kemer.
- Terrapin species, Testudo sp. Everywhere (even in Antalya city centre!).
- Chalcides species, Chalcides sp.
- Agama species, Agama sp. Olympus.
- Small lizard species. With orange neck. Olympus.
- Snake species, black with orange belly. Olympus.
- Anatolian squirrel, Sciurus anomalis. Olympus.
- Crab species, on road near Olympus, away from any stream.
Return to trip reports.
This page served with permission of the author
by Urs Geiser; ugeiser@xnet.com;
December 2, 1998