From Opus

Turkey

[edit] Overview

A mountain of over 2,500m and the highest area in western Anatolia, Uludag is easily ascended by car and even has a cable-car as it is a popular skiing resort.

Habitats present range from maquis on the lower slopes, through deciduous woodland and beech and fir forest to alpine meadows at the highest levels.

[edit] Birds

[edit] Notable Species

Fairly close to Istanbul this is an ideal site to look for mountain birds like Lammergeier and other vultures, Golden Eagle and more than 20 other raptor species. Other high-altitude species include Alpine Accentor, both rock thrushes and both choughs.

The area is also good for eastern specialities such as Isabelline Wheatear, and, at almost the most westerly points of their range, Red-fronted Serin and Krueper's Nuthatch.

The dense fir forest holds Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Crossbill and Tengmalm's Owl, a rare and very local bird in Turkey and White-backed Woodpecker has been seen.

[edit] Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Western Honey-Buzzard, Lammergeier, Egyptian Vulture, Black Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Common Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Tengmalm's Owl, Pallid Swift, Alpine Swift, Eurasian Wryneck, Black Woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker, Horned Lark, Red-rumped Swallow, Water Pipit, Common Wren, Dunnock, Alpine Accentor, Eurasian Robin, Common Redstart, Isabelline Wheatear, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Blue Rock Thrush, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Krueper's Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Red-backed Shrike, Red-billed Chough, Alpine Chough, Northern Raven, Red-fronted Serin, Eurasian Siskin, Common Crossbill, Common Bullfinch, Ortolan Bunting

[edit] Other Wildlife

The rare and local butterfly Parnassius apollo graslini is found on Uludag and the area has much of interest to botanists with colourful pink primroses Primula vulgaris var sibthorpii, Leopardsbane Duronicum orientalis, crocuses, the purple Crocus siberi and yellow C.flavus and grape hyacinths Muscari racemosum.

[edit] Site Information

[edit] History and Use

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[edit] Areas of Interest

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[edit] Access and Facilities

The park is about 22km south of Bursa and signposted from there, take the road just west of Bursa to the ski resort, a long twisting road and it is well worth making a few stops on the way.

Uludag has a range of accommodation as it is popular with tourists and winter sports enthusiasts, although some of the hotels may be closed in summer.

Bursa is easily reached by road from Istanbul and the accommodation is cheaper in Bursa than Uludag.

The easiest way to reach Uludag is the cable-car from Bursa which has an intermediate stop in the alpine meadows of Kadiyayla at about 1000m and ends at Sarialan at about 1630m.

[edit] Contact Details

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[edit] External Links

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Content and images originally posted by Steve