Bird watching dalyan Turkey (1 Viewer)

Ruby · May 10, 2014

Sounds like the same place alright - we just approached from opposite ends....

I do remember a while back, a chap posting on here that he had been arrested and held for quite a few hours after birdwatching nr Dalaman airport...

Not sure that it would have been exactly this area, but of course the airport isn't far over the Dalaman river to the E. Can't remember if it was exactly specified, but quite likely that he might have been birding a bit of wetland which is more-or-less at the end of the runways quite nr to the coast!

Don't know whether anyone else would know whether it is 'safe' on the W of the river?

Barred Wobbler · May 10, 2014

Ruby said:
Sounds like the same place alright - we just approached from opposite ends....

I do remember a while back, a chap posting on here that he had been arrested and held for quite a few hours after birdwatching nr Dalaman airport...

Not sure that it would have been exactly this area, but of course the airport isn't far over the Dalaman river to the E. Can't remember if it was exactly specified, but quite likely that he might have been birding a bit of wetland which is more-or-less at the end of the runways quite nr to the coast!

Don't know whether anyone else would know whether it is 'safe' on the W of the river?

Couldn't even see the airport from where we were, but we could see the air traffic coming in and out some distance away. It was pretty rural and I don't foresee a problem.

Rob Smallwood · May 11, 2014

The wetland at the end of the runway is fine to bird as long as you don't point scopes into the airport itself. The road runs down to the sea and is used by picnicing locals. Had Spur-winged Plover there the other year.
Views of the pools are a bit hit and miss though, lacks a nice tower hide for obvious reasons!

Barred Wobbler · May 11, 2014

Rob Smallwood said:
Were the Lesser's near a hill with some wooden/metal masts/pylons? We had some probables there a few year's ago but couldn't get good enough views to clinch id.

Update on the lesser kestrels.

I went back in the sunshine this morning and there is a hill and a forest of power poles and various overhead lines next to the track right at the start, where I left the main road. The kestrels and the other stuff were a couple of kilometres along the track beyond that.

Barred Wobbler · May 14, 2014

A visit to the Eskikoy outcrop this morning produced a surprise sighting. There were good numbers of rufous bushchats, olivaceous warblers and black-headed buntings. A female marsh harrier hunted over the reed beds on the lake.

The surprise came as we were walking back to the car just before noon. I heard some loud squealing calls from the direction of the outcrop, most unbirdlike. I looked across to see something scurrying across the top of one of the larger rocks and reappearing on the ground next to it before disappearing, presumably under the rock.

A badger.

Barred Wobbler · May 15, 2014

Two Smyrna kingfishers on the river at Hamitkoy today. One was calling from trees on the other side of the river when another, which had been calling distantly from downstream flew upstream past us. I relocated it just below the road bridge, calling from a tree overhanging the river about 50m below the bridge, before it flew off noisily downstream again.

I've been back to Koycegiz a couple or so times since I had the kingfisher sightings there last week, but no luck with a repeat. Not a sight nor sound since then.

The best birds there this morning were a green woodpecker that flew overhead across the river and about a dozen little stint and a nice red curlew sandpiper.

Off home again tomorrow, but it's a late flight, so there'll be time to do a bit of last minute local birding and a bit of pool time before we leave.

A very enjoyable stay, despite the unseasonable weather at times.

Once I get home and delete the rubbish, I'll put some photos from the trip here.

turkeylandman · May 17, 2014

Latest trip report
Trip report to South West Turkey, April 2014
Dougy Wright and Greg Adams

http://www.dalyanbirding.com/trip reports.html

Rob Smallwood · May 18, 2014

BW - how did you bird the W-b K site near Hamitkoy? Did you park at the bridge and walk towards the lake on the Koyceygiz side of the river?

Barred Wobbler · May 18, 2014

Rob Smallwood said:
BW - how did you bird the W-b K site near Hamitkoy? Did you park at the bridge and walk towards the lake on the Koyceygiz side of the river?

You can do that Rob, but the near bank is very overgrown with very little view of the river and there's not much to see. It's simpler to drive down the track and park at a clearing after about 1km. I've had the kingfishers there and on a bare tree a field away from the river at the other side of the orange grove. There are a couple of other clearings further downstream, so parking at the first one saves an unproductive walk and there's room to stop without blocking the road.

This pic's from Thursday

RayMurray · May 19, 2014

Eskekoy

Yesterday found a nice Penduline Tit nest at the last concrete bridge before parking at the rocky outcrop, and today another a hundred metres away (towads outcrop and by parked boats) - I think the latter may be known as some of the ditchside vegetation had been trampled, allowing a view from a car - about 8m away ! Birds are lighning fast however entering and leaving the nests and the shade does not help taking pics.
Yesterday an Imperial Eagle and 3 Red-footed Falcons N over the rock, plus a passing Squacco Heron. Today a flock of 10 Hobby N.
Black-headed Bunting, Rufous Bush Robins and Olivaceous performing well.
At the cemetery just though Eskoky village, past the junction heading N to the dual carriageway, had a roosting Tawny Owl being mobbed - Krupers was expected but a Ruppels Warbler wasn't - this was woodland and 10m up in a conifer - I've always associated Ruppels with scrub !
Broad-billed Sandpiper at Itsuzu beach the other afternoon - not much else other than the Flamingos.

Ray

Barred Wobbler · May 29, 2014

Dalyan 2nd - 16th May 2014

The trip report I did last year (see Dalyanbirding website) covered most of the ground that I visited this year and a bit more, so I'll just post photos with brief descriptions here. This year I didn't bother making the trek to Bafa Golu on the east coast and spent a bit more time in the hills. It's a pity we didn't get more sun and less cloud at crucial times for some of the photos that I'll be posting over the next few days now that I've got all the deleting done and I have some time for some editing.

First batch here.

1 Olivaceous Warbler in early morning sunlight on the first morning. This little chap kept us company with his incessant singing at the bottom of the garden from the first day to the last.

2 Great Reed Warbler. This one put me on the back foot when I spotted it. It was hopping through bushes on a scrubby mound on the Eskikoy track, well away from reeds. I didn't know what to make of it when it popped up. I'm used to seeing them sitting high on a reed with the crest puffed up, not all sleek and pretty like this one.

3 Kruper's Nuthatch. One of many in the pine forests we drove through. This one was in the forest east of the Itzuzu Beach road

4 Masked Shrike. Next to the road near Tepearasi. Pity it was cloudy.

5 Rufous Bushchat (or Bush Robin if you must). They seemed to be all over the place singing from perches and wires. This one was at Koycegiz, next to the river. Cloudy again.

More to follow.

Barred Wobbler · May 29, 2014

2nd Batch

6 Spur-winged Plover. On our first visit to the river mouth at Koycegiz this friendly bird was on a shingle bank before it relocated to the edge of the rubbish dump nearby. It was very accommodating and walked all around the car feeding. It's a pity the same can't be said of the white breasted ( I prefer Smyrna) kingfisher that flew low over the car and landed on a reed stem only 20 metres away or so. By the time I pointed the camera at it, it was gone. Another cloudy spell that heralded a wet day ahead.

7 Ruppell's Warbler. The sun came out again on the 6th and we had an early start for the hills around Seki for a very productive day. Even the fact that I found the fuse on the car cigarette lighter socket had blown, leading to a flat satnav battery just as we got there didn't mess it up.

8 White-throated Robin. The first of many.

9 Red-fronted Serin. This one was a bit of a surprise. I'd expected them further up towards the pass, but this one and two or three others were hanging about with a flock of linnets and serins just off the road from Seki to Temel.

10 Black-headed Bunting. Their song was everywhere for the whole two weeks.

More later.

Rob Smallwood · May 29, 2014

Barred Wobbler said:
You can do that Rob, but the near bank is very overgrown with very little view of the river and there's not much to see. It's simpler to drive down the track and park at a clearing after about 1km. I've had the kingfishers there and on a bare tree a field away from the river at the other side of the orange grove. There are a couple of other clearings further downstream, so parking at the first one saves an unproductive walk and there's room to stop without blocking the road.

This pic's from Thursday

Cheers - that's what we did a couple of years ago, will try again in July, only managed to hear them at Eskikoy last year.

Barred Wobbler · May 29, 2014

Good luck, Rob.

More photos from the same day as the last lot - 6th May.

11. Ortolan. The only one of the trip, this bird perched briefly near the road on the outskirts of Seki just long enough for a couple of shots, then it was off, over the car and up the hill out of sight.

12. Black-headed Wagtail. This bird was one of about half a dozen males flitting about in a field next to the road at Seki. I must have had the timing right this year. There were groups of these, mainly males, in several locations (including Dalyan) during the first week, but the following week, I saw only one. This ties in with my experience last year when I saw only one on the whole fortnight, which began a week later than this year's trip; maybe coincidence.

13. Finsch's Wheatear in typical barren habitat near Kizilcadag, west of Korkuteli. The sun went in just as I found this bird and its mate. There was another male nearby, presumably a different bird.

14 Red-backed Shrike. Well represented on the trip, with more males than females; mainly well inland. This one was at Kizilcadag.

More tomorrow.

Barred Wobbler · May 30, 2014

Part 4

15 Cretschmar's Bunting. The 7th of May dawned bright and clear, so it was off to the hills above Beyobasi as far as Covenli Yaylasi. This bunting was singing next to the road at Alan.

16 Sombre Tit. A trip around the perimeter of Alan gave us this sombre tit and a Syrian woodpecker that flew across the car bonnet and landed at the base of a tree a few metres away, just long enough for my camera to begin focussing before it flew off. There was another sombre tit in Covenli Yaylasi, but the village wasn't the bird-fest that I experienced on my first visit last year. The village roads there were also fulfilling their secondary role as watercourses after the recent rain, but were passable in the Renault.

17 Little Bittern. Back down from the hills when cloud started to thicken there at midday and I spotted this beauty stalking a ditch near Hamitkoy. It kept us entertained for almost 10 minutes at close range as it moved along the channel.

18 Spanish Sparrow. Part of a small flock taking a dust bath on the track at Eskikoy. It's a good spot for Spanish sparrows.

19 Black-eared Wheatear. Another sunny morning at Seki on the 8th. Unfortunately it didn't last and by early afternoon the heavens opened and forgot to stop for the next day and a half. The trip up towards Eren Dag produced multiple singing Eastern Orphean Warblers, white-throated robins and a singing woodlark well above the treeline.

Alf King · May 30, 2014

Ruby said:
Sounds like the same place alright - we just approached from opposite ends....

I do remember a while back, a chap posting on here that he had been arrested and held for quite a few hours after birdwatching nr Dalaman airport...

Waiting for our flight home at 11.15 pm in Dalaman airport I couldn't help but notice the nightjars flying around the floodlights outside feeding on the moths. I was tempted to get out my bins for a better look but luckily remembered this cationary tale from some time ago.

Barred Wobbler · May 30, 2014

19 Chukar. We followed a track up Eren Dag to an apparently abandoned (but only recently opened!) ski centre, starting off in sunshine, but climbing into increasing cloud. Walking uphill on a soggy track among patches of snow from the ski centre car park gave us three or four pairs of horned larks, numerous northern wheatears, red-backed shrikes, a hoopoe and two pairs of chukar that flew off from next to the road. Just as we got back to the car the light rain turned heavier and the heavens opened so it was time to go. This chukar was one of a pair I spotted from the car at the start of the descent.

20. Red-footed Falcon. One of the three birds I referred to in an earlier post, taken two days after the chukar, as the rain finally began to clear.

21 Lesser Kestrel. One of twelve birds hunting in a field just next to the track adjacent to the Dalaman River near Sarigerme and major players in the 'falconfest' of 10th May

22 Roller. This was the bird on the wires between Ortaca and Sarigerme. First seen in the dull light of morning in clearing rain, it was still there in the sunlight in the afternoon.

23 Peregrine. Brother and sister sparring overhead. The other major players in the falconfest. This photo was taken on the return visit the next morning.

Barred Wobbler · May 31, 2014

25 Steppe Buzzard. On the way back from the falcons this buzzard flew across the track in front of us, carrying what looks like a Balkan green lizard. One major difference between this year's trip and last was that last year long-legged buzzard was seen in numerous places with only a couple of steppe buzzards. This year the situation was reversed, with only one definite long-legged buzzard sighting (on the first morning at Eskikoy) and steppe buzzards in several locations, often paired up.

26 Rock Nuthatch. The price of the ferry over to Kaunos and the entry fee to the ruins (entry 10 lira, up from 8 last year) was definitely money well spent. This was one of a pair of resident birds. It flew onto a rock right next to me and spent the next five minutes knocking five bells out of this bush cricket, breaking it up into manageable pieces for the chicks it was feeding. It's a pity the sun chose that time to disappear behind yet another rain cloud.

27 Wryneck. A final trip up to Seki turned up the goods again. There were a number of sparrows feeding on the grass verge on the southern edge of the village, and one of the sparrows looked a bit more erect than the others so I gave it a second glance. That 'sparrow' was a wryneck.

28 Rock Thrush. The trip up to the Gogu Beli pass produced more red-fronted serins at the roadside, but the sun went behind another cloud that seemed to hover just where I didn't want it. The valley below was in sun, so I took the track down to Keyabasi and came across a pair of rock thrushes on the road side as we started the descent. I drove west along the valley from Keyabasi to Zorlar and enjoyed the sight of a pair of lesser grey shrikes when I stopped to photograph a woodlark.

Barred Wobbler · May 31, 2014

Final Batch

29 Isabelline Wheatear. In contrast with the single bird of last year's trip, this year produced dozens of Isabelline wheatears. Shortly after I took this photo west of Seki, I drove up to Kinik for a quick look before going back to Dalyan and there was yet another one on roadside wires and about 30 metres into a field was a group of six clustered together in an area less than a square metre.

30 Rock Bunting. Late afternoon west of Seki and this fellow flew into a bush right next to the car.

31 Cirl Bunting. Singing its heart out just over the track from the rock bunting and about 25 metres away from yet another male red-backed shrike.

32 Smyrna Kingfisher. The first of two birds we saw that day at Hamitkoy. This one had just flown out of sight into trees on the other side of the river when another, which had been calling further downstream flew past us and perched just downstream of the bridge for about 10 minutes.

33 Alpine Swift. These turned up in groups sporadically several times and gave good displays, mixed with smaller numbers of common swifts. This one was on the last morning on a track that led from Tepearasi towards the lake.

Well that's all folks.

Barred Wobbler · Jun 5, 2014

As a late addition I thought I'd add a few scene-setting shots to give the locations for some of the places I mentioned a bit more meaning for those who haven't been.

Before I saw the area for the first time last year it's fair to say I had absolutely no idea as to what it would look like and any preconceptions I did have were 100% wrong in almost every case, so I hope these will be useful to anyone who is fancying the trip in future.

First Photo. The view along the valley to Keyabasi from the drinking fountain a couple of kilometres above Zorlar on the Gogu Beli road. The fountain itself was a good spot for serin, red-fronted serin, black-eared wheatear and, on one visit a white-throated robin was hopping around the bushes near the road. A trip along the valley from Keyabasi to Zorlar a few days later gave a fertile valley crammed with birds including woodlark, short-toed lark, black-headed buntings, isabelline wheatears and a pair of lesser grey shrikes.

Second Photo. Western approach to Seki. The fields on both sides of the road were good for birds. The turn-off to Temel from the 'apple roundabout' for scrub bursting with white-throated robins, Ruppell's warblers, buntings and other stuff is just up the road into the village.

Third Photo. The track above the ski centre on Eren Dag at the point the rain started and we turned back for the car. Horned larks, red-backed shrikes and pairs of chukar were amongst the birds on the mile or so from the car.

Fourth Photo. A view of the town of Koycegiz and the lake beyond it.

Fifth Photo. One of my favourite locations around Dalyan. The Eskikoy Outcrop. The scrub held rufous bushchats, olivaceous warblers, black headed buntings etc and the streams by the tracks were good for terrapins and water snakes.

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