Köyceğiz & Mugla area - SW Turkey (2 Viewers)

[angusmcoatup]

Having moved to Köyceğiz in SW Turkey recently I’ve been fitting in birding around rotten weather and lots of time consuming bureaucracy. As spring is kicking off quite obviously this week here I’ll record this weeks sightings then try and catch up with the last few weeks in a separate post.

5th/03/22
Mainly river/bridge/reedbeds on the edge of town.

1 White Stork, Moustached warbler, 2 Sedge warbler, 2 Great White Egret, 3 Little Egret, 2-3 Kingfisher, 1 Steppe Buzzard, 18 + Barn Swallows, House Martins and Crag Martins (too many to count), Chiffchaffs (very common, some singing), 2 Skylark, Water Rail calling. 1 Common Snipe.Pygmy cormorant.

06/03/22

26 White Storks circling over town, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard sp, 1 Marsh Harrier , 6 Little Egrets, 1 Great white Egret, 1 Pygmy cormorant.

07/03/22

Beach/river/reedbeds & town dump

1 Slender billed gull (pink flushed), 1 Mediterranean gull, 120 Black headed gulls on beach roost.
2 Kingfishers, 2 + 2 Great white egrets, 5 Grey Herons, 1 White throated kingfisher river mouth, Skylarks, Crested larks & Meadow pipits town dump in large numbers,Serin flock (40 ish) along promenade, 1 Hoopoe promenade grass then into camp site, 1 Marsh harrier , 1 Short-toed eagle tatty individual missing wing feathers, lots of warblers (Sedge, Cettis, Moustached, Blackcap, Reed, Chiffchaff, Willow and poorly seen Sylvia). 2 Pygmy cormorants.

 

[angusmcoatup]

08/03/22
Beach - 1 Green sandpiper, 1 Little Egret, 5 + Crested Larks
River- reedbeds - 2 Water Pipits, 2 Zitting Cisticola, 1 Common Snipe, 1 Little Egret, 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Pygmy Cormorants , numerous Warblers (see yesterday), House Martins, Swallows, Sand Martins, Crag Martins, Stonechats.
Rubbish dump - 4 Skylarks,Meadow pipits, Siskins, Serins, finches, 1 Lesser Grey Shrike (Shed side)
Scrub past flood meadow- 1 Greater Spotted cuckoo
Flood meadow- 1 Great white Egret
Roadside marsh by dump- 5 GW Egret, 4 Grey Herons, 1 Water rail.
Flooded woodland opp dump- 1 Middle spotted woodpecker, 2 Green woodpeckers,
7 White Storks over lake, raft of 17 Black necked grebes.

 

[angusmcoatup]

09/03/22
Rubbish dump
1 Lesser grey shrike, 1 Isabelline wheatear, Steppe Buzzard, 3 Hoopoes, Corn Bunting, large numbers of usual pipits, finches, larks.
River & path
5 Hoopoes, 2 Green sandpipers, 3 Water pipits, 1 Cattle egret plus 3 & 6 Little & GW, Marsh Harrier. Reed, Sedge, Cetti’s warblers plus Chiffchaff everywhere.
Flooded wood
1 Bittern flushed into reedbeds, Green & Middle spotted woodpecker, 1 Garden Warbler,Goshawk, Goldcrest
Lake
2 Pygmy cormorants

2 Black storks heading north over Sigla wood

 

[angusmcoatup]

10/03/22
Opposite road to dog shelter- small path into stream reedbed.
1 Little Crake, 1 Water Rail plus numerous calls around that area.
1 White stork, 1 Green sandpiper ,1 White throated kingfisher - swampy wood next to above
1 Hoopoe roadside
Rubbish dump- 1 Isabelline wheatear, 1 Hoopoe, 3 Corn buntings
Sparrowhawk
River- Sand martins
Toparlar - field next to hospital 1 Long legged buzzard

 

[angusmcoatup]

11/03/22
2 Long legged buzzards - balcony tick towards hills behind town
2 + 7 Hoopoes - river path
All 3 Egret Sp -river
Steppe buzzard- flood meadow by bridge
Water pipit - river
Martins/Swallows- uncountable over river
Marsh harrier- delta plaj

of note- great tv programme on scarce Turkish wildlife on tonight. Caucasian Black grouse, Corncrake & Alpestris Ring ouzel. Program called - Yok oldaman keşfet .

 

[angusmcoatup]

12/03/22
River - 1 Black winged stilt
3 x Egret Sp
Zitting Cisticola
1 x Shrew sp
River path- 1 Ring ouzel , 3 Hoopoe
Flood meadow- 1 Whinchat , 3 Stonechats , Skylarks, 1 Garden Warbler in scrub, 1 White stork

Black necked grebes mainly breeding plumage now.

 

[angusmcoatup]

13/03/22
Flooded wood by river bridge
1 Middle spotted woodpecker, 1 Lesser spotted woodpecker, 1 Kingfisher
River reedbeds- 2 Green sandpipers, Water rails, Little crake
River - All 3 Egret Sp, 2 White storks
Flood meadow & scrub
2 Whinchats, 1 Woodlark , 1 Water pipit
Dump- 1 Isabelline wheatear

 

[angusmcoatup]

14/03/22
Rubbish dump
4 Calandra larks, 2 Isabelline wheatears, increased numbers of larks, pipits, Song thrushes.
River & river bank path
1 Bittern, huge amounts of Martins & Barn swallows, Chiffchaffs, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler, Reed bunting, Cattle egret,
Crashing sound in reedbed possibly Wild boar. Tracks seen in the mud.

Flood meadow & scrub
1 Northern wheatear, 1 Isabelline wheatear, 2 Whinchats, several Stonechats, 1 Mistle thrush, 1 Hoopoe, 2-3 Woodlark,
1 Buzzard sp

Huge flock of Great Cormorant circling reedbeds then crossing lake. Presumably related to the sound of shooting from Hamitkoy direction. Apparently Coot are eaten locally.

 

[angusmcoatup]

15/03/22

Delta Plaj - 1 Greenshank, 2 Little ringed plover,
Reedbed opposite sewage farm road
3 Water rail, 2 Little Crake,
Rubbish dump & scrub/ marsh
2 Isabelline wheatears, 1 Short toed eagle over, 2 Ravens over, Willow warbler , 1 Hoopoe,
Wood opp dump
2 Green woodpecker, 1 Syrian Woodpecker , 1 Kingfisher
Marsh harrier over boat yard

 

[angusmcoatup]

16/03/22
1 Laughing dove- on my flat in town. 1st I’ve seen or heard in Koycegiz since arriving 2 months ago.
River- 1 Jack snipe, 2 Common snipe - on “island” of tussocks in middle of river, Green sandpiper & Greenshank over (flushed by dog from marsh behind dump).
Dump
Isabelline wheatear, Stonechats
Kordon
1 Hoopoe , Serin flock

Brief evening walk

 

[angusmcoatup]

17/03/22

7-8 Alpine swifts (true number unknown as I was in the middle of a reedbed with a limited view at the time).
Lots of Wild boar prints, also a huge crab claw on a bank. Otter? No spraint seen. Rescued a large Balkan terrapin that jammed itself between two submerged sapling branches in its scramble to leg it.
2 Great Reed warbler
3 Common/Pallid swift - over town centre
Dump- 2-3 Hoopoe, 1 Isabelline Wheatear, 1 Northern Wheatear, 2 Calandra larks,
Flood meadow / pond &reedbed - 2 Whinchats, Goshawk , Moustached warbler, Water rail,
1 Greenshank - flushed from river by car
Common snipe- on river tussock island
1 Pygmy cormorant - in front of Davut restaurant, a good place to see them it seems

 

[angusmcoatup]

Dalyan- 18/03/22

Not much birding done- windy and chilly at times
1 Short toed eagle , 2 Peregrine falcons, Sardinian warbler, Pygmy cormorant, White stork

 

[kuzeycem]

It's still quite a bit early for some of those birds - Sedge Warbler, Willow Warbler, Lesser Grey Shrike, Garden Warbler, Whinchat, Great Reed Warbler. Any details on these?

 

[angusmcoatup]

Dalyan
19/03/22
5 Alpine swifts, Peregrine pair, Pygmy cormorants, 3 Blackcap

 

[angusmcoatup]

20/03/22
Flood meadow- 2 Yellow wagtail (feldegg), Water pipit, 5 Grey Herons
River- 2 GW Egret, 2 Little Egret
Rubbish dump - 1 Calandra lark , 1 Isabelline wheatear
2 Marsh harriers dump reedbed

 

[angusmcoatup]

21/03/22
River- 2 GW egret, 3 Little Egret, 1 Cattle egret. 3 Wood sandpiper, 2 Green sandpiper
Lots of pipits, larks moving through.

 

[angusmcoatup]

24/03/22
1 Purple Heron, 8 Grey Herons , 3 GW Egrets, 5 Little Egrets, 1 Cattle Egret, all visible from river bridge.
7 Alpine swifts over town
2 Yellow wagtails, Sparrowhawk, Water pipits, Stonechat -flood meadow
1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Pygmy cormorant- along Kordon

 

[angusmcoatup]

25/03/22

Delta plaj
1 Common sandpiper, 3 Little ringed plovers,
Lake
1 Lesser black backed gull, several Mediterranean gulls, 1 Night heron
River
Several Grey herons, 3 x Egret Sp , 1 Green sandpiper,
Flood meadow
Several Yellow wagtails inc 1 Flava
Town
2 Laughing doves

 

[angusmcoatup]

26/03/22
23 Grey herons, 2 Purple herons, 3 Cattle egrets, 5 Garganey, 1 Common sandpiper, 1 Black winged stilt, 2 Little ringed plovers, 1 Hoopoe, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Marsh harrier, 12 Yellow wagtails inc Flava or similar, Little crake calling, 1 Lesser spotted woodpecker

 

[angusmcoatup]

27/03/22
Several Penduline tits, 2 Northern wheatear, 1 Black winged stilt, 1 Common sandpiper, 2 Marsh harriers,