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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Köyceğiz & Mugla area - SW Turkey (1 Viewer)

15/09/22

Returned to Köyceğiz after a trip to Greece.
Gulpinar, dump, Hamitkoy road, riverside wood and riverside.

Lots of flocks of Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Linnets, Chaffinch , several Serins, more Blackbirds evident than usual.
12 Red backed Shrikes around the dump area plus a numerous along Hamitkoy road and field next to river wood. I stopped counting in the 20’s. Very vocal , lots of juveniles. 2 Masked Shrike and 1 Woodchat Shrike,
2 White Throated Kingfishers -very showy & vocal between wood and reedbed trees. Stunning in the morning sunlight.
At least 5 Common Kingfishers - spread apart enough that likely to be separate individuals.
2 Little Stints & a Common Sandpiper - small area of open water amongst marsh on Hamitkoy road.
1 Water Rail visible briefly in Hamitkoy ditch, others heard.
3 Pygmy Cormorants - dropping into reedbeds on the river past Hamitkoy,
1 Purple Heron juvenile - fairly confiding unlike usual experience with PH. On river step pool.
5 Crag Martins, a few Sand Martins around river/ dump/ beach.
A cracking male Marsh Harrier over the Hamitkoy reedbed.
Green, Middle Spotted & Lesser Spotted Woodpecker seen in wooded area following local sewage pipe. Lots of active beehives here and the generally placid Köyceğiz bees seemed a little more aggressive than usual. I got the message after a while but there was a lot of bird activity here that needed a longer period of watching.
Warblers- Lesser Whitethroats -3, Whitethroat -1, Willow Warbler-1 or 2, Chiffchaff - 2, Cettis- loads, Garden Warbler - 1 , Blackcap - 5, Eastern Orphean- several, Reed Warbler - 3,

Ortolan Bunting - 2 on dump though lots of activity here & I was concentrating on the WT Kingfishers mostly.

2 Goldcrests - Walnut tree in next garden.

Notebook left behind so bound to be a few I’ve forgotten
 
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A Brown Bear was filmed several times on a camera trap in the Köyceğiz area recently, presumably way above town where the forest is quite thick and difficult to access. This after Caracal was also caught in a camera trap not so far away from the area in the last couple of years.
 
16/09/22

Usual route then an afternoon by the lake & a ride up past Yeşilköy.

3 Slender billed Gulls, 5 Yellow legged Gull, 1 Mediterranean Gull - all coinciding with the afternoon wind that blows in from the sea. Also 3 distant terns, presumably Whiskered.

Lots of the usual birds- WT Kingfisher again by the dump, Common Kingfisher everywhere including back & forth through the wood. Bee-eaters & Red backed Shrikes uncountable , 2 Woodchat Shrikes on farmland.
1 Greenshank - Hamitkoy roadside pool, Gadwall pair flushed from ditch, Water rail - heard here and elsewhere along the roadside, 3 Northern Wheatears, 1 Black Eared Wheatear and a paler, plainer bird that had a look of autumn female Finsch’s but not enough of a view tbh.
5 Zitting Cisticola, 1 Redshank, 2 Wood Sandpiper ,1 Purple Heron, 1 Cattle Egret river bed. Red Rumped Swallows & Crag Martins amongst the other Hirundines.
1 Collared Flycatcher , 2 Spotted Flycatcher , Jays, probable Nightingale (skulking deep in bushes where displaying in spring), Woodpeckers all vocal as per yesterday, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler - sewer pipe wood area.
1 Blue Rock Thrush - Yeşilköy
 
18/09/22

Oddly quiet this morning and a fairly short circuit. Most of the Shrikes have departed and the finch & Sparrow flocks weren’t so obvious. Still a few highlights though amongst the regulars.

1 Common Redstart male - riverside wood, 1 Purple Heron over wood, 3 Great Reed Warblers, 50 ish Bee-Eaters joined by another 25 or so in one circling flock over riverside field, 1 Hoopoe - Hamitkoy marsh fields, still lots of Common Kingfishers, 1 Hobby - Hamitkoy roadside field, 2 Yellow (Black headed) Wagtails, 2 Little Grebes, 3 Duck Sp,

The were also 3 Wild Boar by the edge of the Hamitkoy Reed beds, two middle sized and one huge lookout giving out deep grunts occasionally.
3 Dice snake in the lake and 1 Viperish looking individual on the dump.
 
19/09/22

Currently travelling around the Izmir area for s as few days but a couple of records from Köyceğiz yesterday .

1 Common Nightjar - 3 am around street lights Gulpinar

3 Rollers - Dogusbelen

1 Northern Wheatear - grass by road tunnel to Köyceğiz
 
27/09/22

First day back in Köyceğiz, beautifully calm hot day. Quite a shock to find part of the river bed being scraped out by a bulldozer. Presumably to improve the water flow over winter but sad to see a great spot for waders, herons and Warblers disappear. Fingers crossed it’s limited to a small area and vegetation grows back over the next couple of years.

1 Black Necked Grebe - boatyard side of the lake, 5 Little Grebes, 3 Red Backed Shrikes, 2 flocks of Bee-Eaters 30 & 20 roughly, Northern Wheatear - dump, 3 Common Kingfishers , 1 Hoopoe - camp site.
1 Collared Flycatcher (male) & 3 Spotted Flycatchers - river bridge wood, 1 Water Rail - dog sanctuary road ditch, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Slender billed Gull, 3 Yellow legged Gulls, 5 Black Headed Gulls, 6 Yellow Wagtails , lots of finch flocks inc Serin & Linnets, 1 Night Heron (Boatyard flyover at sunset)
 
28/09/22

Yesterday I forgot to add 1 Syrian Woodpecker,1 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Green Woodpeckers, ChiffChaff, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in the Riverside wood plus a nice low Pallid Swift back & forth over the dump later in the day. A flock of 20 or so Alpine Swifts over the flat in the afternoon.
Today started with the first cloudy morning for months so I rode the bike to Sultaniye this morning. I only gave Köyceğiz scant attention as I knew my capacity for distraction should I see or hear anything interesting.
First stop was the newly dredged river bed- 2 Ruff, 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Red Backed Shrike, big finch flocks around the dump worth a look when I’ve time but nothing unusual this morning.

Hamitkoy road- Lots of Common Kingfishers again all through the day. Still Red Backed Shrikes in the fields though I didn’t stop for all of them. Wild Boar in the same place as last time, pretty much just a pair of ears . Water Rail and a small duck Sp- one of the side channels plus rails heard further along in deep reedbed cover, 2 Woodlark on a patch of heath type habitat.

I stopped for a while both on the way and back at the bridge over the Namman river. A high viewpoint worth a long patient wait. 1 White Throated Kingfisher flyby , 1 Osprey slowly following the river downstream with lots of circling, 1 Female Marsh Harrier, Long Legged Buzzard, Spotted Flycatcher, Corn Bunting, Reed Warbler, 5 Pygmy Cormorants - a good place for these, I’ve seen them pretty much every time I’ve passed here, Grey, Yellow & White Wagtails , 4 Little Egrets over, 1 Squacco Heron over.
2 Ravens, 1 Little Owl, 1 Kestrel Sp.

I then continued to Sultaniye with much of the same except when I left the bike down a roadside gully & scrambled up the hillside and sat for a while. 2 Sombre Tits being the reward though I suspect they are easier to find closer to Hamitkoy. Only issue about this roadside area is the beehives- local bees are pretty placid but they still landed on me regularly and quickly built up in numbers, and I don’t want any misunderstandings with any bee that ends up in my shorts.

Back at the lake a distant group of 3 Whiskered Terns and several Little Grebes. Alpine Swifts & Bee-eaters seen in flocks of 20 -30.

Road kill count today were 1 Cettis Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler and a Water Rail. Also a large dead kitten with the striped flattish tail of a Wild Cat but it was in too much of a state for close examination. Caracal have been caught on camera trap here and Lynx is supposedly present so all road kill is worth a look.

Just past the Namman bridge is a small bamboo cafe/ house selling fresh Pomegranite & Orange juice. Well worth a visit for a break and chat with Nazim the owner. I was tempted to have a kip upstairs after the hill climbs.
 
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30/09/22

7am at the newly dredged river bed paid off modestly with 1 Black Winged Stilt & 2 Ringed Plovers. Also lots of Wagtails & Finch flocks. 1 Greater Short Toed Lark on the dump. Admittedly I rarely spend time looking for these as Crested Larks are ubiquitous & distracting and there’s always something else to investigate. The cooling of autumn is making it possible to spend longer picking out the less obvious birds,rather than getting broiled in the sun.
Today I explored some of the side roads and paths off the Hamitkoy road. Worthwhile doing as it’s made up of orchard, Reed filled ditches, small areas of open water, heath type fields and leafy lanes.
One area was heaving with Lesser Whitethroats, plus several Eastern Orphean Warblers, Blackcaps, 2 ChiffChaffs, 1 Reed Warbler, Spotted Flycatchers and then a Sparrowhawk.
Corn Buntings were dotted around, as were Red backed Shrikes as usual. 2 Bee-eater flocks at both ends of town plus a few singles around the orange orchards. 2 Cirl Bunting watched nicely from a very quiet side road were overflown by a Hobby no doubt attracted by what looks like an increase in Hirundines. Sand Martin & Crag Martin both seen towards Dogusbelen. Also here a sizeable flock of Spanish Sparrows.
The small open patches of water held 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Teal, 2 Ruff & 1 small duck Sp likely to be Garganey. Water Rail & Little Crake (I hope) heard along the ditches and reedbed. 2 Spur Winged Plovers above the Reed beds at one point- without a kayak I’ll never know what’s along that side of the lake but it’s very sheltered. Kingfishers everywhere as usual, 1 smart looking White Winged Black Tern over the lake/ beach area, plus a few more Little Grebes. Pygmy Cormorant singles were around the Hamitkoy reedbeds. 1 Great White & 5 Little Egrets over here too. White Throated Kingfisher heard but not seen.
Closer to home, a Peregrine off the Fethiye road, Honey Buzzard & Short Toed Eagle high up near Zeytinalani and a Roller near Çayırköy. A very distant Buzzard Sp seen from here too

Late addition of an Osprey flying across the lake as I drink an Efes outside a restaurant. Looks like it’s roughly going back towards the Namman river area.

And a Night Heron - real time updates direct from Iskele cafe!
 
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04/10/22
At home all day but a good selection of birds passing through from the vantage of the balcony.

Up to 7 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Juvenile Red Backed Shrike, 2 Reed Warblers, 1 Garden Warbler, Laughing Doves nest building, Sparrowhawk , Peregrine, Long legged Buzzard, Bee-Eater flock back and forth.
Also regular calling Tawny Owl & Little Owls overnight.
 
06/10/22

A mid morning - lunchtime walk from Gulpinar to the Siğla wood via lake front, back along Fethiye road .

1 White Throated Kingfisher at the marina, also heard deep in the wood in a couple of occasions. Common Kingfisher - lakefront and in the wood , Red backed Shrike- still common almost everywhere except deep wood, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - 7 seen plus heard regularly, Syrian , Middle Spotted & Greater Spotted Woodpeckers- good views despite thick canopy- lots of suitable viewing trees in the middle of the wood, Green Woodpecker -heard only, Lesser Whitethroats - several, Redstart - 1 , Sardinian Warbler -scrubby meadow in wood, Reed Warbler - reedbed, Willow Warbler- 2, Pied Flycatcher-1, Corn Bunting -3 , Yellow Wagtail - several, 1 Tawny Pipit - Çayirkoy , Serins - several, Roller , Mediterranean Gull, Pygmy Cormorant, Spotted Flycatcher,
 
07/10/22

Cycled up to the Ekincik turn off. Relying on memory so definitely missed something. Highlights only.

1 female Goshawk - presumably 1 of the pair seen on and off since winter.
1 Honey Buzzard -above the Ekincik turn off
2 Green Sandpipers, 1 Spur winged Lapwing, 2 Ruff, 2 Water Rail, 1 Squacco Heron - Hamitkoy roadside pool & melon field pool
White Throated Kingfisher - Hamitkoy river bridge,
Several Sparrowhawks or a pair of very mobile birds, seen from Köyceğiz up to Hamitkoy and back.
Hobby / Red Footed Falcon - silhouette only
Corn Buntings - very common
Great White Egret
Whiskered Terns - 5 on lake
 
10/10/22
Highlights- 1 Steppe Buzzard, 1 Marsh Harrier (male), 1 Common Tern, 3 Whiskered Terns, 2 Green Sandpipers, Water Rail, several Stonechats, 2 Whinchat, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, dwindling number of Bee-Eaters, 1 Swift Sp , Reed Warblers, increasing ChiffChaff numbers, 5 Great White Egrets, 3 Little Egrets, 2 Ravens, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher,
 
14/10/22

A sunrise bike ride from Gulpinar to close to Sultaniye and back. Lovely cool morning, only issue is hunting has started, hopefully (naively)Woodpigeons mainly as there’s been an influx.

3 Little Stint- dredged river. As grim as it looks there’s a fair few fish moved up into it from the lake. Kingfishers constantly around it, lots of Wagtails, Crested Larks, finches, Sparrows. Still a few Shrikes around , all Red Backed as far as I could see.
1 Wryneck -calling from a small tree on the Hamitkoy roadside marsh. Even managed a crap photo. 1 Red Footed Falcon male hunting from a small stand of trees then returning. Crossed the road almost overhead a couple of times, spectacular. 1 Marsh Harrier male- same time as RF Falcon in trees then alternately harassed and harassing a Hooded Crow, Peregrine Falcon juvenile chasing Bee-eaters unsuccessfully whilst I was there. Then also harassed by Hooded Crows.
Corn Buntings - lots singing along the route, 1 Willow Warbler -a really luminous yellow individual, Chiffchaff common, 1 Black Redstart - farm building in Hamitkoy, Purple & Grey Herons ( 2 & 7), Tree Pipit, 9 Spanish Sparrows, 1 Great Reed Warbler, Serin flock, Green , GS & MS woodpeckers.
3 Garganey - melon farm pool, 2 Water Rail plus several heard and 1 roadkill, 5 GW Egrets over Zafarler, Hamitkoy bridge area- 4 Ravens, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Redshank, 2 Green Sandpipers , Yellow & Grey Wagtail, 3 Whiskered Terns, 30 Black headed Gulls.
This afternoon - 30 + Alpine Swift & 1 Goshawk male from balcony.

1 large Nile Softshell Turtle off Davut restaurant.
 
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16/10/22

Thunderstorms & near constant rain all yesterday. Which was very welcome, lots of small channels running with water today which means slowly the river should come back to life soon. Nothing more strenuous than a lakeside walk and a trip to the shops but still noteworthy.

Goshawk - campsite woods , Peregrine- balcony . Sparrowhawk - balcony .
3 Red backed Shrikes, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Spotted Flycatcher , 3 Chiffchaffs plus a Laughing Dove - scruffy piece of abandoned land on the walk to the shops. Previously seen Eastern Olivaceous , Masked Shrike , Litltle Owl etc here.
300 + Barn Swallows , 2 Red Rumped Swallows, sudden swarm on power lines, and circling over our street. Spectacular .
Kingfishers - 3 along the lake front. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - on an overgrown Palm tree at the end of our street.
 
17/10/22

A ride out to Hamitkoy today, with the briefest of looks at the river necessitated by the fact someone seems to have dumped several dogs on the edge of town. I counted 8 and dog lover that I am there’s nothing relaxing about being the focus of a pack of stressed hounds , especially the larger Kangal types. A real issue in Turkey unfortunately and getting worse as high inflation bites.

The Wryneck was surprisingly in the same place, several Red Backed Shrikes, 1 Bee-eater. 2 Great White Egrets & 1 Squacco Heron flushed by the morning cattle drive onto the marsh. A big looking female Peregrine shot across a few feet above my head from the marsh which has the nostalgia inducing look of my childhood haunts on the Lancashire mosses.
The small hidden roadside pool was disappointingly empty until I heard a close squeal followed by deep menacing grunt a few steps away. A brief head raise from a huge pugnacious looking Wild Boar that then thankfully crashed off into the reedbed rather than me.
From here on it was a matter of Stonechats, Chiffchaffs, Reed Warbler, Crested Larks everywhere, plus assorted finches. Only waders being 1 Common Sandpiper & 2 Greenshank.

The ride back to town was directly into the sun and so a bit of a dead loss aside from what looked like a Red Throated Pipit but light and brevity of view render it a vague possible. Kingfishers as ever are everywhere and a Water Rail was glimpsed in the usual , if now trashed, ditch area opposite the dog sanctuary road,

Out on the lake aside from Little Grebes , Black Headed Gulls and Great Cormorants it was looking quite bare until an Osprey powered across from beyond Eski Köyceğiz heading roughly between Sultaniye & the Hamitkoy bridge.
The afternoon balcony watch brought 40 or so Alpine Swifts, huge numbers of Barn Swallows, a Sparrowhawk and a Long Legged Buzzard.
 
18-20/10/22

Things to do over the last 3 days so a quick round up.

A female Goshawk I’d been around my area gave two close flybys on 18th & 19th. At one point appearing to actively hunt the areas of land between the houses. There’s a lot of chickens roaming freely here, can’t help wondering if that’s the attraction to this bird.

A White Throated Kingfisher also gave point blank views from a buoy in front of Mackbears on the lake front yesterday morning.

The lake has been very hazy and shimmering affects the view across the lake quite strongly. However it’s noticeable there’s been a build up of Little Grebes, Great Cormorants & Black headed Gulls. Amongst these have been a couple of Mediterranean Gulls and the odd Pygmy Cormorant .

Still a couple of Bee-eaters passing over yesterday and Red Backed Shrikes on waste land close to my flat.

At 4 am I was treated to a pair of Tawny Owls calling to each other, one of which was a few feet away visible clearly in the street light. Around 5am a Little Owl flew noisily through, perching opposite for a moment.
 
8am cycle to Hamitkoy. The riverside wood was full of goats so I didn’t bother going in. Signs of water returning to the marsh , ponds and culverts. Most places are still green which is one of the benefits of living here.

First notable bird- Water Rail roadkill on the river bridge. 3rd or 4th I’ve found dead in 8 months.

Next up White Tailed Eagle juvenile in one of the reedbed Eucalyptus trees opposite the dog sanctuary road. I was cycling at the time so a horrible scramble across the gravelly road whilst fumbling for bins.. Something of a relief as it’s been seen on the other side of the lake by at least 3 other observers though nothing recorded for over a week. Good views for a few seconds before a local bibbed his horn and it launched itself across the reedbed. I managed middle distant views later as it crossed the lake towards the woodland after Eski Köyceğiz.
A Steppe Eagle was oddly perched over a roadside deep stream as if hunting. Stonechat seems to have replaced the Shrikes with several seen from the road.
The hidden roadside pool still promising with a Sanderling looking a little out of place and 2 Dunlin. Also Water Rail here and evidence of the Wild Boar I saw last week.
Plenty of finches, larks, buntings and Sparrows in the fields and hedges, a constant distraction as I try to make some distance without keep stopping. An odd looking bird flying head on towards me from inland turned out to be a Pygmy Cormorant which then dropped into a roadside ditch.
A Little Owl made itself heard & seen from the dump and 5 Little Egrets flew up from behind hinting at the presence of other water birds in an area impossible to watch. This place could do with several tower hides.
Alpine Swifts are still descending from out of the blue periodically but Hirundines have largely moved on today. A pair of Ravens flew over the edge of town low enough for good views rather than the usual high altitude lake crossing.
Chiffchaff’s are now the usual garden bird that has me reaching for the bins. Again , Tawny Owls were calling loudly outside in the early hours.
 

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