Blog Archive

Monday 28 May 2012

Wicken Fen

My local RSPB Group had a coach trip to Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire this weekend, and what a great day we had - that £2.00 good weather supplement was well worth it as we basked in cloudless sunshine all day.

Hairy Dragonfly
We had a speedy journey, arriving before 10.00 am and after we had checked in we were off.     There are two halves to the reserve with the smaller area accessed through the visitor centre leading to a boardwalk trail and paths through the marshy fenlands.   The larger area is on the opposite side of the lode running alongside Lode Lane.    [Lodes are usually the larger of the water courses. They tend to 'sit' much higher than the surrounding land and carry water from the high ground across the sunken open country to the river system. Many have historic origins, some dating as far back as the Romans].

Barn Swallow
Within a few minutes we were going our separate ways, some to enjoy a relaxing tea or coffee others browsing in the shop and the majority dispersing around the reserve.   Several of us decided to do the boardwalk and nature trail area first.   On the feeders greenfinch greedily pecked at peanuts and sunflower hearts.   Swallow swooped over the water, but our attention was soon taken by 4 spot chaser, hairy dragonfly and azure damselfly along the Drain [Drain is a significant channel that conducts water directly to the river system. Unlike the lodes they lend to be at ground level].  

Common Spotted Orchid
Yellow flag, white comfrey, bugle, herb robert and ragged robin were flowering amongst the reeds with the distinctive meadow thistle dotted around in the marshy ground alongside the trail.  Blackcap, sedge warbler, cetti's and chiffchaff were singing from nearby willows.   At the first hide we sat watching the feeders where chaffinch and great-spotted woodpecker took advantage of the easy pickings.   A mallard with six chicks appeared on the edge of the pool and the family swam across our view - annoying a moorhen in the process, as goldfinch came to one set of the feeders, a muntjac deer foraged near another.    A cuckoo called in the distance, and swallow perched on nearby tree tops waiting for us to leave - their nest being affixed to the inside roof of the hide.

Brimstone were our most numerous butterfly and we also saw several orange tip during the day.   As we moved around the trail large red damselfly were also seen along with Jay, dunnock. meadow pipit and skylark.   Terry spotted a cormorant perched high in a tree top.   In the first of the tower hides we had lunch and several other members of the group came along on either side of the reserve, all enjoying the sedge beds, reed beds and fen meadows.   Willow warbler were singing, but remained unseen - they were heard throughout the whole day, a lovely sound of spring and summer.    At the second tower hide we negotiated two sets of steep steps to emerge in a lovely breezy eyrie, just what we needed after the heat of the midday sun.    As we listened to the willow warblers, Malcolm noticed green hairstreak butterflies on a nearby alder.    Then a group of hobby flew into view, they gave us a great performance catching dragonflies in mid air then eating them on the wing.   As they swooped and dived they almost stalled as they grabbed their prey, then continued flying at high speed with beak and feet co-ordinated to get the edible parts consumed whilst shedding the gossamer wings which have no nutritional value.   A brilliant show which we thoroughly enjoyed.   From this hide we overlooked one of the pools on the other side of the reserve, but only saw coot on the water from our vantage point, grey heron and cormorant were in nearby trees however.
Water plant

We continued back to the visitor centre, spotting Stephen and John on the way - they had a newly emerged dragonfly on the opposite side of the lode and were busily snapping photos.   When we got to the same point we realised that the dragonfly was in a bad way with the wings having dried in a rather mangled mess - presumably the hot weather hadn't given it time to get the wings fully open.

Dragonfly with mangled wings
After a reviving ice cream we continued onto the other side of the reserve where the Adventurer trail is - here are several more hides, but we only had time to visit two today.  The first was rather disappointing and as we dragged a by now flagging Sally to the second I began to wonder if we were making a big mistake.   Happily not.  

From this point we were first met with a lovely refreshing breeze which immediately lifted our spirits, then the birds came into view.   First coot, moorhen and tufted duck, then we noticed a shoveler, great crested grebe and cormorant.   Hobby continued to fly overhead, a wood pigeon (one of our most numerous birds in Kent) flew across the pool away from us.   As we were joking about the lack of wood pigeons in the area, a kingfisher shot across at speed to land in a nearby willow.   Within minutes Malcolm and Sally simultaneously spotted a bittern flying towards us, we watched as it crossed the scrape and then dropped into the reeds some way off.  Long-tailed tit flew to join the kingfisher in the willow and after a short while the kingfisher gave us another great view as it crossed in front of us a second time to return to its earlier perch out of view.   House martin, common tern, blackbird, black-headed gull, lapwing and swift all added to the days list.   What a great idea that route march was!
Sallys shoe repairs!

My last memory of the journey home was the huge swathes of ox-eye daisy along the side of the motorways - a reminder that it will soon be time to commence the annual trawl through them for galls!

Oare


Back in the swing of my usual Wednesday walks and we decided to go to one of our favourite venues, Oare.   We had a full quorum as Paul was back with us and with lovely sunny weather we were expecting a great day.
David Bailey eat your heart out!

Our first encounter was of the audio kind - a rich clear call of cetti's warbler from a willow on the edge of the car park.   We have had this welcome many times before and it is a good herald of things to come.   Greylag with young, little egret, grey heron, redshank, and black-headed gull were all seen from the car park area, but one of the spots of the day was a yellow wagtail initially seen by Malcolm.   The bird was some way off and initially disappeared as the telescope was set up, but eventually it showed well perched on the top of a bush.   Later in the day we found a couple more - flitting from tussock to tussock in the fields around the feet of cattle.

Red Kite
At the jetty a couple of whimbrel fed in the marsh grass, well camouflaged, but in the same spot as on our last visit.   Along the western seawall, tufted duck, avocet, mute swan, shelduck, and reed bunting added to our pleasure, with mallard completing that part of our day's duck count.   Skylark soared above us singing away in display, as did lapwing.   Three marsh harrier were hunting over the fields, and as we watched stock dove on the concrete block-houses Malcolm spotted a short-eared owl, which immediately disappeared behind a reed bed never to re-appear (what did they say about one man or three women?!).   Irene and Paul were some way behind us, but the call went up "Raptor" immediately followed by "Red Kite", sure enough the raptor initially spotted by Paul was indeed identified by one woman - Irene!   [sometimes there is justice in the world].   We watched as this magnificent bird flew over our heads scanning the field for carrion, its forked tail and beautiful plumage showed well in the bright sunlight.   As we continued to watch a group of walkers asked if there was anything special about - for once we could impress them.   The duly looked skywards and watched with us as the bird flew over the seawall and down the Swale, before turning and repeating the process.   By now we had quite a group watching, suddenly a second bird appeared a lot higher than the first, the two gradually neared each other, showed a display interaction and then gained height before flying off towards Elmley.    [We later heard that there had been a large migration of red kite that day and we had seen just two of over 40 individuals counted near the south coast - migration happening before our eyes].
Sedge Warbler

Continuing our journey back to the eastern part of the reserve and linnet were calling, confusing sedge and reed warbler were both calling, but separating them was a challenge - the more we listened the more confused we became.   Finally we had a view of both species which confirmed our deductions, but it was quite interesting to realise how uncertain we had become since last year.   More homework needed I fear.

Common tern were feeding in front of the hide at the end of Faversham Creek, as we took lunch.   Minutes later Malcolm was telling us that Castle Coombe had been known for little tern in the past and it was worth checking for them.   With that he took over the telescope and as is often the case when Malcolm issues an edict within minutes he had a potential little tern in view.   It flew up the  Swale  heading right towards us then veering off at the last minute.   Malcolm got great views with the telescope from about five miles away - the rest of us had to wait until it came within binocular sight, but then we had a great time watching as it fed with it's distinctive yellow bill and frantic wing flapping.   Another great gift from Oare!
Grey Heron

Around the East Fleet pochard, a very late wigeon, avocet, moorhen, coot, more greylag families, cormorants all joined in the throng.   Some avocet appeared to be on nests whilst others already had young exploring their new surroundings.    The highland cattle were panting in the heat and trying to gain as much shelter from the sun as possible, pressing themselves up against the hide.   They were not impressed when we opened the flaps and disturbed them.

We finished with a trip to the West Fleet Hide, and on the way nightingale was heard near the stables.   As we crossed the field to the hide a group of around 70 starlings - many juveniles - flew around chattering as they moved from tree to tree.   Unfortunately we didn't hear the grasshopper warbler which had been reported there, nor did we see little owl, but we had a fantastic day.

Northward Hill


Following on from the success of our dawn chorus at Northward Hill on Saturday, my local RSPB Group had one of its summer daytime walks last Tuesday.

Cinnabar Moth
As we drove into the car park a cuckoo called, wood pigeons were joined by chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch and house sparrow around the feeder area.   We moved off towards the Marshland viewpoint, chiffchaff singing in nearby bushes.   In the distance a couple of us heard willow warbler, so we decided to veer off towards the Ernie Hemsley viewpoint, as the group moved towards the willows where the bird was heard it moved further in and eventually we lost track of it.   Blackcap, great tit, linnet, dunnock and wren were singing around us.   Swallow flew through low over the trees.

At the viewpoint there were rooks and jackdaw in the fields, and three lapwing were seen - one possibly on a nest.   Retracing our steps, swift and more linnet gave us great views.   Long-tailed tit fed in the willows, and a cetti's warbler sang nearby.   As we got into more open land a cuckoo flew through.

Grizzled Skipper
From the Marshland Viewpoint we found a single redshank, a dozen black-tailed godwit, five avocet,  little grebe, shelduck, tufted duck, canada geese, greylag, grey heron, little egret, mute swan and mallard.   Following the path beyond the orchard and onto the heron trail we heard more cetti's warbler and a green woodpecker called as it flew ahead of us.   Cinnabar moths were newly emerged looking bright and clean in the grass, and longhorn moths, the males with long anntenae, danced around the may blossom.

With herons, little egret and rooks noisily circling overhead a garden warbler started to sing.   After several minutes a couple of us found the bird in a nearby bush, but the others were too far ahead to call back luckily with a bit of patience and some good spotting the birds was refound on the way back and everyone had good views.

We moved slightly up one of the paths and had a distant view of  a small hawthorn with little egret nesting in it.   Rooks were by far the most numerous birds around, but there were herons on the nest too.

Nameless Funghi (the feet are Trevor's)
Back on the trail and a grizzled skipper took our attention for a while, the second time we had seen this species on the reserve recently and in two separate locations.   Their favoured food source is apparently potentilla and bramble.   We also saw several orange tips, comma and peacock butterflies during the day.   We also added a funghi to our interest - unfortunately nameless so far.

On our return journey we added oystercatcher to our list of seen species, along with two mediterranean gull overhead showing their pure white wings beautifully in the sunlight, and heard a nightingale - although not in full song it was unmistakeable.   A brilliant end to a great walk.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Great Tits - Great Performance!


So, what have I been up to recently?

Well during the last few days I have been at my local garden centre with Irene helping Malcolm and Sally with the Spring Birdwatch event.   This time with a photographic competition for those who wanted to take part, and a colouring activity for the children over the weekend.

Once again a great success with lots of old friends calling in to see what we were up to.   The Sampson family called and spent several hours taking some great photos which were then put on show near the cafe and in the hide.

The main stars of the show - as always - was the wildlife itself.   With the breeding season in full swing there were several song thrush and blackbird nests around the site, with robins also finding the oddest places to build their nests.

In the wildlife area itself the feeders were busy with chaffinch, dunnock, great tit and blue tit being the most numerous species, but great spotted woodpecker and greenfinch were occasional visitors as well.

The instinct of the parent birds drove them to constantly visit the feeders, and we were lucky enough to have a great insight into how hard they work by watching a nearby great tit nest.   The family were situated in a nest box near the hide and with the live pictures being shown in the hide we could watch the adult feeding on the seeds and nuts and then follow the feeding progress inside the nest box.   Seven eggs were hatched on Friday 4th May, and on my first visit on Thursday 10th the remaining six showed a massive growth and development with the tiny wings starting to show feather-like markings.   At this stage the hatchlings were blind and basically comprised a huge gape wobbling on top of a rather unstable body.

By Sunday 13th they had sprouted small downy feathers and looked like little punk-rockers, still a bit wobbly but there was a definite dominance starting to show.   Wings were being preened, and the occasional wing-flap took place.   It was only when the parents came back with food that all six were visible - a couple seemed to be permanently at the bottom of the heap.   The parents seemed to feed the young almost constantly until around 2.00 pm then one or other would take a few minutes to do some spring-cleaning of the nest and then settle down on top of their offspring for five minutes rest.   They looked exhausted, but after only a short break they would be up and off again, until the process was repeated perhaps an hour or so later - presumably by the other parent - but in all the time I watched, I only saw them settle three or four times.   Who'd be an avian parent!

Such was the interest in the young family we had people calling in several times during the week to check on their progress.   Given the opportunity, people love wildlife and birds in particular and our great tit brood were more than playing their part.

We spoke to nearly 350 people over the course of the week tiring (even for me) but very rewarding.   All had stories to tell of their own gardens, their successes and failures.   Much of the conversation was around keeping troublesome species out of the garden - feral pigeons and magpies being the most topical subjects.   Sometimes it is hard to persuade people that everything has it's place.    Others wanted to share their ideas and designs.   It is amazing what people are doing to support nature, one lady has three wildlife ponds and over 20 nest boxes in her garden with at least 12 of them being used currently.

The garden centre and Graham in particular, have done a great job in showing us all how we can make space for wildlife in our gardens.   With a little thought and a little less "management" we can all provide a haven for many species.   The more we treat our garden as an extension of our front room; the more we tidy up, the less space we allow for other species.

The week was a great success.

As for our Great Tit family, by Sunday 20th they were down to five young, but they have turned into handsome sleek youngsters, with fine feathers and just a hint of the down they were covered in a week ago.   There was much fanning of wings and it won't be long before they are off out of the safety of the nest box and exploring their new world.

For the parents I suppose it could well be another brood for them to raise.   They have been extremely successful to only lose two of the chicks so far, especially given the heavy rain and cold weather from when the eggs hatched.   Nature's way is to exploit every opportunity to maximise breeding success, so watch this space.

What no diesel??


Trust me, there are Armenian Gulls in that group!
Our last full day in Turkey and a quick tick before we left the town of Birecek for the day - there were some Armenian gulls on the mud flats of the Euphrates near the hotel - it seemed churlish not to pop over and take a look.   There were several juveniles, but a couple were in adult plumage and one in particular showed the distinctive bill colouring with the yellow/black/red combination.  

Little Owl
Blue-cheeked Bee-Eaters
Then we were off to the blue-cheeked bee-eater colony.   On the way we had a couple of stops to make as we drove west towards the Kurdish area of Turkey, an area of barren-looking scrub, no trees and lots of rocky outcrops ideal for birds to shelter in.   We didn't have to wait long for our first species, Finch's Wheatear were everywhere,

kestrels, long-legged and common buzzard, a montague's harrier, several chukar, little owl, common and pale rock sparrow, short-toed and lesser short-toed lark, short-toed eagle, marsh harrier, hoopoe, magpie, starling and hooded crow were all seen during the morning but the stars of the show were the bee-eaters with european appearing everywhere and blue-cheeked at their usual nest area - a small bank behind a settlement of several mud covered houses.   The birds gave us a tremendous show.   A little owl perched in a nearby tree watching us with fascination as we tried to get close enough to the bee-eaters to photograph them without disturbance.

Diesel Delivery
After our picnic lunch we move off to a new site north of Birecek but as our fuel was low we intended to call in at the first service station.   After a short while our car indicated that fuel was low but Mitko explained we had 50 kilometres left in the tank.  Unfortunately the car knew otherwise and after around 20 kms (and before we got to a service area with petrol) an alarm went off and the engine immediately cut out!   Trevor guided the car as far into the side as he could, but that still left

us half in the slip road and half on the carriageway with lorries bearing down on us.   I radioed for emergency fuel to be brought to us (luckily we were only a couple of minutes from the service station by now) and we decided to push the car as far as we could off the road, and then bird watch from behind the crash barriers until Mitko arrived with fuel.   Unfortunately this meant that I ended up at the back of the car, with my derriere facing the oncoming lorry drivers which hooted in derision as they saw a pair of pale female legs pushing a car down the motorway - hazard lights flashing on either side of course - not sure that the Turkish drivers were quite expecting such a shocking display.

Within minutes, the minibus came into view - coming the wrong way down the slip road!!   Mitko had a water bottle with fuel to get us to the garage.   After a quick pit stop and a celebratory ice cream we were soon on our way again.

We got back to the hotel and several of us sat on the roof terrace overlooking the Euphrates, drinking beer and mulling over a great trip.   As we enjoyed the sunset over the Euphrates river we laughed about the day, and our luck in excellent timing - if you have to break down anywhere, with a service station and Trevor and Mitko on hand is the best way to do it!

Mitko and Team to the Rescue!

Monday 21 May 2012

The day of "The Unnecessary Walk"

Euphrates in early morning sunlight
With the hotel right by the Euphrates River it was too tempting not to do a pre-pre-breakfast walk. I started out on the hotel roof terrace overlooking the riverside with pygmy cormorant, pied kingfisher, immature yellow legged gulls and two northern bald ibis starting the day's list.  

Down at the waters edge the early morning sunlight made the nearby bridge and accompanying reflections a delight. Soon we were off on our official pre-breakfast trip to Birecik Gravel Pits - another reminder of North Kent! Similar species too - mallard, reed warbler, chiffchaff, house sparrow, sand martin (here there are two large nesting colonies), moorhen, coot and little grebe. 


Bald Ibis
Then the similarities start to diverge with graceful prinia, great reed warbler, golden oriole, red-backed shrike and menetries warbler, not to mention more northern bald ibis. This rare species which only occurs in this small area of Turkey and neighbouring Syria is highly endangered and as often the case these scarce birds choose the most insalubrious surroundings, they were feeding on the local rubbish dump alongside a dirt track with ramshackle buildings all around. The birds were happy though, finding plenty to feast on. We watched as they flew in and out of the area. A hive of activity.

Lilac-breasted Roller
As we moved around the gravel pits two male black francolin were calling, their plaintive song providing an ethereal air to the early morning light. One of them appeared to have been successful as a female pecked about nearby. She was far more attractive in the flesh than the book with her scaly feather pattern showing well.

One of the target species for this early morning jaunt was Iraq babbler and it wasn't too long before Mitko had found a pair, as we watched them perch high up in the reeds a little bittern flew in. Some briefly spotted a marsh warbler, but it was only a fleeting glimpse. Menetries warbler was another star of the day, singing from the back of a tree and proving how challenging birdwatching can sometimes be!

Soon breakfast called and we made our way back to base. Fed and watered we decided to give the owl another go on our way out. The park warden had prepared himself well and armed with his binoculars he pointed straight at the owl perched mid-height in the first tree we had checked the day before. As we watched, a small group of locals started to gather and then starling and buntings began to mob, forcing the owl higher in the tree.   We decided the owl had had enough attention from man and birds for one day and left for our next port of call.
Pallid Scops Owl

Birding side-tracks alongside the Euphrates River we caught up with dead sea sparrow, and their nest.   Golden oriole showed well to some of us and not at all to others!

Birecik reservoir was next - we walked along the gravel bank getting great views of red-crested pochard female and seven chicks, two pied kingfisher hovering and feeding - there appeared to be an exchange of a small fish at one stage. Pygmy cormorant, ferruginous duck, common sandpiper, wood sandpiper, temminck's stint, willow warbler, great crested grebe, rufous bush-chat, and a flock of slender billed gulls were seen. Many spotted flycatchers were around, in fact they were numerous throughout the day. On our way back into town we stopped at the bald ibis centre where they are provided with a safe haven for them to come and go as they please, but where food and nesting sites have been provided.   Our enthusiastic guide explained how few there were and how they are being supported both in Turkey and Syria.   Unfortunately the person heading up the Syrian project had recently been killed in the unrest, and no up to date information was available on the birds there.   

See-see Partridge
In the surrounding area we also found eastern olivaceous warbler, garden warbler and to complete our set a delightful wood warbler. After a restaurant meal we were off in search of cream-coloured courser and grouse. Along the way we found Spanish sparrow, European bee-eater, roller, another female black francolin which ran out in front of the minibus, several common buzzard, jackdaw, and one off our wish list, see-see partridge. A lovely specimen sitting on a rock outcrop well camouflaged from all but our eagle-eyed guide's gaze. As we precariously negotiated the trip down to the telescope, the tripod legs were sliding away on the edge of the cliff - an interesting experience to say the least.  


During the course of the afternoon we arrived at an area that was supposedly good for coursers and partridge.   We wandered up a steep incline, looked at wild flowers, the occasional insect, admired the view but all decided that this had been an "unnecessary walk".   Time to move on and find a rather more necessary destination!

The Unnecessary Walk
All safely back on the bus, we raced ahead of a thunder storm with sand martin, swallow and house martin in huge numbers ahead of the storm taking full advantage of the insects which were being pushed along. There were literally thousands of them - an amazing sight to behold. 


We got back to town with a few drops falling and just had time to check the cliffs one last time for little swift. Sure enough, Trevor spotted some alpine swift ahead of us and as in previous years the little swift were with them. It was great to see the comparison between alpine and little - both size and shape with the little swift blunt tail showing well against the ever-darkening sky. We just got back to the hotel in time as the heavens opened and the daily afternoon clearing up shower took it's hold. Dinner in the restaurant, and then off to bed before our last full day in Turkey tomorrow.

Friday 18 May 2012

A Scenic Plateau in the East

Today we move to our last area of Turkey, that of Birecik.   On the way we birded a valley near the one of yesterday's success just outside the town of Gaziantep.   This time we parked in a small town - causing much amusement to the local children who all wanted to give the ladies lilac flowers and have photos taken on digital cameras so they could see themselves.   But Birdwatching first.   We followed a farm path following a contour of the hillside which led up to a plateau.  

Isikli Village
On the way up we found black-eared wheatear,  kurdish wheatear, rock sparrow, cinereous bunting, and white throated robin.   As we neared the top where the plateau opened out farmers brought their sheep and goats up to feed, we once more providing them as much entertainment as they us.   In some cases young children had been sent up to forage for nettles while they moved the animals around the various grazing areas.   We birdwatched surrounded by these animals and with shepherds whistling and shouting strange gutteral noises at their sometimes errant charges.   Our guides wondered if that was a way to control their flock on occasions.   We dared them to try!

Impressive Beetle
Being herded along
The plateau was where we hoped the find bimaculated lark.   We wandered along through tall rocks on either side of the path to a second part of the plateau, a truly lunar scene.   Mitko could hear the larks but they were difficult to see - until that is, they display, then they put on a stunning show of flight and glide not dissimilar to our own skylarks but with a far more fluttery descent, beautiful to watch.   I saw about half a dozen of these delightful birds before it was time for us to move on once more.   We took a circular descent which joined up with the original path, most of the way down we were joined by two young brothers who were bringing the family flock back from grazing.   The younger one - about 6 years old was fascinated by Trevor's camera and telescope, and enjoyed looking through them, shouting to his older brother.   The elder of the two remained calm and aloof, being a rather more mature 8 or 9.

On the way down more wheatear of various kinds flew up, the rock sparrows showed well, and I spotted a raptor which turned out to be an Egyptian vulture.   Chiffchaff, long-legged buzzard, and white stork ended our list for this part of the day.   Then it was down to the village for that warm welcome.   Children everywhere, lads charging around on bicycles and tractors, men gathered on street corners and ladies doing the washing - treading the items in large bowls outside their homes.   

Bimaculated Lark Country
We moved off out of the village in search of a picnic site with a little more peace and quiet and parked up by the side of the lane in the corner of a field.

Rock Sparrow
Here bee-eaters swooped low over the adjoining corn field and black-headed buntings sang from perches on telegraph wires and tree tops.   We took our time over lunch as the sun was strong and hot, some dozed in the bus, the rest of us enjoyed watching the birds, photographing wild flowers and generally taking in the scene.   During this time Mitko found us rufous bush chat and finally desert finch made a delightful appearance perched on a wire close by before flying down to the small brook by the side of the field, just in front of me, for a quick wash and brush up, then up and away.   A truly handsome bird and showing far more pink in the wing than the crimson-winged finch of a day or so previously.

Yellow-throated Sparrow
Eventually we had to move off towards Birecek for our final couple of days, on the way we stopped by some pistachio orchards looking for yellow-throated sparrow, they did not immediately come into view, but on our second attempt, in rather more mature trees with some convenient holes in the trunk just ripe for sparrow terracing, we found our quarry.   Delightful males duetted (or more likely sparred) from their various perches and the air was full of their song.   One last stop before we got to the hotel, at a local reservoir looking for calandra larks.   Three roller perched on nearby telegraph wires.   As we neared the reservoir the larks were spotted before we had even got out of the vehicles, this lark was far more obliging than it's close relative this morning.   Sitting on a rock in full view and singing it's heart out a delightful male posed for us.   The neck markings are striking, and with the dark underwing and white trailing edges it is a really great sight in flight.

My lilac posy
We scanned the water's edge quickly, here spur-winged lapwing, black-headed gull, common sandpiper, curlew sandpiper, white-winged black tern, wood sandpiper, black-winged stilt, a pair of garganey, a ruff and a lone flamingo vied for our attention, but lost out to a flock of about 20 red-necked phalarope, juveniles in varying plumage, but none full adult.   As we watched they spun round pecking insects off the surface of the water, elegant and once again a joy to see.  We dragged ourselves away, as the skies darkened and a thunder storm threatened.

Storm clouds gather over the Euphrates
Our last stop of the day was in the town park in Birecik in the pouring rain where pallid scops owl had been seen previously.   The local park warden knew what we were looking for and tried hard to oblige, but unfortunately it was not to be on this occasion, so we gave up and went to our hotel.   Dinner was at the hotel's restaurant where we had barlick (fish) from the Euphrates River just outside the hotel   Beautifully fresh and spicy, with the usual Aryan yoghurt drink and another new option - yoghurt with barley, very nice indeed.

Tuesday 15 May 2012

And finally . . . a Wallcreeper

Today we started off with a lovely breakfast courtesy of Hasan's wife with scrambled eggs added to the usual combination of fresh tomato and cucumber, salami, home-made cheese and fresh bread.   Local honey and home-made white grape preserve completed the feast.   After loading the cases we were off in search of the red-fronted serin which had eluded us the previous day, before we moved on to our next destination.
Hooded Crow outside the hotel

Along the same stretch of road as the previous day,  it wasn't long before the radio call came through from the other vehicle that Trevor has seen the red-fronted serin.   We stopped the minibus, sped back to where the others were parked only to find that they had disappeared.   Typical!   As we scanned the field we found northern wheatear, linnet and black redstart.   Crag martins flew around us distracting our gaze once again, although we were a little more used to their combat missions this morning.   Flying straight at us and veering off at the last second - the best food must have been very low to the ground this morning.

Tree Sparrow
Mitko decided to do some controlled disturbance by slowly walking towards the area the birds were last seen, we meanwhile were charged with watching for any movement.   As he neared the opposite edge of the field his attention was caught by a small flock some way off - we followed his gaze, and suddenly I saw movement at the far end of some distant boulders - it was the serins.   A few of us walked to join him and had stunning views of a beautiful preening male - needless to say it was by now raining again - a second bird joined the first for a while before they both flew out of sight.   As others were trying to watch from the road -we waited to see if they would reappear, luckily they flew over us several minutes later and landed very near the road, giving some good if a little speedy opportunity for spotting them.

The 'Bonnell's Eagle' stop
Finally we tore ourselves away from this spot and were just about to set off when Mitko saw a wallcreeper on a nearby boulder.   As I had missed this species yesterday I was keen to catch up.   We all dashed out of the bus and stood scanning the rock face.   Within seconds I had my first view of this enigmatic bird.   Fantastic!  

As we watched, it flitted from boulder to boulder gleaning from the deep crevices on the surface.   As it moved onto the main cliff face some way off we decided to move a little further down the road.   We saw the bird fly off, then disappear behind a distant shrub.   But as we neared the original cliff face a second bird - definitely a male, with its black throat on full show - appeared.   We watched for ages as this beautiful creature worked it's way over the whole surface digging into the wholes with it's red wing flashes, white tail spots and black throat contrasting against the grey plumage.   Having undergone some well meant banter yesterday, the congratulations today were gratefully received.   Some people are so generous in their desire for you to see the birds. 

Buying Lunch
Excitement over for the minute it was time for us to get on our way as we had a long drive ahead of us to Gazientep in the south.   I was sitting in the front of the bus and had a great view of the landscape.   On our way to the pension a couple of days earlier we had seen very little as it was raining and mud splattered the windows, so it was especially nice to have a front- row seat today.   A large raptor was our first sight of note - bonnelli's eagle or crested honey buzzard??   Only time and a couple of photos will tell.   (Bonnelli's was the final unanimous decision of the panel!)

Kirmitli Bird Reserve
We stopped at a local services for petrol, shopping and toilets then it was full steam ahead for our first destination - a local wetland reserve from old gravel extraction - just like home!    Picnic lunch and bird watching - my usual combination.   Night heron, white wagtail, short-toed eagle and a calling golden oriole set it apart, but willow warbler, little grebe and sparrowhawk hinted at similarities.   European bee-eaters were the real stars perching up on top of nearby bushes and telegraph wires to give great views before soaring up into the air then gliding around on their parachute wings.   On the small river demoiselles flew close to the water, an orange tip and clouded yellow butterfly increased our non-avian tally.

A (pale) White-throated Robin
(thanks to Trevor for the use of the 'scope)
Back on the road for the afternoon stretch and after a couple of hours we were at a small valley leading up between rocky outcrops.   On our left cliffs of rock and on the right small fields and orchards - a great birding combination.   Our attention was mainly on the left as the sun shone onto the hillside and gave good light for picking things up.   Cretzschmar's bunting, barred warbler, semi-collared flycatcher,white-fronted robin (one extremely pale probably a young male) all revealed themselves eventually.   Olive-tree warbler, upchers warbler and olivaceous were slight less obliging but gave generously of their song!

Eventually we had to move on, our hotel and dinner awaited.   Dinner was at a local restaurant, obviously extremely popular with locals who were out dining in some splendour on a Saturday night.   Kebabs and various spicy salads with the local savoury yoghurt drink.   Excellent.

Turkish Mountain Splendour or the day I missed a Wallcreeper!

At 2230 metres
So here we are in Chukurbag, high up in the Taurus mountains.   An early start as we are due to leave on a tractor pulled trailer for Caspian Snowcock country at 4.30 am.   After a quick tea and a couple of biscuits to start the day, it was on with the layers, hats and gloves as we were driven to 2250 metres (the summit being at 3333m).   Half way up the final slope several of us had to get out and walk as the slope was too severe, even for the tractor.   The pull uphill was hard work as we were still sleepy and at altitude, but we soon caught up with the rest of the party, but not before we had heard chukar, snowcock and seen Radde's accentor.

Alpine grape hyacinths
A further half a hour in the trailer and we arrived at a flat area where our walk started.   We hadn't all got out of the vehicle before Trevor had a snowcock in the telescope.   Sitting high up on a ridge it was visible with the naked eye, and with the scope even better.   As it moved into better light (it was still not fully light yet) along the ridge, the white on the throat and side of the head was clearly visible.   As it threw back it's head it took about 3 seconds for the sound of the call to reach us.   In the remote valley it resounded around us giving an atmospheric thrill with every call.   Snowfinch was our next delight, with several playing around us, alpine accentor came next, closely followed by another chukar, again on a ridge showing well.   Ibex shared the mountainside with the snowcock, until the bird flew off with smaller birds flying off in its path, confirmation of the snowcock's ownership of the land.   Alpine chough, alpine swift and northern wheatear (here looking distinctly white in comparison with those at home - with just a hint of colour under the chin).  Crimson-winged finch, black redstart and horned lark - showing it's 'horns' brilliantly, looking like a little devil - all added to our enjoyment.

Spring water
The huge mountains and spectacular scenery were awe inspiring, as the sun came up over the summit more colours were revealed in the rocks, the clouds lifted and we were graced with a truly magical morning.   A few of us went further up the valley in the hope of wallcreeper, but as is often the case in birdwatching, those who stayed behind saw one and we didn't!   Still it leaves me with the dream of what could come one day.

On our journey down we stopped after a while to walk for a short section, and were rewarded with rock sparrow,  house martin, golden eagle - the best sights I have ever had - long-legged buzzard, rock bunting and linnet. 

Back to the hotel for lunch and a rest, I sat watching a thunderstorm go through with one of the other guests, Thom who was back-packing around Turkey and had joined us on our morning jaunt.   We discussed the morning and compared notes on our trips - Thom was journeying in the opposite direction, so was interested in the Goksu Delta.

The Valley fields
Mitko and Trevor decided to postpone the afternoon's birding until 3.00 pm in the hope that the storm would pass through - a good call as the main event had gone and we were left with a final spattering as we went off in search of red- fronted serin. 

We tried two tracks near the pension both previous reliable haunts of these small colourful birds but both failed us.   The first did provide us with close up views of crag martin however as they swooped around us distracting all the time.

Eventually with the light fading we had to admit defeat for today, and return to the hotel, for another excellent dinner (if a little chilly on the outside deck!)

Monday 14 May 2012

Honey-Buzzard Heaven

Tabaklar Ponds
Today we move on, so breakfast was at 7.30 am, departing at 8.30 am.  We were heading for Tuzla where there is a huge lake, but we did stop for restrooms and a leg stretch on the way.   In the orchard behind the service station an ortolan bunting entertained us coming to land on nearby wires.

Once on the minor road to Tuzla we stopped regularly to look for birds along the river.   Pied and white breasted kingfisher were great to see, but the "wow" of the day was a huge "kettle" of over 80 honey buzzard interspersed with several levant sparrowhawk.   One went into a stoop as I followed it with the bins - a fantastic sight as it dropped from the sky to the ground in seconds, only to soar once more seconds later.

Migrating White Pelicans
Cattle egret, little egret and black-crowned night-heron all added to the list - the latter sharing a local nest site with the little egret on an island in the river.  Penduline tit called but was only seen by one member of the party.   We also caught up with moorhen and coot.   As our guides drove the two vehicles ahead, we sauntered along the road, I heard a warbler which I remembered from an earlier trip on Lesvos but couldn't place - I saw the bird fly nearby and watched, as it moved in nearby tamarisk, I followed it until it moved nearer others who confirmed it as olivaceous warbler.

As we continued the road got more bumpy and as we started to tire, we neared the lake - the distant sight of around 800 white pelicans on migration added to the excitement.   On arrival at Tuzla another huge flock of large birds greeted us, this time flamingos, over 350 of them.  

Tuzla Lake (with distant flamingo feeding)
Nearer to the road on the shallow margins were curlew sandpiper in summer plumage - far easier to identify here than in the UK when they generally appear in non-breeding plumage.   Little stint, ringed plover, turnstone, curlew, black-winged stilt and dunlin all fed greedily, overhead common and little terns looked for fish - one little tern carrying a fish called, dropped the fish then re-caught it, showing brilliant aerial skills.  

We carried on to the end of the road then settled down for an hour or so's birding and lunch - lunch was a challenge as the birds constantly caught our attention with both their identification challenges and their antics.   Two white-winged black terns perched on the ground - the first time I have had the opportunity to see them face on - showing black plumage with their white wings just showing and brilliantly illustrating their name.

A scrubby area nearby started to attract our attention as spotted flycatcher, thrush nightingale, Spanish sparrow and blackcap flitted between the trees and grass.   At one stage I noticed a masked shrike sitting on top of a post - delightful!

Heading into the mountains
As Mitko packed lunch away the rest of us wandered off to get closer views of some of these busy birds.   Many blackcaps and sparrows, but also a couple of lesser whitethroat, three barred warbler and olive-tree warbler.   A pallid harrier flew overhead, circled above us and then flew away looking for rather smaller prey.   A site well worth more time, but unfortunately for us it was time to move on to our next venue.

Back down the bumpy road another huge flock of about 500 white pelican met us - again hundreds of birds flying in close groups and lines migrating to breeding grounds in Bulgaria and Rumania.   As we moved further north towards our next destination the weather worsened and as we headed into road works the rain fell once more.   iPods, books and snoozing were the order of the day for some.   I decided to write the start of this blog.

Eventually we arrived at Churkurbag, a small village set in the Demirkazik mountains.   A comfortable family run guest house was our home for the next couple of nights.   After we had settled into our rooms it was time for the checklist and dinner - taken out on a balcony running along the side of the house.   Great to be outside, but a little chilly to say the least.   Fleeces and several pairs of socks were needed to keep the body temperatures up - it certainly stopped us staying out late, which was fortuitous as we had a very early start in the morning.

Ruppell's Warbler

Ruppell's Warbler Video - the bird's out of focus, but the leaves look lovely!   Still you get the great sound of his voice and what a fantastic bird, so delightfully handsome and with that lovely red eye to draw you in.

Sunday 13 May 2012

Goksu Delta Part II

Goksu Delta
Today we revisited the Goksu delta South hide before breakfast, then moved to the North hide area after breakfast.   From there we moved to the Demicili cemetery area, then birded along the road to the Uzunchaburch Picnic site.   After lunch we moved to the Diocesarea ruins and then along the road leading from Imamali Village back to the coast.   We got back to the hotel around 6.30 pm, dined at 7.30 pm, and bed by 9.15 pm.

We added a few birds for the trip, and also had some better views of friends from the previous day.   Black francolin were seen well from the South hide pre-breakfast, along with little bittern, and a close marsh harrier (several were seen further away).   We also heard savi's warbler.  

Demicili Tombs
Short-toed eagle showed well both in the morning and the afternoon at the last stop, where we had several in the air at once.   From the same site we saw common buzzard, eurasian sparrowhawk, a second eurasian hobby for the day (the first being low over the fields this morning) and elenora's falcon.

Common moorhen was seen in the irrigation ditches alongside the track this morning, fewer crested lark were seen today, mainly because the weather was pretty wet when we were down on the delta.   We did however hear a wood lark as we had our picnic.   Mistle thrush also called here, and in the gorge in the late morning we saw blackbird and blue rock thrush.

One bird which eluded us yesterday was finally spotted several times - the delightfully named graceful prinia - being chased off territory by a moustached warbler.   Also spotted this morning were great reed warbler and reed warbler - at one stage side by side, giving an excellent opportunity to compare the size. 
Ruppell's Warbler

The woodland areas gave coal tit, great tit and sombre tit with kruper's nuthatch joining western rock nuthatch on the list.   Jay, hooded crow, golden oriole, common chaffinch, and european serin all added to our enjoyment, with common cuckoo, hoopoe, cretzschmar's bunting.   The star of the day was a fantastic performance from the very handsome ruppell's warbler.  After trying several times to see this brilliant bird we finally caught up with it late in the afternoon.

A fantastic second day's birding in Turkey.


Friday 11 May 2012

Turkish Birding Debut

After a good night's sleep, it was up at 7.30 am for breakfast at 8 am.   A lie in!   I love these "at leisure" trips.

View from my balcony (shame the pool was empty!
Breakfast, taken on the terrace overlooking the sea was a relaxed affair with bread, jam, honey for the traditionalists and cucumber, red pepper, sliced meat and cheese with olives for the more adventurous.   I (needless to say) sampled it all - yes Heather and Nicky, even the olives - still don't like them.

Today we were off to the famous bird haven of the Goksu Delta for lots of water birds.  In Tasucu two white storks had set up home on top of the local clock tower in the middle of the town square, with one bird already on the nest, a second flew in above our heads as we drove past.  

The South Hide
As the name suggests the Goksu Delta is a large area of water, marsh, reed beds and sand, with tidal areas, brackish lagoons and is a large flat area which is difficult to see over especially with a heat haze.   Luckily there was a hide set up in a tower which gave us great views and for the rest we utilised the banks of earth and gravel to gain some overview.  

Lunch was picnic style, and we took the day in relaxed style moving along in our two vehicles birding as we went and stopping every now and then to get better views or search out species.    At one stage we stopped to check out some plants in a boggy area; bug orchids and bog asphodels - to name but two, we had a great time picking over the various species.  
Little Bittern

In the course of the day I managed to add five new birds to my life list, but overall the group saw over 100 species. Amongst the most numerous were ruddy shelduck, western marsh harrier, Kentish plover, spur-winged lapwing, ruff, over 70 slender-billed gulls, yellow legged gull, little, white-winged black,sandwich and common terns, crested lark, common swift, house martin, thrush nightingale, white-spectacled bulbul, lesser grey shrike and red-backed shrike.
Lemon-green European Tree Frog

Seen on a lesser scale were northern shoveler, eurasian teal, garganey, red-crested pochard, black-necked and great-crested grebes, common crane, squacco heron, little egret, great egret, grey heron, purple heron, white stork, glossy ibis, eurasian spoonbill, greater flamingo, common kestrel, eurasian oystercatcher, stone curlew, collared pratincole, little ringed and common ringed plover, grey plover, curlew sandpiper, little stint, common sandpiper, wood sandpiper, common redshank, eurasian curlew, whimbrel, black-headed gull, black tern, caspian tern, eurasian collared dove, eurasian turtle dove, laughing dove, alpine swift, European roller, common skylark, sand martin, barn and red-rumped swallow, common nightingale, common redstart, northern wheatear, whinchat, barred warbler, blackcap, lesser whitethroat, European reed warbler, a tail-less willow warbler, common chiffchaff, spotted flycatcher, woodchat, isabelline and masked shrike, common raven, house, Spanish sparrow and a rather washed out female - possibly dead sea sparrow, european goldfinch and greenfinch and corn bunting.
Beetle in Bug Orchid
Phew what a list!    More to come though . . .

Finally the birds which thrilled me the most - black francolin, little bittern, broad-billed sandpiper, lesser sand plover, greater short-toed lark, yellow wagtail - here the black-capped version feldegg, black-eared wheatear and black-headed bunting.

So with a long list for the day, it was back to the hotel for dinner and then off to bed . . .  to dream of what awaits us tomorrow