We took our annual holiday this year in the south west corner of Turkey at Marmaris.
We stayed at the Marmaris Imperial Hotel about 45 minutes outside Marmaris itself, a bungalow type complex built into a steep (very steep !!) pine forest bordering the sea. The forest is part of the Marmaris National Park due its pine and liquidamber trees and it's unique wildlife.
However at 40 degrees in the shade, most of the wildlife stays well hidden, birding is challenging to say the least, most birds in the deep shade and I suspect in moult.
However, we did manage 42 species, although I guess you could easily triple that if you came in spring, the mixed habitat round and about looks ideal.
The first birds round the hotel were Collared Doves and Blue, Great and Coal Tits, with the occassional Jay, but nothing to write home about. Although Red Sqirrels in the grounds was nice. Nothing much in the marina either except Yellow Legged Gulls, although we did get a visit from a Sandwich Tern the day before we came home.
Sitting in the shade, reading, I heard a woodpecker like call from the trees behind me, I eventually located a Wryneck, only the second I'd ever seen. Then later on a Kingfisher flew across the front of me, over the bay and landed in the trees next to the lifeguard.
We hired a car for 4 days to get out and about, this was also the only way we were going to see anymore birds.
Marmaris is at the head of the Datca peninsula which terminates at Knidos, an archeological site at the end of a long winding road through every type of countryside you could imagine, from farmland to mountain.
Along this road I had my one and only lifer of the trip, Roller. That was good, I'd seen Roller and Indian Roller, both lifers this year. Beautiful bird, but as I tried to photo it, it kept moving along the line of telegraph poles showing it's amazing blue wings.
At the same stop, we had Bee Eaters on the wires.
In the mounatains we got Alpine Swift, Short Toed Eagle and Long Legged Buzzard of note, but very few smaller birds other than House Sparrows.
On reaching Knidos, we firstly had lunch at the excellent fish restaurant there, then we took in the extensive Romano-Greek ruins of the harbour. Black Eared Wheatear were flitting about the stones, but not much else, until I heard, and eventually saw, Rock Nuthatch. The wind was quite strong coming in from the sea and I picked up a Belearic Shearwater out in the bay, which was a good find.
The next day we headed over to Dalyan to look at the famous reed beds and Turtle beach. What seems like a short trip on a map, in Turkey, is a long way !!! Turkey is a vast country !! Dalyan was dissappointing on the bird front, Roller again and about 20 Little Egret, along with Grey and Purple Heron were all I could find. Jean spotted Green Water Snakes in the lagoon, and soon we'd found about 4 of then in the water weed looking like grass snakes.
We took a detour to Koycegiz and found an almost dried up river bed at the edge of the reeds. This turned out to be the best site of the trip !! At least 3 Kingfishers, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, 25 Little Egrets, Red Rumped Swallow and Red Backed Shrike, all whilst sitting in the car !!
The next detour on the way back to the hotel, found us lost in the mountains above Mugla, if you've never been to Yerkeseki, you've not missed much !! Except Tutle Dove and Woodchat Shrike !!
Turkey is a wonderful place for summer holiday, wall to wall sunshine, lovely friendly people, and intersting food, just don't expect the birds to come to you !!
We stayed at the Marmaris Imperial Hotel about 45 minutes outside Marmaris itself, a bungalow type complex built into a steep (very steep !!) pine forest bordering the sea. The forest is part of the Marmaris National Park due its pine and liquidamber trees and it's unique wildlife.
However at 40 degrees in the shade, most of the wildlife stays well hidden, birding is challenging to say the least, most birds in the deep shade and I suspect in moult.
However, we did manage 42 species, although I guess you could easily triple that if you came in spring, the mixed habitat round and about looks ideal.
The first birds round the hotel were Collared Doves and Blue, Great and Coal Tits, with the occassional Jay, but nothing to write home about. Although Red Sqirrels in the grounds was nice. Nothing much in the marina either except Yellow Legged Gulls, although we did get a visit from a Sandwich Tern the day before we came home.
Sitting in the shade, reading, I heard a woodpecker like call from the trees behind me, I eventually located a Wryneck, only the second I'd ever seen. Then later on a Kingfisher flew across the front of me, over the bay and landed in the trees next to the lifeguard.
We hired a car for 4 days to get out and about, this was also the only way we were going to see anymore birds.
Marmaris is at the head of the Datca peninsula which terminates at Knidos, an archeological site at the end of a long winding road through every type of countryside you could imagine, from farmland to mountain.
In the mounatains we got Alpine Swift, Short Toed Eagle and Long Legged Buzzard of note, but very few smaller birds other than House Sparrows.
On reaching Knidos, we firstly had lunch at the excellent fish restaurant there, then we took in the extensive Romano-Greek ruins of the harbour. Black Eared Wheatear were flitting about the stones, but not much else, until I heard, and eventually saw, Rock Nuthatch. The wind was quite strong coming in from the sea and I picked up a Belearic Shearwater out in the bay, which was a good find.
The next day we headed over to Dalyan to look at the famous reed beds and Turtle beach. What seems like a short trip on a map, in Turkey, is a long way !!! Turkey is a vast country !! Dalyan was dissappointing on the bird front, Roller again and about 20 Little Egret, along with Grey and Purple Heron were all I could find. Jean spotted Green Water Snakes in the lagoon, and soon we'd found about 4 of then in the water weed looking like grass snakes.
We took a detour to Koycegiz and found an almost dried up river bed at the edge of the reeds. This turned out to be the best site of the trip !! At least 3 Kingfishers, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, 25 Little Egrets, Red Rumped Swallow and Red Backed Shrike, all whilst sitting in the car !!
Turkey is a wonderful place for summer holiday, wall to wall sunshine, lovely friendly people, and intersting food, just don't expect the birds to come to you !!
