Marmaris 2012

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 !!

Trough of Bowland

Took a day off yesterday to look for Cuckoo in Bowland.
First stop, Tower Lodge, where somebody told me to look for flycatchers. I couldn't find any but did get Cuckoo singing across the valley, I couldn't see it but it wasn't far away.
Next stop the beautiful Langden Beck.
It was rainng a bit, but not too much to put you off the walk, and I'm glad I did. As soon as was out of the trees, I was accompanied by Wheatears on one side of the path and Stonechat on the other. The Stonechat had young, I think, they look just like baby Robins ?? Willow Warbler in exactly the same tree that I had seen it in last year. I walked as far as the first steep bit, but didn't get any Ring Ousel, however on the way back down, Dipper, Grey Wagtail and Common Sandpiper all showed by the water. No Cuckoo here, but it could have been because it was raining ??
Next stop Dunsop Bridge, I hadn't done the walk here before. It was lovely, stopped raining, with the Bluebells in the woods and the lambs in the fields. I had been told Spotted Flycatcher was here, and just at the farm buildings before the second gate, Bingo, a pair of Spotted Flycatcher. I watched them flit about the buildings, bathing in the gutter, and hawking, for about 10 minutes. I hadn't seen Spotted Flycatcher in this country since 1998 !!!! A walk I must do again and go further up the valley to look for the Eagle Owls.
I wanted to look for Moor Piece NT near Bashall Eaves to look for Pied Flycatcher. I eventually found it, but couldn't see any Flycatchers, I heard them all round, confirmed on my phone app. I did see a Blackcap, I'm not sure if I was looking in the right place, but there were plenty of boxes about in the trees.
A lovely day, despite the early rain, I don't go often enough, but I guess that goes for most places !!

Ring Ousel in the garden

If you knew how hard I'd tried to see Ring Ousel last year in Bowland, then one pops up in the garden !!

We'd just returned from my grandson, Joshua's, christening after a lovely lunch at the carvery, I looked out of the back window, as you do, and there, being chased by a male blackbird, is a female Ring Ousel !!!! And I had my camera in my hand, how often does that happen ????
That's the 67th species seen in or around this garden in Banks in the last 13 years

Bonus

An all afternoon power cut at work gave me a bonus couple of hours at Marshside.
Wheatear had arrived on the Sandplant with Meadow Pipits looking like they'd paired up, and a Skylark in tentative voice, it was almost springlike, if a bit cold.
A weasel popped up out of the brash left by the tide at the back of the compound and gave me good views for a few moments.
Stonechat and Reed Bunting showed themselves on the way back and I thought a Goldcrest in the bushes by the car park, but it only showed once and I didn't get a very good view.
On the walk down to Nel's I got a better view of a Goldcrest at the viewing screen.
I still think there's too much water at Nel's, no islands showing yet for the waders.
A big flock of Golden Plover, I counted at about 1500, but somebody said 2500, 1,2,3,4.....    !!!
The usual wildfowl, waders and gulls present, but nothing of note except 2 hares over at the back.
Not a bad afternoon for a bonus. 

Yammer

A quick look at Plex Moss Lane this afternoon.
Yellowhammer had been reported on Facebook, so, as I knew the site described I took Jean as my spotter after we'd done the shopping.
We parked at the prescribed pull-in and watched the bushes.
'There are birds on the other side of that tree' said my spotter, so I had to get out of the car and sidle carefully round the bush, but there they were, 3 bright yellow finches sitting quietly with a couple of reed buntings.
Another lifer for the wife and a year tick for me, one of my bogey birds, I never seem to be able to find them.

Yarrow Valley

We went to Yarrow Valley Country Park after Saturday shopping today in search of Dipper.
A pleasant walk up the River Yarrow through the woods with the river always in view. We had the usual woodland birds with good views of Nuthatch, and surprisingly Reed Bunting on the feeders.
We had a pair of Grey Wagtail on the river, and then as we approached the wier, Jean spotted a Dipper.
It took me a moment or two to find it, but then we had good views as it hunted under the water, bobbing up onto the rocks to preen.
Nothing else of note, but definately a place to revisit.

A Quick Weekend Twitch

I had to take my mother for a hospital appointment this morning, so I had a look at the lake there for the reported Mandarin.
There it was tucked up under the near bank with its female Mallard consort.
Then I dropped into Marshside for an hour on my way home. Nel's is too flooded for my liking, lots of ducks, but nowhere for the waders to land except on the far bank. Wigeon and Teal were in the majority, with plenty of Pintail and a few Gadwall as well as Tufted and Shelduck.
I found some Snipe tucked in the long grass quite close to the hide and a small flock of Golden Plover on the far bank with Curlew, Black Tailed Godwit and Redshank.
Nice to see a couple of Hare boxing and hear the song of the Skylark.
Nothing added from Sandgrounder's except a flock of Linnet close in and Pink Feet over. A large flock of Golden Plover was on Crossens Inner in the distance.

My daughter rang at lunchtime to go for a walk with the kids to Mere Sands Wood this afternoon, well, beats gardening !!!
And if I could lose them for a bit, might get some birding in !!!

Two Bitterns had been seen recently from Rufford hide, and there was still one there, showing as well as bitterns do in the reeds.
Quite a big flock of Tree Sparrows now by the visitor centre on the feeders, but the Water Rail didn't show whilst I was there, it had been seen earlier.
A flock of Pied Wagtail on the adjacent ploughed field numbered about 20, must be migrating through.
Nothing else unusual around the reserve but Treecreeper is always a nice bird to see, as are the Bullfinch.
Great Crested Grebe displaying and a pair of Goldeneye from Gibbon's hide.