Western Turkey: Birds and History Aug 26—Sep 09, 2007
Posted by Peter Roberts
Peter Roberts
Peter Roberts is based in Britain, lives in the north of Scotland, and has been a keen naturalist since childhood in London. While birds remain his main interest, close con...Related Trips
This year we had a small group of six participants, with local historical guide Umit, driver Errol, and me in a lovely, spacious, air-conditioned mini-coach. This was a delight, with plenty of chances to be very flexible in what we did, when we did it, and adapting to people's preferences.
Despite the weather initially being blazingly and unusually hot (is Turkey also suffering the effects of erratic global warming?), interest levels remained keen and high throughout. The drought had reduced some of our scheduled wetland stops for birds to parched and small remnants, and the smaller birds were being more elusive than ever, staying cool deep in cover. However, we managed to find a substantial range of the more special and hoped-for species. Ruddy Shelduck, Levant Sparrowhawk, Masked Shrike, Sombre Tit, and Rueppell's and Eastern Olivaceous warblers all showed up, albeit briefly. Dalmatian Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorants, Black Storks, Mediterranean and Slender-billed gulls, Laughing Dove, Collared Flycatcher, Finsch's Wheatear, and Kreuper's and Rock nuthatches were much more obvious and prominent. The crowning glory must go to those marvelously bright little Fire-fronted Serins seen so well, high on Mt. Uludag, in wonderful, clear, sunny alpine weather. We witnessed a few flocks of hundreds and thousands of White Storks swirling up on thermals over Istanbul—an enticing insight into what may have been.
With always far more to see and do, more places to explore, and more birds to find than we could ever fit into a two-week tour, we were never twiddling our thumbs or wondering what to do next. If birding became too hot or too slow, we swapped to "Plan B" and visited one of the many amazing historical sites instead. So often, once we'd changed to "historical mode" the birds kept coming. Umit, our local guide, was a fount of historical knowledge, but always happy to pause as one of us pointed out a Rock Nuthatch on the Byzantine temple he was describing! Such wonderful distractions as Blue Rock-Thrush perching on ancient Roman library walls at Ephesus, Finsch's Wheatear darting between 1,000-year-old carved sarcophagi at Hierapolis, or Little Owls peering from archways and cornices of Greek amphitheaters at Miletus make this tour great fun. Memories are so much more vivid and easy to recall when you can associate Istanbul's fabulous Blue Mosque with sightings of the only Laughing Doves in Europe, or a cruise on the remarkable Bosphorus dividing Europe and Asia with small flocks of Levantine Shearwaters gliding on mystical journeys between the Black and Marmara Seas. Some days were more purely birding, others more historical, but many just a rich, layered, and unpredictable mix of both. Days were full, sometimes long, but with good food and decent hotels often offering a wonderfully cool respite after a hot day in a huge outdoor pool, we managed a little relaxation too!
This was my 8th visit (and my 5th VENT tour) to this part of Turkey. Being a fall tour with all the surprises (both good and bad) that watching birds on migration can bring, each tour ends up pleasantly different from the previous one, yet some wonderful aspects thread themselves reassuringly into every one, making it always an exciting adventure. I certainly have not tired of revisiting those great historical locations spanning thousands of years of civilization, and pondering, "What did the Romans do for us?" Nor has the anticipation of setting out birding this important migration fly-way declined—each year with additions to the list and an exciting selection of species seen.