White-throated Robin

This is the first section of the trip report and contains details and photos of the sites visited.

This first section spans 4 pages, this being the fourth:

For details and photos of the birds and wildlife seen, go to the second section.

 

18th-22nd May


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A = Pozanti, B = Gümüşler, C = Güzelyurt, D = Göreme, E = Akseray, F = Sultanhani, G = Eşmekaya, H = Çiçekler, I = Beyşehir Gölu, J = Akseki, K = Perge, L = Antalya Airport

 

Detail of the Güzelyurt/Göreme area:


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B = Güzelyurt, C = Ihlara, D = Belisırma, E = Monastery Valley (behind B), F = Derinküyü, G = Göreme

 

Tuesday 18th May

Vitty wanted to stop at Gümüşler Monastery, a strange system of underground rooms, holes and channels all carved out of a rock. The courtyard was open-topped and just a few feet square, but its walls contained nesting Rock Nuthatches, nesting Rock Sparrows, a pair of Hoopoes and, as one Swift sp. disappeared into it, presumably nesting Swifts as well. Nearby on the outer wall a second pair of Rock Nuthatches was nesting whilst 3 more birds were round the other side. On top were a pair of Isabelline Wheatears and outside was a singing Eastern Olivaceous Warbler.

Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10 Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10
Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10 Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10
Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10 Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10
Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10 Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10
Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10 Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10
Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10 Gumusler Monastery, 18-May-10

Gümüşler Monastery, 18th May

En route to Güzelyurt a storm was throwing dust everywhere, taking a few larks with it and grounding a Long-legged Buzzard nearby. Several Calandra and Short-toed Larks were in the road, as well as the occasional Crested Lark that I’m more used to seeing running around the main roads.

We arrived at the Hotel Kaballa and were delighted to find not only a more comfortable bed than we’ve experienced so far in Turkey but also the first properly hot water since our arrival in the country. A Scops Owl called in the garden all evening.

 

Wednesday 19th May

This morning Vitty wanted to walk the Ihlara Valley to see the ancient churches carved out of the rock face. It’s an impressive valley, scenically and historically, but unfortunately far too popular with tourists. One church was signposted and after a climb that my knees weren’t up to we found it, complete with ancient murals that had been defaced long ago and badly graffitied more recently. Only one other was signposted and we failed to find paths up to most of the others, which was disappointing for Vitty.

Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10 Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10
Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10 Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10
Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10 Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10
Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10 Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10
Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10 Ihlara Valley, 19-May-10

Ihlara Valley, 19th May

Despite the noisy hordes, the valley was full of birdsong, with Nightingales, Eastern Olivaceous Warblers and the odd Cetti’s Warbler and Golden Oriole in the valley and Rock Sparrows wheezing on the cliffs. Crag Martins were darting about all over the place and several Syrian Woodpeckers were seen. Another Ortolan sang on the slopes with Rock Nuthatches, Black Redstarts and at least one Blue Rock Thrush on the crags. More unexpected, and not the habitat I’m used to seeing the occasional vagrant in, two Penduline Tits were found in the riverside vegetation. I guess that’s normal breeding habitat, but I’ve only ever seen them on reed mace before.

Vitty did find some of her churches in Monastery Valley while I found Syrian Woodpecker, Ortolan, Hoopoe, Eastern Black-eared Wheatears, several Black Redstarts, more Rock Nuthatches, etc.

Monastery Valley, 19-May-10 Monastery Valley, 19-May-10

Monastery Valley, 19th May

 

Thursday 20th May

The journey from Güzelyurt to Göreme produced Long-legged Buzzard, Bimaculated and several Calandra Larks. A stop at the underground city of Derinküyü was interesting, unlike the tourist tat that was being promoted by vendors outside. Göreme and the surrounding area produced a few interesting birds including Rock Thrush, Golden Oriole, Alpine Swifts and eastern Black Redstarts but the main draw was the remarkable “fairy chimney” rock formations, an open air museum, pottery workshops and a carpet-making workshop. We are now well and truly on the tourist trail – dozens of coachloads of tourists at every corner, although for some reason this area seems much more popular with French and other Continental tourists than us Brits.

Goreme, 20-May-10 Goreme, 20-May-10

Göreme, 20th May

 

near Goreme, 20-May-10 near Goreme, 20-May-10

near Göreme, 20th May

 

carpet making, near Goreme, 20-May-10 carpet making, near Goreme, 20-May-10

carpet making near Göreme, 20th May

 

Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10 Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10
Open Air Museum, Goreme, 20-May-10  

Open Air Museum, Göreme, 20th May

 

Goreme, 20-May-10 Goreme, 20-May-10
Goreme, 20-May-10  

Göreme, 20th May

 

Friday 21st May

After breakfast at Göreme in company with 2 singing Black Redstarts, Hoopoe and 6 Alpine Swifts, we headed west. By the time we’d left Aksaray we’d notched up 5 White Storks, Long-legged Buzzard and Bimaculated Lark. We stopped off at the Sultanhani Kervanseray as Vitty wanted to see the impressive 13th century building originally used as a staging post for caravans of camels. I saw my first Aquila eagle of the trip and stopped to have a look – it turned out to be one of a group of 5 but they were getting more distant and I’m not sure I can be 100% sure of their identities – probably Lesser Spotted Eagles.

Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10 Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10
Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10 Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10
Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10 Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10
Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10 Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10
Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10 Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10
Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10 Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21-May-10

Sultanhani Kervanseray, 21st May

Nearby we turned north at Eşmekaya for a short distance to see if the lake marked on the map might hold anything. I was aware that most of the marshes south of here, like the once famous Ereğli Marshes, had now dried out so it wasn’t a great surprise to find this one dry too. Given the presence of a couple of Marsh Harriers I suspect there may have been a bit of moisture there somewhere, but I couldn’t find more than a tiny puddle. I did find, however, about a dozen Lesser Kestrels, a Montagu’s Harrier or two, Roller, Hoopoe but not the interesting larks I’d half-expected.

The next leg of the journey produced my first Hobby of the trip and a few more larks including Calandra Lark and eventually we arrived at Akseki to look for Woodpeckers. I found the Y-shaped clearing mentioned in the Gosney guides and this area produced 2 Krüper’s Nuthatches, Masked Shrike and Redstart. Woodpeckers did feature, but Green Woodpecker wasn’t the one I was after. Middle Spotted Woodpecker wasn’t really either, but I did want to see it as I’d only seen them in flight before; one provided good views this time, so it was worth the stop even though I couldn’t find the Grey-headed or White-backed I was hoping for. We spent the night at the Hotel Duruk in Akseki town, ready for another bash at the woodpeckers in the morning.

 

Saturday 22nd May

Well, the holiday didn’t exactly end on a high! After perhaps three quarters of an hour at the woodpecker site having occasionally glimpsed and constantly heard Krüper’s Nuthatches, I’d got no woodpeckers except distant heard Green Woodpecker and a brief glimpse of a Middle Spotted. Masked Shrike was still nearby and a pair of Redstarts. But my search for more interesting woodpeckers was curtailed when I was disturbed by the realisation that the most ferocious-sounding dog I’ve ever heard was approaching fast! I was getting the distinct impression that it would tear apart the next live thing it encountered when it appeared, teeth gritted, barking and howling, blocking the path back to the car and heading towards me. Not entirely sure if it had seen me I retreated into the forest up a hill and after a significant stand-off I eventually decided the passage was clear for me to return via a different route. After this I decided to continue searching for woodpeckers from the safety of the car, but this produced nothing better than 2 Hoopoes, a Sombre Tit and an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler!

After this the mild headache that I’d woken up with had developed into a pretty unpleasant migraine and I couldn’t muster up the energy or enthusiasm to look for the woodpeckers at the other sites around Akseki, so instead decided to head back to Antalya early, giving Vitty an opportunity to look round one of the historical sites in the area that she’d hoped to see – the ancient capital city of Pamphylia: Perge. I slept in the car to the tune of Cetti’s Warbler while she looked round, and then we headed to the airport. The queues were long and slow, the flight was delayed and my migraine turned into something nastier (perhaps emanating from the Antalya airport food?) rendering me unable to drive home that evening and enforcing a hotel stay in Stansted.

So the holiday didn’t end on a high, but apart from the last day it was most enjoyable and provided me with lots of good birding experiences, including more than a few new birds.

 

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