Antalya

An out-of-season trip to the Manavgat region of southern Turkey was more about satisfying an itch for foreign travel than chasing anything specific that might satisfy a list or two.

Walking through Terminal 2 at Heathrow provided the immediate rush of liberty and freedom that had been building during the period of suppressed mobility.

The climb out of the easterly runway on a Turkish 777-300ER to Istanbul provided glorious views of the capital.

Connecting at Istanbul airport for the short flight south to Antalya walking through grand linear piers of the new airport was very impressive.

It was great to be away and to get a taste of something authentic.  Turkish food is absolutely glorious, healthy and with a suppressed economy and favourable exchange rates, this lovely meal cost all of £3.

Of course birding was never going to be too far away from the agenda.  The weather however was unexpectedly dire, a mixture of cool cloudy days to a day of torrential rain and thunderstorms on the Wednesday.  Thursday brought clearer conditions, the wind was keen but at least the sun was out providing an opportunity to explore some of the local sites around Manavgat.

Spectacled bulbuls were relatively common within the area as were species such as hooded crow, white wagtail and chaffinch.

The lake at Manavgat looked promising for early migrants.  Thursday saw decent flocks of house martin with plenty of swallow flying over the lake and at least three crag martin.

Two drake garganey were present on the lake which provided a bit of eagerly anticipated quality.  A few shoveler and a single teal were present. There were chiffchaff everywhere, well over 200 noted within the reeds and associated bushes.  Two delicate prinia were singing from the reedbed along with cetti's warbler.  A common kingfisher flew up channel to the north of the lake.

Friday however sprung a few surprises.  With lighter winds and blue skies, it felt like the sort of weather I'd hoped for pre-arrival.  Not that my hopes were particularly high for anything decent, it was just nice to be out and about.

Hirundines were again present in good numbers which saw an increase in swallow as they congregated along telephone wires to the south of the lake.  House martin and crag martin were also in the vicinity along with at least two red-rumped swallow that were also new in.

A group of six woodlark were feeding within an area of short grassland by the lake.

A real surprise was seeing this wryneck perched up in a tree along the lakeside circular path.

Another bit of quality came in the form of a single black-necked grebe on the lake.

The still and milder conditions provided an opportunity for the delicate prinia to trill away from the tops of the umbellifers.  The walk around the north end of the lake contains an area of extensive reedbed and scrub. Chiffchaff were particularly abundant here darting in and out of the reeds.  

Another bird caught my attention that was immediately identified as a sedge warbler but on closer inspection it didn't look right for it, with it being slightly larger, with deeper shades of brown on the mantle and wings and generally more boldly marked.  This was the first moustached warbler seen on my travels and not before time.  A total of three were seen on the way round the lake.

An area of wetland to the east of the Manavgat River looked ideal for migrant birds, but as it was early on in the season, there wasn't much around apart from the resident great egret and grey heron.

A few waders were present on the large pools, plenty of ruff supported by a couple of little ringed plover, four black-tailed godwit, six green sandpiper, and a single spotted redshank.  White wagtail were present in decent numbers, a steppe buzzard flew over the cultivated fields and common species such as stonechat, chiffchaff, and black redstart appeared to be present at every turn.

The fields held plenty of larks that included a few calandra lark as well as crested lark, skylark and woodlark.  A few corn bunting were jangling in the area.

A welcome surprise was this pallas's gull, my first for the WP and a real reward for scanning through the distant yellow-legged gull that comprised a modest group of birds settled on the exposed islands.

After an overnight stop at the Hidden Hills Hotel in Istanbul, the morning flight back to LHR was on board the new A350-900 - and what a lovely aircraft it is.

It turned out to be a great trip in the end and am now looking forward to returning in May for more.