Turkey - Gaziantep Region - September 2023

8th September 2023

It was only a week but it felt like a lifetime of adventure that would generally fill a month but that I guess is why it's always a thrill to visit places like Turkey, a country bristling with life, great food, and exceptional birding.

Flights were booked with Turkish Airlines, there really isn't any better alternative, flying to Gaziantep from Gatwick transiting through the impressive Istanbul Airport. The flight was really comfortable having the complete row to myself settling down to enjoy the IFE and views over continental Europe.

A late evening arrival at GZT, sharply leaving the arrivals terminal and jumping into a cab for my hotel located next to Gaziantep Castle before a morning start back to the airport for my hire car pick-up and straight to Biricek.

9th September 2023

It was sweltering, too hot to bird really, but ignoring all that, headed straight for the cemetery which was largely bereft of anything interesting other than a singing dead sea sparrow. 

The mercury continued to rise, peaking at around 37C, too hot to stand exposed to the direct sunlight. Heading over to the gravel pits north of Biricek, revealed a wetland area comprised of large pools lined by typical aquatic vegetation. Navigable dirt tracks provided access around the complex, and apart from a brief exchange from the friendly local police, there were no issues with access.

Bird of the day was an active pied kingfisher flying back and forth over the pools. A small group of northern bald ibis were feeding on the near shore, with one individual carrying a geolocator from the local re-introduction programme. 

They were associating with a scattering of glossy ibis and spur-winged lapwing. Two green sandpiper alighted from the shoreline, single red-backed shrike and lesser grey shrike paused overhead, but it was generally quiet there with no sign of any Iraq babbler.

My first challenge of the trip was attempting to navigate my way back to the hotel in Gaziantep (an hour away) with no idea how to get there and having no recollection of the name of the guesthouse. This had resulted in my phone overheating and the brainless decision to restart it failing to acknowledge that I needed the PIN number for the Turkcell SIM Card I had purchased at Istanbul Airport. The aberration was exacerbated by having left the details in the room of my guesthouse.

So with only a vague idea of where to go, I headed for the Castle recalling that the guesthouse was close by. Even this was a challenge as road signage is not overly reliable in these parts. Negotiating the peak hour traffic, I eventually reached the castle. However, it was a maze of streets and after some brief directionless meanderings, I entered a small shop where a couple of young lads assisted me in finding my hotel with the help of an english speaking friend on the phone, a laptop (from where I was able to recognise the hotel from the photos) and the kindness of these guys to walk me directly my guesthouse. 

10th September 2023

This is where the fun really started. A long drive from Gaziantep to the Ozsafak Pension in the Taurus Mountains took approximately five hours including a couple of stops for some delicious food at the many motorway service stations en route. 

On arrival, I met up with Basar admiring the views toward the mountains whilst sipping on some fresh turkish tea.

A late afternoon visit to the Elim Valley produced my first eastern rock nuthatch with plenty of western rock nuthatch there that took a bit of separating with the call identification generally doing the trick. 

There was a fair selection of autumn birds there that included a single blue rock thrush, common redstart, plenty of willow warbler, a few lesser whitethroat, small groups of rock bunting along the scree, with red-billed chough passing overhead. However, during my short trek along the valley, the loose gravel turned the surface to ice and I slid of a ridge badly grazing my left arm. At the time I was more concerned about my camera that hit the ground with some force but rather obtusely it was me that was left far more damaged than my equipment. Feeling a bit forlorn, I headed back to the Pension.

11th September 2023

I couldn't sleep. Whether it was the injury or something more sinister to come, I awoke at 11.30pm and failed to sleep again until my early 3.45am alarm call for the steep drive up the Taurus Mountains.

However, at around 2am, my tummy started to feel queezy, the onset of food poisoning that floored me for a day. The excursion was a real challenge. A couple of nightjar disturbed by the sudden arrival of a 4x4 flapped furiously in front of the car. Arriving in pitch dark, I was shivering. Fever had set in and I felt really grim. Basar and Peter, a fellow birder on the tour, jumped out of the car and waited for dawn to break. I hunkered down in the car for a while. The scenery however was breathtaking, and as the distant cries of Caspian snowcock started to echo from the imposing scree, faint optimism starting to emerge through my unwelcome malady. 

I was sick, twice. Feeling terrible, I stood again with my fellow birders, Basar clocking onto a single snowcock silhouetted against the emerging sky. A remarkable montane species existing high above any murmurs of human habitation. 

One eventually became four birds, seen flying high along the crest of the rocky outcrops calling frequently and providing incredible scope views.

Birds were sparse here, but three Asian crimson-winged finch, three red-fronted serin, four snowfinch, groups of red-billed chough and the remarkable song of a distant wallcreeper made this excursion memorable on so many levels.

The sun appeared over the peaks and it felt slightly warmer. We eventually left at around 8.30am, both Basar and Peter feeling a little sorry for me, and headed back down the mountain bouncing off the scattered rocks. It was quite thrilling. On arrival at the Pension, I headed straight to bed gratefully looked after by Basar and his lovely mother. I hardly moved till the next morning.

12th September 2023

Remarkably I felt a lot better, having slept for pretty much the whole day and night, I jumped in the car and headed toward Gaziantep via Durnalik, another area much frequented by visiting birders. This area was great too with plenty on offer. Alpine swift in good numbers were powering through the valley with a few red-rumped swallow and pallid swift. Common redstart were conspicuous here with a couple of spotted flycatcher, two sombre tit, woodchat shrike, two eastern black-eared wheatear, western rock nuthatch, 15 honey buzzard, black kite and a single eastern olivaceous warbler. 

13th September 2023

Basar had put me in touch with Mustafa. Based in Birecik and working with the bald ibis colony there, and with his exceptional knowledge of sites and species in the area, we met at 6am and headed first to the park where a very showy and austere pallid scops owl stared down at me. Absolutely brilliant.

We picked up some pastries and headed to a wetland south of Birecik. There was a lot of interest here, most notably at least six Iraq babbler clambering along the phragmites at reasonably close range.

The margins of the wetland held menetries warbler, desert finch, grey-headed swamphen, white-winged tern, pygmy cormorant, common kingfisher, pied kingfisher, graceful prinia and red-backed shrike.

It was a brilliant day spending time with Mustafa - a total of 14 hours spent out on site. Tiring but unforgettable.

A truly awesome place and one that I will surely be visiting again.

Bird List - 9th to 14th September 2023

Eurasian teal - small flocks at marshes south of Birecik

Red-crested pochard - 1 female along Euphrates river

Black francolin - 1 scampered across our path at marshes south of Birecik

Caspian snowcock - the sites and sounds of this enigmatic bird with 4 seen at the Chromium mines

See-see partridge - 1 flushed from track east of Biricek

Chukar partridge - common and widespread particularly at the Elim Valley

European nightjar - at least 3 on drive up to the Chromium mines

Common swift - passing through the valley Durnalik

Pallid swift - passing through the valley Durnalik

Alpine swift - passing through the valley Durnalik

Little swift - at least 8 along cliffs near to the Ibis Centre

Woodpigeon - seen regularly

Turtle dove - one flew through Durnalik

Collared dove - common and widespread

Laughing dove - common and widespread

Moorhen - seen at the gravel pits and marshes south of Birecik

Coot - seen at the gravel pits and marshes south of Birecik

Grey-headed swamphen - 1 at the marshes south of Birecik

Little grebe - 1 at the gravel pits

Spur-winged lapwing - at least a dozen associating with the ibis spp. at the gravel pits

Red-wattled lapwing - two at a site south of Sanliurfa

Green sandpiper - two along Euphrates, two at the gravel pits, and three at site south of Sanliurfa

Black-headed gull - two along Euphrates

Yellow-legged gull - Small groups along Euphrates

Whiskered tern - 1 along Euphrates

Black tern - two seen at marshes south of Birecik

White-winged tern - at least six along Euphrates

Pygmy cormorant - two along Euphrates and one at marshes south of Birecik

Northern bald ibis - decent group at gravel pits including one with geolocator

Glossy ibis - small group associating with northern bald ibis at the gravel pits

Cattle egret - 1 flying over the gravel pits

Little egret - 4 at the gravel pits

Squacco heron - two along Euphrates

Black kite - one flew over Durnalik

Long-legged buzzard - one at see-see partridge site

Honey Buzzard - 15 flew over Durnalik

Pallid scops owl - my bird of the trip with at least one in gardens at Birecik

Hoopoe - three at the gravel pits and one in the Elim Valley

Common kingfisher - at least one at the marshes

Pied kingfisher - at least one at the gravel pits and one at the marshes

European bee-eater - decent groups seen throughout the trip. Generally widespread.

Syrian woodpecker - at least three seen at various locations

Wryneck - one in the Elim Valley

Common kestrel - one at the gravel pits and another at site south of Sanliurfa

Lesser grey shrike - one at the gravel pits

Woodchat shrike - one at the gravel pits and another at Durnalik

Red-backed shrike - a few seen, generally widespread.

Jay - one at the cemetery

Magpie - 1 at Biricek gravel pits

Hooded crow - common and widespread

Northern raven - seen at the Chromium mines

Red-billed Chough - decent groups at the Chromium mines and the Elim Valley

Sombre tit - two at Durnalik

Great tit - two at Durnalik

Crested lark - reasonably widespread

Sand martin - small groups at the gravel pits

Crag martin - a few birds passing through Elim Valley

Barn Swallow - relatively common in the area

House martin - seen at the marshes south of Birecik

Red-rumped swallow - seen at the marshes and passing through Durnalik

Eurasian starling - reasonably widespread

Willow warbler - at least ten in the Elim Valley

Chiffchaff - present in the Elim Valley

Common whitethroat - two in the Elim Valley

Lesser whitethroat - five in the Elim Valley

Great reed warbler - two at marshes south of Birecik

Eastern olivaceous warbler - one at Durnalik

Delicate prinia - at least three at marshes south of Birecik

Blackcap - one at the Elim Valley

Menetries warbler - at least five at marshes south of Birecik

Iraq babbler - at least five at marshes south of Birecik

Western rock nuthatch - common in particularly in the Elim Valley

Eastern rock nuthatch - one in the Elim Valley, two more along Euphrates north of Birecik

Wallcreeper - one heard singing at the Chromium mines

Blackbird - seen in the Elim Valley and Durnalik

Spotted flycatcher - two at Durnalik and one at the marshes

Black redstart - present in the Elim Valley and Chromium mines

Common redstart - reasonable common in the Elim Valley and Durnalik

Whinchat - at least four on plains en route to Elim Valley

Eurasian Stonechat - two in Elim Valley

Northern wheatear - widespread in the area

Eastern black-eared wheatear - two at Durnalik

Finsch's wheatear - at least five males in valley en route to site near Sanliurfa

White-winged snowfinch - at least four at Chromium mines

House sparrow - common and widespread

Dead-sea sparrow - one male singing at the cemetery

White wagtail - a few seen in the area

Asian crimson-winged finch - at least three at the Chromium mines

Linnet - a few at the Elim Valley

Goldfinch - in trees at site north of Birecik

Eurasian Serin - seen near OzSafak Pensyon

Red-fronted serin - at least three in flight at Chromium mines

Desert finch - adults and juveniles at the marshes

Rock bunting - Frequent at the Elim Valley