We started the day with a successful dawn visit to the top of one of the mountains near Demirkazik. After seeing all the hoped for goodies, including a singing Radde's Accentor, we returned to the hotel.
Looking at the mountains from the hotel: I think we spent the morning at the top of the slope on the photo's left hand side
After a late breakfast or early lunch, we tried some nearby woodland.
Turkish Orchid sp.: I've not tried to figure this species out
Unfortunately, it quickly became very wet in the woodland area and we abandoned that option, in favour of a long dry valley at the base of the mountains near to the start of the Emli Valley. We spent some time here scanning the area.
The first stop in the long dry valley
A closer view of the large rocky cliff within the valley
Yet another large Sheep flock: I wonder how much damage they do to the environment
Little Owl: This is the indigena subspecies which occurs from the Balkans to Turkey, South Russia, Transcaucasia & South West Siberia
Chough: A red-billed Adult at the top with two yellow-billed youngsters. This is the docilis subspecies which occurs from Crete & South East Europe to North Arabia, North Iraq, Iran & Afghanistan
White Wagtail: This is the nominate alba subspecies which occurs from South East Greenland, Iceland to Faeroes, Europe, Turkey & the South Urals
Rock Bunting: This is the nominate cia subspecies which occurs in Morocco to Tunisia, the Iberian Peninsula & Southern Europe East to Turkey & Lebanon
Red-fronted Serin: Female
Taurus Souslik: There was a colony of these adorable Taurus Sousliks to entertain us
Taurus Souslik: If you sat quietly they would happily pose for you
Taurus Souslik: They have a vegetarian diet
Taurus Souslik: Every now and then, they stand up to look for danger
Taurus Souslik: Head and shoulders
Taurus Souslik: Nigel showing how approachable the Taurus Souslik were
The previous close up photos were taken with my Canon SX60. Many Birders raved about this camera and initially I liked it. However, after a few years of using it, I grew to dislike the photos it produced, as they were always over-saturated and there wasn't a setting in the camera to set it to realistic colours. I guess if I knew more about Lightroom, I might be able to correct the colour imbalance within the camera. In comparison, the Canon 7D and R7 cameras I've owned, have been good at providing a realistic colour balance, so it's frustrating that Canon just sell this poor quality camera. In the end, I just stopped using the SX60 and was pleased to be able to sell in on at a reasonable second hand price.
Taurus Souslik: A final photo with my Canon 7D Mark II with realistic colours
Lesser Spotted Fritillary
Next, we carried on into a better vegetated part of the Emli Valley, where there was a campground at the base of the mountains. Another Finsch's Wheatear was the highlight here.
An entrance hut close to the campground
Red-backed Shrike: Male. This monotypic species occurs from Europe & Turkey to West Siberia, West Kazakhstan & North West Iran
Red-backed Shrike: Female
Taurus Souslik: A quick photo of another Taurus Souslik near the campground
Chamois: A couple of distant Chamois on the top of one of the valley's crags. Chamois are native to the mountains in the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra to the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Rila–Rhodope massif, Pindus, mountains in Turkey, & the Caucasus. Additionally, it is yet another environmentally-damaging introduced Mammal on New Zealand's South Island
We returned to our hotel in Demirkazik for a second night.
