After a twenty minute drive from the hotel in Eregli, we stopped at the nearby Lake Ivriz Baraji. This is actually a reservoir, that was built in 1984. The initial plan was to visit some local marshes, but these were largely dried up, so we ended up at the reservoir instead. It wasn't the best of locations that we visited. However, it was the only site we saw Greater Flamingos and Rose-coloured Starlings.
Black Kite: We stopped briefly for this Black Kite on the way to the lake, which surprisingly was the only one we saw in the trip
Black Kite: This is the nominate migrans subspecies which occurs from North West Africa & Europe to South-central Asia. They winters as far South as South Africa
Lake Ivriz Baraji: It was a long, thin lake and the Greater Flamingos were at the far end. We had to get the telescopes out to see them properly
Another habitat photo from Lake Ivriz Baraji
It's pretty common to see Goats and Sheep being looked after by a local herder, as they graze in open countryside
Lesser Short-toed Lark: This is the minor subspecies which occurs from Morocco to North Egypt, South Turkey to West Saudi Arabia & West Iraq
There were a couple of Rose-coloured Starlings where we parked the coach: They were the only individuals we saw
Long-legged Buzzard: We stopped for a quick look at this Long-legged Buzzard on its nest on a high crag next to the road
An uninspiring bit of Turkish architecture
After an hour or so at Lake Ivriz Baraji, we departed for the two and a half hour drive to the excellent Kayseri Sultan Sazligi wetlands. Unfortunately, a lot of the wetlands in this part of Turkey have drained in the last few decades.
A lot of the journey was across these dull-looking grasslands
By late morning we arrived at the excellent Kayseri Sultan Sazligi Wetlands. There was a long boardwalk through the reedbeds.
The boardwalk at the Kayseri Sultan Sazligi Wetlands
Bearded Tit: This is the russicus subspecies which occurs from Austria, the North Balkans & Turkey East through central Asia to North China
Moustached Warbler: This is the mimicus subspecies which occurs from West Turkey to South Russia, Iraq, Iran & Afghanistan
Moustached Warbler: This must be a potential species to occur in the UK in the future. It used to be on the UK List, but it was removed many years ago. If I remember correct some of the first Cetti's Warblers were misidentified as Moustached Warblers and the evidence of earlier records wasn't sufficient to retain it on the British List
Reed Warbler: This is the fuscus subspecies, which is also known as Caspian Reed Warbler. This subspecies ranges from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Caspian & Kazakhstan. They winters as far South as South Africa
The boardwalk ended up at this good hide which overlooked a decent reed-fringed lake.
There was a Ferruginous Duck and a few White-headed Ducks at the far edge of the lake
Ferruginous Duck: This monotypic species occurs from West Europe & North West Africa to central Asia
White-headed Duck: Male. This monotypic species occurs from Southern Europe & North Africa to central Asia & North West China
Water Rail: This is the nominate aquaticus subspecies which occurs throughout the Western Palearctic
Marsh Frog: This looks like the widespread Marsh Frog. There is a larger and similar-looking Anatolian Marsh Frog that occurs at Sugla Lake, but we were now too far East to be in range of that species
Marsh Frog: They appear to be a variable species
I will cover the rest of the day in the next Blog Post.
