On February 16th, Akif Aykurt, Okan Arıhan, Mehmet Gürsan and I made a day-long trip to west of Ankara. The weather was unusually warm (up to 15ºC) and generally sunny. It was not a serious birding trip, but we drove along a route that passes through a number of different habitats. The first hundred kms of driving was very poor birdwise, probably due to fog. From Ayaş onwards though we started seeing COMMON and LONG-LEGGED BUZZARDS (Buteo buteo and B. rufinus) in some numbers. There were also small flocks of LINNETS (Carduelis cannabina) and CRESTED LARKS (Galerida cristata), dozens of MAGPIES (Pica pica) and some HOODED CROWS (Corvus corone). An Hedgehog (Erinaceus concolor) seen on the road - a traffic victim - was unexpected, since it is yet early for them to wake up from hibernation in this part of Turkey, a high plateau with very cold winters.
The water level at Nallıhan Bird Sanctuary was even less than in early winter, so at the wetland site there were only about 30 GREY HERONS (Ardea cinerea), two GREAT WHITE EGRETS (Egretta alba), 42 RUDDY SHELDUCKS (Tadorna ferruginea) and a single WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (Anser albifrons). We decided to drive nearer to the Sarıyar Reservoir. On our way we saw one SPARROWHAWK (Accipiter nisus), a few CHAFFINCH (Fringilla coelebs), a single COMMON SANDPIPER (Actitis hypoleucos), as well as a courting pair of ROCK NUTHATCHES (Sitta neumayer). The lake shore had retreated considerably but bird numbers were certainly much better here: About a hundred each of GREAT WHITE EGRETS and GREY HERONS waded the shallows along with hundreds of RUDDY SHELDUCKS and c. 1500 BLACK-HEADED GULLS (Larus ridibundus). There were also five WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, several GREAT CRESTED GREBES (Podiceps cristatus), either a YELLOW-LEGGED (Larus cachinans) or a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (L. fuscus), and a dozen MALLARDS (Anas platyrhynchos). In the distance there were hundreds of unidentified waterfowl. Due to road conditions we had to drive back to Çayırhan where we saw 2 GREY WAGTAILS (Motacilla cinerea). A few kilometers further we were rewarded with the magnificient sight of a pair of GOLDEN EAGLES (Aquila chrysaetos). The altitude here is only 600 m., an unusually low site for those raptors. We continued west to even lower altitudes, with some more KESTRELS, LONG-LEGGED BUZZARDS, and ROCK NUTHATCHES on the way. Lunch break was near a rocky slope overlooking orchards and vegetable gardens. About to depart, we briefly saw a huge dark raptor overhead. Although we were less than 500 m a.s.l., we thought it most likely to be a CINEREOUS VULTURE (Aegypius monachus). This was confirmed only five minutes later when the bird was spotted a few hundred meters away sitting up on a boulder.
The road then started to climb up towards hills covered with dwarf juniper and oak woodland. We had a long way to go, so we could not spare much time for watching birds :-( Near a village, an Anatolian Squirrel (Sciurus anomalus) with fiery red and smoky grey fur looked very pretty on green grass. We climbed up to 1500 m. through a black pine (Pinus nigra) forest where the ground was still covered with snow. All through the way, we saw about 20 MISTLE THRUSHES (Turdus viscivorus), small numbers of BLACKBIRDS (T. merula), CHAFFINCHES, LINNETS, GOLDFINCHES (Carduelis carduelis), and singles of GREENFINCH (C. chloris), HAWFINCH (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos syriacus), KESTREL, SPARROWHAWK and LONG-LEGGED BUZZARD.
From Mihalıççık to E5 Highway, the scenery turned from oak scrub gradually into treeless steppe. Birds recorded include a JAY (Garrulus glandarius), two SPARROWHAWKS, two KESTRELS, three LONG-LEGGED BUZZARDS, a single LITTLE OWL (which apparently nests in the crevices of a stone bridge), one GREAT GREY SHRIKE (Lanius excubitor), and dozens of ROOKS (Corvus frugilegus).
Overall, the trip took us through at least four different habitats (wetland, juniper-oak scrub, montane pine forest, and steppe) within a day. Some parts looked very promising breeding sites for large raptors, and we also located a nest probably of BLACK STORK (Ciconia nigra). It will be interesting to repeat this trip in mid-spring again.
C. Bilgin