Trip to Nallihan

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 14:32:26 +0300 (MEST)
From: "C. Can Bilgin" 
To: METU Birdwatching List 
Subject: A Birding Trip to Nallihan

Dear Netters,

	It has been some time since I have been to this place in company of
other birders, but nothing was reported about it so far, so in order to keep
this list (barely) alive I shall briefly tell about it all (A few club
members are currently out in the field doing mid-winter counts - perhaps they
will contribute to the list with some interesting news soon).

	This site is about 2 hours drive from downtown Ankara to the west,
near the town of Nallihan. On 29th of October (1995) we started early in a
bus with a group of about thirty birders. The trip was part of a birdwatching
skills school, so the majority were first timers. The weather was cool and
cloudy, with some drizzle at the beginning, but later it stopped and there
was even sunshine at times. 

	I had not been to Nallihan "Bird Paradise" before, so when we reached
the site I was surprised to find that it is quite aptly named since the view
was full of hundreds of gulls, herons and ducks. We had stopped just on the
highway which runs through slightly higher ground above the not-so-large
expanse of water to the north, so it offered an excellent vista, with eroded
hills of various hues as a background. The shallow water surface was covered
with some 20 LITTLE GREBES, 600 POCHARDS, hundreds of RUDDY SHELDUCKS, 3
MALLARDS, a male PINTAIL and several COOTS. Amongst them and especially
towards a small creek at one end, there were 80 GREY HERONS, 20 GREAT WHITE
EGRETS, 2 very late WHITE STORKS and a single LAPWING. The air was filled
with the calls of about 600 BLACK- HEADED GULLS. A single large immature gull
observed was possibly a YELLOW-LEGGED GULL. On rocks and bushes between the
road and the water, a WHINCHAT and a male BLUE ROCK THRUSH were joined by
some CHAFFINCHES and GOLDFINCHES. 

	After taking in all this, we turned our attention to the cliff face
behind. While following a SPARROWHAWK flying at the top, we were treated with
the sight of a pair of PEREGRINES. About 50 ROCK DOVES kept a respectful
distance from the falcons. Then, six large raptors spiraling very high caught
our eye. We first thought they were vultures, but a better look through the
telescope revealed a dark-phase SHORT-TOED EAGLE and 5 STEPPE BUZZARDS.
Nearby on the road, 15 CRESTED LARKS ran back and forth. 

	The wetland is basically an extension of the Sariyar Reservoir which
collects the waters of River Sakarya for hydro-power production. Its level
depends on that of the reservoir to which it is connected through a channel
running in a gorge. We decided to follow the gorge and then climb up into the
barren hill tops.  Just then, about a thousand more RUDDY SHELDUCKS joined
the others on the water, making the total more than 1500. 

	The gorge was apparently quite sheltered because fig trees grew on
the banks. 3 GARGANEYS were dabbling at the shore of the channel. Further on,
we flushed 21 NIGHT HERONS, as well as 2 KINGFISHERS and 2 GREY WAGTAILS. On
the sides of the gorge we saw mud nests which we thought belonged to CRAG
MARTINS; later we observed 5 of them flying back and forth over the channel.
The bushes and small trees held a few ROBINS, several willow warblers
(Phylloscopus spp.) and 2 ROCK BUNTINGS, while rock faces were occupied by
more BLUE ROCK THRUSHES and up to five ROCK NUTHATCHES. 

	The hill tops were quite different and seemed devoid of birds at
first sight, but records of 2 LONG- LEGGED BUZZARDS, 6 CHUKARS, 10 SHORE
LARKS, several MAGPIES; 4 HOODED CROWS and 2 RAVENS satisfied everyone. In a
rocky hill further away, an immature GOLDEN EAGLE was also present. As we
came back to our starting point, we were rewarded with a nice view of a 2nd
year WHITE- TAILED EAGLE gliding over the wetland. We left the place quite
content, knowing that we shall visit again in the near future. 


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  C. Can Bilgin, Ph.D.               cbilgin@rorqual.cc.metu.edu.tr
  Dept. of Biology                   Phone: +90(312) 210-5017 (day)
  M.E.T.U. Ankara                           +90(312) 210-1289 (fax)
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