The primary reason for staying in this area was to see Caspian Snowcock, but we had to wait until day two to see them.
Caspian Snowcock male
We allowed two days in case of bad weather and it was just as well. Heavy cloud and possible rain meant that going to the tops on our first day was not possible. It was unlikely that visibility would be good enough for birds to be seen and the road conditions would be slippery and difficult. Beshir checked the weather at 4am, but it was a no go. That meant an extra few hours in bed before breakfast at our pension, Oz Safak, then checking out the nearby sites in the Aladağlar Milli Park.
First we tried the gorge, only to fnd a training group of some 60 students doing introductory rock- climbing. They were all learning how to safely hammer clips into the rock - so there went our chance of Wallcreeper. We walked a far way up the gorge seeing Red-fronted Serin, Rock Bunting, Rock Sparrow, Lesser Whitethroat, Black Redstart, Alpine Chough, Long-legged Buzzard and Golden Eagle.
Red fronted Serin
Golden Eagle
Long-legged Buzzard
Chough
Other visits in the valley turned up areas especially good for Red-backed Shrike and wheatears, with sightings of White-winged Snowfinch and White-throated Robin.
White-winged Snowfinch
Isabilline Wheatear with chicks
Red-backed Shrike adult male
Linnets were present from the high tops to the fertile farmed valleys.
30 May
While out with Beshir, looking for Snowcocks, we also saw Alpine Choughs, Radde's Accentor, Alpine Accentor, more White-winged Snowfinch, Black Redstart and a most unexpected Wallcreeper. We also discovred that the ground squirrels are known as Souslik in Turkey.
While out with Beshir, looking for Snowcocks, we also saw Alpine Choughs, Radde's Accentor, Alpine Accentor, more White-winged Snowfinch, Black Redstart and a most unexpected Wallcreeper. We also discovred that the ground squirrels are known as Souslik in Turkey.
Black Redstart male
Radde's Accentor
Souslik - present on grassy slopes in large numbers, they emit birdlike calls guarenteed to confuse
when so many calls are unfamiliar or slightly different.
After seeing the upland birds with Beshir we returned to Oz Safak pension for another great breakfast. We very much recommend Beshir for anyone wanting to see Caspian Snowcock. Visibility is weather dependent and it is advisable to allow some spare time in case of situations such as ours where there was fresh snow on the tops with unseasonal rain and cloud. The pension is very comfortable, as is the transport to the viewing area.
We took a final drive around the area before leaving. We failed to get views of Crimson-winged Finch other than as fly pasts. There were additional views of Finsche's Wheater and Shore Lark..
Male Finsche's Wheater.
Shore Lark.
Clear snow capped peaks on the day of our departure
Our final bird in the area was a Stonechat.
The Stonechat was not at all like those we usually see in the UK. The white neckband was almost complete - just a small black line to separate the sides. This first year male had quite subtle rufous colouration on the breast, however the rump looked speckled so not a complete fit for either race. Perhaps an example of graduated clines across its range.