Finding Birds in Eastern Turkey

Any visit to Eastern Turkey will be an adventure. Getting there will involve either the expense of an internal flight (to, say, Van or Trabzon) or the torture of a very long drive - it is 400 miles from Birecik to Van and another 400 to Sivri Kaya, sometimes on dreadful roads. Many birders have included this area as part of a tour which also covers southern and central Turkey but such trips must involve more driving than birding. Eastern Turkey is worth a holiday of its own.

Unless you are after the impressive raptor migration at Borcka, the best time to come is probably early June when snow should have been cleared from the mountain passes. Your trip should produce Caspian Snowcock and Caucasian Blackgrouse in the snow-capped mountains, Green Warbler, Mountain Chiffchaff and flycatchers in the wooded valleys, Great Bustards and Demoiselle Cranes on the elevated plains and collections of waders, ducks, herons and pelicans around the turquoise vastness of Lake Van. Other special birds include Citrine Wagtail, Rose-coloured Starling, Grey-necked Bunting, Crimson-winged Finch, Radde's Accentor and Paddyfield Warbler, all to be found amidst the most beautiful scenery you can imagine.

So far, I have been to this end of Turkey only once, in early September 1992. Sadly, this was an inappropriate time for many of the birds, so this book relies heavily on what others have seen here.

However, I have tried to present the available information more clearly and with better maps than in any other source, so I hope you will still find it useful.