Birding in the Gizantep area of Southern Turkey

This week I had a late afternoon and an early morning around Durnalick, a village near the city of Gizantep that is well-known as a site for several difficult-to-find birds, such as the Desert Finch above. This was one of several birds coming to drink in an orchard not far from the village.

Not a great picture but the Eastern Rock Nuthatch is a special bird of this area - a colony isolated by considerable distances from its main populations further east. I was able to notice differences later with the similar Western Rock Nuthatch, with the black eye line much wider in the Eastern. Other good birds I saw included three buntings - Black-headed, Cretzschmar's and Cinereous.

I had party of eight Chukars and more common species such as the Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin (above), as well as Sombre Tit, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Upcher's Warbler and White-throated Robin.