Hotel Yeshil Vardi

Our base for the Brown Fish Owls was The Hotel Yeshil Vardi a fairly basic but adequate hotel situated between Manavgat and the Oymapinar dam overlooking the Manavagat River where we spent 2 nights.

The restaurant. (note the Trout in the pool)

 While having breakfast we could see 5 Eleanora's Falcons and a Lanner cruising the cliffs  adjacent the hotel. In the grounds Scops Owls were heard (not seen) Red-rumped Swallows  overhead, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Eastern Olivacious Warblers, Yellow Vented Bulbuls, Roller, White Storks, Masked Shrike, Crested Larks, Woodlarks and more. It was an 04.30 start for the Fish Owls, which was just as well because from 10.00hrs the heat made birding very difficult and photography nigh on impossible. The Owls were brilliant getting great views of 3 adults and 3 juveniles also 2 Short-toed Eagles flew over.

  We drove out to a some nearby birding sites. One of which was a walled garden which we birded from the outside. Seeing Syrian and White Backed Woodpeckers, Olive Tree Warbler, lots of Eastern Bonelli's Warblers, Hoopoe's, Masked Shrikes and more. The heat and the lateness of the season did not aid us in finding birds. I deleted virtually all the pictures I took.

                As we got out of the car 1000s of Locusts came out the dried grass in waves as we walked round the wall.

Juvenile Black-eared Wheatear

 At another site we found a family of Black-eared Wheatears, Western Rock Nuthatches, Black headed Buntings along with many Butterflys more on those later.

Western Rock Nuthatch