We spent a two week family holiday at the small resort of Icmeler which is near Marmaris on the south-west coast of Turkey.
There
were a few pairs of House Martins nesting
on the airport buildings at Dalaman when we arrived and I spotted a single Red-rumped
Swallow among them. There were also many House
Sparrows around the airport.
During the 2 hour coach journey from Dalaman to Icmeler
I saw a White Stork's nest on the roof of a mosque near Dalaman and a single White Stork soaring over the fields a little further on. Collared Doves seemed to be very common and I saw many in the villages we passed through. Most of the other birds I saw I couldn't positively identify from the brief glimpses I had as the coach sped past. The list of 'probables' included Bee Eater and Roller as well as a small falcon perched on a telegraph wire and a buzzard sized raptor soaring over the fields.I
took my son down to the beach as soon as we arrived at the hotel in Icmeler and
we saw (and heard) 20 Alpine Swifts above the beach. Their chittering calls were quite
distinctive and reminded more of waders than swifts. Swallows were abundant in the resort as were House Sparrows. I have
never seen so many of either as I did during the two weeks we were there.
Later in the day I saw a large(ish) falcon from the balcony of our room. It was too far away for a definite i.d. but I'm pretty sure that it was an Eleanora's Falcon.
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