Armenian Gull (1 Viewer)

[lewis20126]

I've just noticed a few orange dots in "central" Turkey in the 2nd ed Collins Guide for this species. Are there supposed to be some colonies in this area or do these dots represent passage birds? I haven't got access to the BoT (out of print).

Guy or anyone else know?

Thanks, alan

 

[GMK]

These are indeed colonies.

 

[lewis20126]

A lurker has dug out the BoT and it states:

Inner Anatolia
Tuz Golu (400-500 pairs)
Beysehit Golu (Mediterranean) where breeding with michahellis and 'birds of hybrid parentage are capable of reproducing'

On Wikipedia:
Lake Tuz (Turkish: Tuz Gölü meaning Salt Lake) is the third largest lake in Turkey and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, 105 km (65 mi) northeast of Konya, 150 km (93 mi) south-southeast of Ankara and 57 km (35 mi) northwest of Aksaray.

So - has anyone been to Lake Tuz? Guy? nd if so have you seen Armenian Gull there? I know this really is a long shot!

Cheers, alan

 

[GMK]

Alan,

I've been to Tuz Golu several times, nearly always during organised surveys and always in a four-wheel drive, which is pretty much essential if you want to get really close to the lake. It is even possible to drive across the lake in the northern third, which I've also done. If I remember rightly (it was in 1991 and I'm not at home to look at my notes), this was the only (?) time I saw Armenian Gulls there. Organising a visit to Tuz might be more than you want to consider, but I am sure L. armenicus must at least occasionally show up on satellite lakes, like Kulu G. Or you could always go to Beysehir, although access there too is also not straightforward (but you will also find your Hippolais olivetorum in the orchards around the lake's south side).

 

[Steve Lister]

Going off at a tangent we had loads of Armenian Gulls on Lake Van in June last year but I suppose that is too far off your route.

Steve