Istanbul !

A short city break to the city of Istanbul in Turkey was a much needed break from our hectic lives of late, especially for my wife. This was a non birding holiday, but even so, couldn't stop myself, there's always something new to see.

There's a lot of Mosques in Istanbul as you would expect, those tall minarets and domes seem to attract the Swifts, what caught my eye was the Alpine Swifts mixed in with them, never seen so many. Especially around the Galata Tower.

Cruising the Bosphorus with the Galata Tower in the background

A cruise along the Bosphorus, a relatively small channel that joins the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea was another good opportunity, while my wife enjoyed the sites along the Bosphorus, I could not help but notice the small flocks of birds skimming  the wavetops flying in both directions along the channel. I suspected they were Shearwaters but could not see any real detail,
just that old birding term 'the Jizz' of a Shearwater

Some research on my return revealed that they were more than likely to have been Yelkouan Shearwaters, a hotspot  for sighting these birds as they migrate to and from the Black sea and the Mediterranean through the Bosphorus.


This was a new bird sighting for me albeit very distant, and a new addition to my life list. armed only with my mobile phone, an horrendous record shot to remind me of  this sighting.

Other birds noted here were numerous Shags, Yellow legged Gulls and a few flyover Grey Herons.

The green spaces in Istanbul are very popular with local population of Istanbul, a welcome escape from the heat of the day, families were enjoying each others company during the last few days of Ramadan.
The tall trees of the park seemed alive with Parakeets of some sort, couldn't actually see any, but I'm very familiar with there calls as they visit my garden each day, there are suppose to be both Ring Necked and Alexandrine Parakeets here.

I did manage to see a Common Myna bird which I wasn't really expecting.

Another new bird sighting for me around the streets of Istanbul, were the  Laughing Doves, again no photo opportunities.

 Underground Basilica Cistern

This ancient cistern, one of the largest, built in the 6th Century during the reign of a Byzantine emperor Justinian was pretty impressive, one of many underground cisterns that lie beneath the city

Children enjoying the old Tram line down Istiklar Street.

An interesting city to visit. !