20th May We drove the short distance up to Demirkazik collecting Olive-tree Warbler en route. We then took the dirt roads up the mountainside as far as we dared in our hired Ford Focus - great offroaders, hire cars!
The area did not disappoint and produced specacular birds against a stunning mountain backdrop: White-winged Snowfinch, Crimson-winged Finch, Fire-fronted Serin, Finsch's Wheatear. We then checked the nearby gorge
and after a short search found Rock Nuthatch while Golden Eagle soared above us. After this we took a minor road which followed an attractive, tree'd narrow valley. Plenty of birds here, the undoubted highlight being
a male White-throated Robin.
(Names given are as per Clement's list which we are using as our world-record base; these names may vary from some field guides.)
Stayed at Pansion Safak where we were reacquainted with our friend and host, Ali Safak. As always, Ali was highly entertaining and made us feel like lost members of his family. Drinks over dinner flowed as fast as the conversation,
while traditional Turkish folklore music (with some almost traditional Turkish dancing but we'll spare you the photos!) drifted across the stunning valley. Huge rock walls rise steeply above the valley leading to snow capped peaks, our destination for the next morning.