24th May Of course our day began back at the tea gardens but this time armed with a simple sketch map of where to find the Pale Scops Owl. Fabrice's info was spot on and there sat the owl. Once you had the right tree amongst the hundreds there, no problem at all ! Our problem had been that for years
the only site where the owl had been seen was the Blue Fountain Tea Garden, and its adjacent wooded gardens. As we had combed these thoroughly on numerous occasions, Fabrice and his crew had decided to cast around elsewhere, and boy were we glad they did.
Extremely pleased with the owl, we headed back west stopping to bird near the remote upland village of Durnelik, west of Gaziantep. We knew this area from our visit last year and again it produced superb birding. Best birds here were a pair of Trumpeter Finches which appeared to be
breeding on the rocky hillside above the track. Other goodies included many Pale Rockfinches, Cinereous Buntings, and White-throated Robins. A long drive west from here took us to the Goksu delta where a brief visit before dusk gave us Dalmation and White Pelicans, Ruddy Shelduck and
two Little Gulls, but no sign of any Marbled Ducks.