The Lake District

The Lake District, so called due to its large number of lakes, can be reached from Side by following the same route as to Akseki. Carry on past Akseki to Beysehir, this town lies on the shore of the southernmost lake, Lake Beysehir. There are many lakes in the area. We visited Lakes Beysehir and Aksehir only. This area is not described in Gosneys Guide. It is however, well described in the other two guides. Lake Beysehir This is a vast lake viewable mainly from its southern and northern edges. At the southern edge of the lake is a narrow reed bed close to the lake. Here we saw Cetti's Warbler, Moustached Warbler, Fan-tailed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Roller and Black-headed Bunting. Some Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes and Ducks were seen at a distance over the water. The northern shore was muddy and feeding here were Ruff, Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron and Squacco Heron. A few Whiskered Terns and large numbers of Red-crested Pochard were seen out on the water. Lake Aksehir We follwed instruction to reach Lake Aksehir, but never reached the water. We drove over a dried area close to the village of Ortakoy, presumably where the lake had dried up or been drained. This area was excellent for Isabelline Wheatear and good numbers of larks including Crested Lark, Calandra Lark, Short-toed Lark and Asian Short-toed Lark. There were many Susliks in the area also. These are a small burrowing mammal, not to disimilar to a Prairie Dog. In the village nearby was a huge White Storks nest which had been colonised by Spanish Sparrows. En Route During the journey the most interesting birds were seen in upland areas and included Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Alpine Swift, Shorelark, Red-rumped Swallow, Tawny Pipit, White-throated Robin, Blue Rock Thrush, Ring Ouzel, Sombre Tit, Rock Nuthatch, Red-backed Shrike and Ortolan Bunting.