Situated in Yalova's Altınova district, Hersek Lagoon, one of the most significant wetland areas in Türkiye, revives with the arrival of September as it gets colorful with a number of birds set to spend winter in the wetland.
Known as the "Bird Hotel" as it houses thousands of birds every year during autumn and winter, the Hersek Lagoon on the coast of the Marmara Sea is home to 254 out of the 496 bird species in Türkiye.
Fatih Bülbül, the bird observer for the Altınova Municipality, in his interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) on Saturday, noted that this year, they expected a record population in the lagoon.
He pointed out that an important breeding season occurred in the lagoon during the summer and said, "The sandwich tern bred here in over 40 pairs, adding to the significance of this bird area. This is naturally heartening. For the first time in years, many of this bird species have bred in the area."
"Also, there's a significant increase in the number of Mediterranean gulls. The green-headed and long-legged species as well. About 50 species of blackbirds have bred in the area during the summer. This clearly shows how valuable the area is," Bülbül explained.
He also noted that the lagoon starts filling up with waterfowl in September and emphasized that the lagoon's value also lies in the presence of abundant food sources for these birds.
Furthermore, Bülbül noted that the lagoon saw many flamingos arriving a week ago and stated there are around 500 individuals. They have also observed six white-headed ducks, which are rare examples of their species, he added.
Elaborating on the journey of summer migrant birds, storks and large raptors that gradually head toward Africa, Bülbül noted there hadn't been any stork migrations in the past week as they migrated in large numbers earlier.
"It seems that the cooling has started early in the northern regions, and temperatures have dropped. Therefore, storks have already set off on their journey to Africa," he said.
In addition, Bülbül noted that this year, they are especially expecting the arrival of rare species in the region.
He also mentioned that they saw a short-toed snake eagle nearby recently. "If the short-toed snake eagle is venturing into the area, we can say that the area is genuinely well-protected," he concluded.