South Central - Eastern Turkey July 2004

• The Red-wattled Plover site at Cizre, a conurbation near the Turkish border with Iraq and Syria, is for obvious reasons in an extremely sensitive area. On our visit we were able to view the River Tigris for approximately five minutes before the Turkish military asked what we were doing ....lots of good advice from Richard Bonser.

Southern and Eastern Turkey June26th - July 18th 2004

• Most target species have been found, including sometimes hard-to-find ones such as Caspian Snowcock Tetraogallus caspius, Caucasian Grouse Tetrao mlokosiewiczi and even Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes. A total list of birds observed can be found within this report, as well as a list of places. Additionally, small maps have been added where appropriate....Kasper P Hendriks reports

Birds of the Middle East
R.F. Porter, S.Aspinall: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

• This is a completely revised second edition of the bestselling field guide to the birds of the Middle East. For the first time, the text and maps appear opposite the plates, and as a consequence there are fewer species per plate than before. The text and maps have been fully revised and many new artworks have been painted. There are more than 100 new species in this new edition, which features more than 810 species in total. It will be the essential field guide for anyone visiting the Middle East.

The Birds of Turkey (Helm Field Guides)
Guy M. Kirwan et al: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

• Detailed accounts of the status and distribution of all the birds ever recorded in Turkey. An indispensible guide for any serious birder visiting Turkey.

Birds of the Middle East
R.F. Porter, S. Christensen, P. Schiermacker-Hansen: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

• If your going to this region you must buy this book. It is a great break through. Comprehensive and complete, it eliminates the need to carry too many books in the field: we know how important that is! The text is well written by experts, and many of the plates are fantastic; those by John Gale especially stand out; just dream about those raptors! Birds of the Middle East" is the first comprehensive field guide dealing exclusively with the birds of this region. It covers all the species, including vagrants likely to be seen in Turkey

Collins Bird Guide
Lars Svensson et al: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

• Europe's best Field guide. If you only carry one field guide on a trip into Europe then this should be it. It provides all the information needed to identify any species at any time of the year, with detailed text on size, habitat, range, identification and voice. Accompanying every species entry is a distribution map and numerous illustrations to show the species in all the major plumages (male, female, immature, in flight, at rest, feeding, etc).

Lonely Planet: Turkey
Tom Brosnahan, Pat Yale, Richard Plunkett: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

• This guide to Turkey provides details on getting around, places to stay, places to eat, and entertainment options.

The Rough Guide to Turkey
Rosie Ayliffe, Marc Dubin, John Gawthrop: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

• I used this book on holiday in Turkey last year and I found it had all the vital information required to make my holiday a greater experience. Every detail beaches, restaurants, customs, food and what to watch out for were all explained very clearly. On the subject of food, I was advised NEVER to eat mussels sold by locals on the beach, but unfortunately I read the book 1 day too late!