Lagoon in NW Turkey is summer birds’ incubation spot

By Guven Kaya

YALOVA, Turkey (AA) - Hersek Lagoon in northwestern Turkey, in addition to being a home to water birds, hosts summer migratory birds that come to the area for incubation.

The 152-hectare lagoon in Altinova district -- known as bird hotel among residents because some species spending the fall and winter months there -- sent the winter migrating waterfowls to other countries.

Home to 233 bird species, the lagoon hosts summer birds with rising temperatures.

Fatih Bulbul, a bird watcher in Altinova Municipality, told Anadolu Agency that the protected Hersek Lagoon and its region are among the most important wetlands in the Marmara region in terms of bird diversity.

"Big-winged winter migratory birds are now leaving our area. Instead, summer birds have started to come to the area, where is also used as a breeding ground,” said Bulbul.

He said the lagoon is important for hosting the sandwich tern, and listed other species in the region such as chaldrich, stilt, little ringed plover, Mediterranean gull, yellow-legged gull, mallard, kingfisher, water rail, Euroasian coot, common sandpiper and 20 other singing birds.

*Writing by Sena Guler