tjd

Hi there,

This seems kind of relevant given the post about Steve Erwins zoo.

Just returned the other day from a couple of weeks over in Tuzla and have been amazed at the wildlife that we've seen in the area.

Owls - saw a couple and at all times of the day, not just the evening.
Tortoises - Wandering along the side of the road on a couple of occasions.
Hedge hogs - well a family of them crossing a road late one evening.
Sea Otter - we think, but don't know what else it could have been. It was making it's way from the water up a hill about 5 yards away.
Spotted fish jumping out in the bay early one morning, but couldn't see, even with binoculars what was chasing them.
While snorkelling, spotted some conchs in the sand and brought them up to the surface for a look before settling them down on the sea bed again.
Some large geckos, well over a foot long.
Finally a couple of squirrels, just pottering about on the side of the road.

Is this typical of the wildlife that people see regularly in Turkey?

Anyone else interested?

TJD

rosehillgirl

Hi There,

There is an amazing amount of wildlife to see-it's great when you see tortoises and turtles etc. We Have a small irrigation channel beside our house which is home to lot's of turtles and some huge crabs.
When we were out the last time we had a spider living in a big yellow daisy-the spider was pure white and each day it caught a large bee for dinner which was much bigger than itself. One day we looked at it and it had changed colour to match the flower-it was bright citrus yellow-amazing. We did some research-it's a type of crab spider called 'flower spider' that has the ability to change colour-there's always something interesting to see.

Ann

Dalaman Deli

The abundance of wildlife here is fabulous and I am an avid watcher too. Only this morning I was sat on the balcony next door watching a swallow come to feed it's babies, not 2 metres away from where we were sitting. Afterwards they shuffled round so one of the parents could remove the waste from their rear ends and then they all then stretched their little wings one at a time. I could have sat there watching them all day.

I love my little house geckos too. The family all laugh at me cause I talk to them when they come out on the balcony in the summer evenings. We have one at the moment that is growing a new tail, guess it must have been in a scrap with one of the others. In the winter they move inside the house and live behind the kitchen units and the wardrobe but regularly pop out in the evenings.

Lots of scops owls too, with that haunting, single, flute-like tone. The family hate them as they are considered unlucky and a sign that the grim reaper is about to visit.

I even had a jumping spider in the bedroom that I called Henry. I think that is when the family decided that this yabanci really was crazy!

A couple of weeks ago we went to a restaurant up on the river at Yuvarlakçay, near Köyceğiz and we saw a pair of hoopoes. Sooo beautiful and the first time I had seen them. Good job hubbie didn't have his 12 guage with him as he says they are good for eating. Yuk.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bir...oopoe/index.asp

I sooo love this country!!!

Janeavsallar

Hi everyone

We have found about 4 or 5 tourtoise in our garden loads of tiny geckos, huge grasshoppers, last summer we had 3 small frogs in our pool, kept removing them as the pool has chemicals in it but the next morning they were back again and they make the most georgous noise, really funny. Have seen some large lizard/geckos over a foot long outside the garden and as we were driving into the town down a dirt track we came across a snake about 3 to 4 foot long which quickly slithered off as our car approached.

Also couldnt leave the house one night as a huge spider had parked it self just out side the front door and we were all to woosey to move it, mind you a cat came along and hissed at it then had second thoughts and ran off, in the end my brave 10 year old son threw a flip flop at it and when it moved hundreds of babies scurried from under it and scattered (shuddering now at the thought of it). will be checking the beds from now on just in case those babies are now adults and want revenge.

We also have very large trees surrounding us and sometime the noise is deafening, we think its coming from the trees but cant say for sure, is it birds or insect, could it be grasshoppers or crickets anyone got any ideas?

Jane

Harem

The noise from the trees is from the cicadas.

We have most of what has been described already and yesterday I was down in Fethiye and saw two pelicans, one in the water and the other preening itself on one of the boats.

Janeavsallar

Hi Harem

Thanks for that but excuse my ignorance what is cicadas a bird or insect

Jane

tjd

I forgot about the nest of swallows close to us, they are very interesting to watch.

I might have seen a hoopoe, I saw a small bird, looked like a mini version of a road runner from the cartoons but with short legs. Could that have been one?

Tony & Mary

Hi tjd
we have a villa on Tuzla were do you go snorkelling as we love it
Tony

Harem

Cicada is an insect, they sit on the bark of trees so you can hardly see them