TURKEY 
Rising water levels on Lake Van (over 2.5 metres) in the past two years have 
brought about the destruction of at least four Important Bird Areas - 
Bendimahi Delta, C^elebibag marshes, Goriindii (Horkum) Golii and Edremit 
marshes. Both Ahlat and Van marshes have been reduced in size and many 
smaller areas of marshland completely inundated as a result. Due to the 
uncertain political situation in eastern Turkey it is not presently possible to 
adequately assess the full effects of this currently unexplained phenonomen. 
OSME News 
A chance to get things done! 
In the membership survey many of you made suggestions for improving 
OSME - so Council is going to make it possible for you to make some of them 
happen! OSME has urgent need of people who have the time to take on self- 
contained priority projects for the Society. These could include setting up a 
flier mailing, getting a new T shirt designed and printed, writing an article for 
Sandgrouse on a birding site in the region which you know well, organising a 
joint meeting between OSME and your local bird group, taking copies of 
OSME publications and membership forms out to a country in the region on 
your next visit... the possibilities are many and by making greater use of our 
widely spread membership we can achieve far more than Council can ever do 
on its own. All projects will be coordinated by Council so there will always be 
help at hand! With this system we hope to be able to make use of all our 
active members - even those who live in the remotest of locations, can't attend 
meetings or would like to assist but feel they cannot make a long term com- 
mitment. If you'd like to know more, please contact the Chairman, Geoff 
Welch. We look forward to hearing from you. 
Seventeenth OSME AGM 
At this year's AGM, Phil HoUom retired from Council after the completion of 
his 5 year term of service. Phil has a long association with the Society having 
been both a Vice-President and a Council member, and over the years he has 
had an impeccable record for attending meetings. Phil's long association with 
the region and extensive knowledge of its birdlife have meant that his contri- 
butions at meetings have always been pertinent and tempered with the benefit 
of a long term perspective of ornithology in the Middle East. This has been 
particularly valuable in curbing some of the more adventurous suggestions 
put forward by some of us 'Young Turks'! The other major contribution Phil 
has brought to meetings has been a sense of decorum - his gentlemanly pres- 
ence always ensuring things never got out of hand. 
54 
