Diurnal 
migration 
of 
Nightjars at 
the Goksu Delta, 
South Turkey 
Vincent van den Berk and Jan van der Winden 
While sea watching along the Goksu Delta coast from early April 1991 
onwards. Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus was one of the few land bound 
birds seen in shore/at sea. The records were as follows: 
24 April: at the beach some kilometres east of the western Delta cape during the 
only systematic sea watch (1 3.00-1 7.00h), a group of three, and two singles passed 
parallel to the beach some 50-100 m offshore. They flew very low, almost 
touching the water, and followed the coastline around. 
25 April: same location; one seen around 16.00h acting as described above. 
6 May: at the beach some kilometres east of the Goksu river mouth, two were seen 
flying west very low across the sea around 18.00h, parallel and close to the coast. 
Discussion 
These three records (and four others inside the Delta that spring) fit in the 
normal pattern of dates described for the Goksu Delta. Nightjars are 
spring passage migrant, normally seen as singles, but up to three regularly 
recorded between late April and late May (Magnin et al. in press). 
Typically, the Nightjar is a nocturnal and broad-front migrant (Cramp 
1985). We had some difficulty in recognizing the Nightjars: they flew 
very low, regularly disappearing behind waves, and were a wholly 
unexpected species to see while seawatching. 
Given the infrequency of our sea watches and that most of them revealed 
Nightjars, these records may reflect a migration pattern of some substance. 
This migration was hardly nocturnal, and unfortunately we did not 
.watch the sea during mornings. 
A most striking feature was the birds' shearwater-like flight, close 
inshore and closely following the contours of the coastline. Despite the 
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