6 
1 witnessed this destruction during nine visits between 1953 and 1974, and 
made personal pleas to officials in Ankara and Antakya, urgently warning 
of the great mistake being made. I have been supported by a growing 
number of Turks, who are interested not only in the creation of nature 
reserves but also the national regulation of hunting. 
Following around 25 years' destruction of Amik Golu in favour of modern 
agriculture, it is apparent that as well as an ecological disaster, it has 
also been an economic failure. Hasan Karaca, a Turkish pharmacist and 
naturalist who lives near the former Amik Gblu, has shown (Karaca 1987, 
1988) that the draining of the lake has adversely affected the fertility 
of the surrounding plains and so has not benefitted the landless peasant 
farmers it was intended to help. 
In his critical articles, Karaca included a proposal to reflood a 
sufficient part of the dried lake bed to create a new Turkish National 
Park for Nature Conservation and Wildlife Protection, i.e. Lake Amik Bird 
Paradise, which would again become important for hundreds of thousands of 
migrants as well as many breeding birds. 1 must plead emphatically for 
the establishment of this reserve and suggest that it should become a 
model for the whole Middle East. 
References 
Karaca, H. 1987. Amik Gbllinun kurutulmast faydadan 90k getirdi [The 
draining of the Amik Gblu has caused much more damage than advantage for 
the population], AV 18:1 
1988. Amik Ovasi'na yeni Gir Gbl. Hurriyet Cukurora . 20 March. 
Hubert-Reissner-Strasse 7, 8032 Munchen-Graf elf ing , West Germany. 
SELECTED BIRD OBSERVATIONS FROM TURKEY: SPRING AND SUMMER 1987 
Jonathan Eames 
From 10 May to 3 July 1987 I travelled widely in Turkey, particularly in 
the east and southeast regions of the country. From 23 May to 19 June I 
was accompanied by Andreas Noeske and Mogens Henriksen. 
This note documents 76 species recorded during this period. Data are 
presented for all species listed by Harrap and Martins (1986) except the 
Larus iuscus/argentatus species complex. All records are published for 
the 15 species included for Turkey in Collar and Andrew (1988). In 
addition, records are included for selected species mentioned in Beaman 
(I960) where few documented records exist and the. pattern of occurrence is 
unclear. Many breeding records are also given and anecdotal evidence 
supplied where considered relevant for certain species. 
