25 
In an attempt to encourage more visiting birdwatchers to submit their 
records to OSME/DHKD, and also in an effort to control birdwatchers in 
sensitive areas, various initiatives were discussed. The addition of Che 
conference booklet Turkey-a challenge for birdwatchers to the OSME sales 
list is one of those initiatives. 
It was suggested that OSME might consider giving a small grant to DHKD 
which could be used to 50% fund keen but impecunious Turks (largely 
students) in membership of OSME. This proposal was warmly received and 
approved by Council; already we have three new Turkish members as a 
result . 
I went on both the mid- and post-conference excursions which visited the 
Cukurova delta, Birecik, the Sultan Marshes and Demirkazik. The 
birdwatching was excellent and the sites included gave a flavour of the 
enormous range of species and habitats that Turkey has to offer. An event 
during the four day excursion gave food for thought. 
At Birecik a large Blue-cheeked Bee-eater colony was found in an area 
where there had been none at all 10 days previously; Sancar Baris (DHKD's 
Bald Ibis officer) counted 45 birds and a total of 20 occupied nest holes, 
however, Sancar was somewhat concerned to see signs of recent sand 
extraction in the area. The colony would appear to be the largest in 
Turkey so, in the half-an-hour available before breakfast, Sancar and 
Nergis Yazgan visited the Governor of the area with the idea of stopping 
sand extraction for the duration of the breeding season. 
The Governor, who has been sympathetic to DHKD initiatives in the past, 
took relatively little persuasion to agree to help. Sancar pointed out 
that as a result of the effective extinction of the Bald Ibis in Turkey, 
Birecik could experience a drop of perhaps 50% in its visiting tourists 
(important to the local economy) as birdwatchers ceased to visit the area. 
The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, he argued, could be good for tourism, and it 
would be sad if Birecik were to lose not only the Bald Ibis but also the 
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. 
The Governor not only agreed that there should be no more sand extraction 
in the area, but also that Sancar should provide an information sheet for 
schools on the bee-eaters; Sancar was concerned that children would 
disturb the nesting birds by poking sticks down their nest holes as has 
happened with Rose-coloured Starlings in the past. 
So, OSME members, don't under-estimate yourselves, birdwatchers are a 
powerful economic tool for conservation in Turkey. 
