Bee-eaters Merops apiaster were heard, some late shrikes, plenty of 
Kingfishers Alcedo atthis near every spot of water and the inevitable Black 
FTancolmsFrancolinusfrancolinus, and White-breasted KingfishersHa/q/OM 
smyrnensis, with some 25 around the Berdan bordering the Turan 
Emiksiz forestry alone. 
Nineteen raptor speedes were seen, including six Osprej^ Pandion haliaetus 
west of the Ceyhan river. Bam Owls Tyto alba were recorded at four places. 
The presence of large numbers of Cetti's Warblers Cettusis cettusia was 
striking. Their Bearded Tit-like 'ticc' was heard throughout the Delta,and 
many tens seemed to be concentrated along the reed-fringed lower 
Berdan. A short sea watch revealed an adult Gannet Sula hassam, and a 
group of 32 Cory's Shearwaters Calonectris diotnedia. In summary, the 
Cukurova is an exiting and fascinating place to be in mid October, and 
is highly recommended, not just for its waterfowl. 
Autumn migration around the Gulf of Iskenderun and Belen Pass have 
been described by Cameron at al. (1967), Heckenroth (1968) and Sutherland 
and Brooks (1981a,b). Some of our records from the nearby Cukurova 
may give new and additional information to the pattern described so far. 
In autumn 1976, covering 2 August to 23 September, around 8,000 White 
Pelicans Pelecanus onoaoialus were recorded passing Belen, with no well- 
marked peak and no sign of a decline in the movement at the end of the 
observation period (Sutherland and Brooks 1981a). The real number 
passing will be much higher as autumn migration in this region extends 
from late July to early November. Besides, it is likely that at least some of 
the White Pelicans that roost in the Cukurova coastal waters don't pass 
Belen, but fly straight across the Gulf of Iskenderun and around the 
southern edge of Amanos Daglari. 
On 12 October around 4pm a group of 1,900 circled down and landed on 
Yelkoma Golu. The following morning at around 9am, this flock resumed 
its journey flying straight SSE in long lines up to 50 m above the water. 
This group did not drift to the east (to the Belen Pass), but continued their 
course to the southern edge of the Amanos Daglari. This was also noted 
in 1982, when on 10 October a group of 1 70 birds flew straight south from 
the delta near Karatas, and on 11 (I)ctober around 9am when a group of 
1,500 left Akyatan Golu, slowly flapping to the east first, but soon turning 
southeast towards the southern edge of the Amanos Daglari (Van den 
Berk et al. 1985). Of two other groups recorded in 1988, it was thought 
they planned to fly around the Gulf: on 14 October at 12.30pm, some 150 
spiralled over the plain north of Akyatan Golu to east, and on 16 October 
around 9.40am a cloud of some 520 birds circled northwest of Akyatan 
Golu to the east. This latter group probably came from a roost somewhere 
in or near the Delta. 
17 
