resort under construction between the 
two main lakes in the delta. In March 
1989, they discovered that an airport 
was planned for the delta; and in July 
1989 that a large shrimp farm was 
planned for the southwest tip of the 
delta. Following concerted lobbying by 
DHKD, OSME, ICBP and others, to- 
gether ^vith the active interest taken by 
the Turkish press, these projects have 
apparently now been dropped, and the 
resort construction has finally stopped. 
Moreover, on 1st Etecember 1989, the 
Goksii Delta became Turkey's fourth 
Specially Protected Area. The purpose 
oT these areas is to ensure that conser- 
vation and development take place 
together. DHKD will now be involved 
in developing a management plan for 
the area. We congratulate the Mimster 
of state, the Undersecretariat of the En- 
vironment and the Directorate of Spe- 
cially Protected Areas for their wise 
decision to protect the Goksii Delta. 
Bald Ibis at Birecik Last spring, we re- 
ported plans to improve the breeding 
success of the wild population of the 
Bald Ibis at Birecik (Bulletin 22:47). We 
regret to have to report that these plans 
were not fulfilled, and that the wild 
Turkish population appears to be ef- 
fectively extinct. 
Two wild birds returned to Birecik in 
mid-March and were followed some 
ten days later by a third. Two formed a 
pair, nested in one of the nestboxes 
provided, and laid an unknown num- 
ber of eggs. The third remained single, 
not pairing with captive-bred birds 
released in the area. In April, one of the 
pair, together with the single wild bird, 
became lost during a storm. One of 
these birds was subsequently found 
with bums on its body indicating a 
collision with power lines. The remain- 
ing wild bird abandoned the nestbox, 
and its fate is unknown since it is indis- 
tinguishable from the released captive- 
bred birds. 
In February 1989, there were 44 birds 
in cap tivity in Birecik, of which 14 were 
breeding adults and the remaining 30 
inmiatures from one to three years old. 
These 30 immatures were released in 
early March to join two birds that had 
been present all winter from previous 
Hand-reared Bald Ibises being fed by the warden, Birecik, Turkey, September 
198S (Photograph C Tucker) ^ 
22 
