Our 10 day stay at Lara Beach, Southern Turkey.

Tuesday 21st July to 31st July 2002.

Our Hotel for the next ten days, the Concorde Hotel, Lara Beach.

Our well deserved foreign holiday finally got underway and I am not going to write chapter and verse again about every single day within the Hotel grounds of the superb Concorde Hotel, on the Lara Beach complex near Antalya, Southern Turkey; but a summary of the birdlife and other wildlife I got to enjoy there with my family. Due to the Covid outbreak, it's been three years since my wife and I had been here, but it was a new hotel my wife had booked due to the fact that the Borut Hotel we normally stay at was fully booked, but the Concorde Hotel most certainly lived up to its reputation. On our penultimate day, we had to fill in a Hotel Questionnaire and we found it to be virtually faultless and would thoroughly recommend a 10 day plus stay there.

Above, the view from my balcony looking north from the Hotel and below, one of many photos of one of the Hoopoe present on the Hotel Grounds. 

I, however, did not count on how hot it was going to be and it averaged around 95 degrees throughout our 10 day stay and a few days, it was over 100 degrees! Even at night, it rarely dropped below 90 degrees and I will say, it was too hot for me personally. Clear blue skies welcomed us first thing in the morning with hardly a breeze, but there were times a breeze did blow through the hotel grounds as I stayed in the shade mostly during the day, while the rest of my family happily baked in the scorching sunshine. I had brought along both my binoculars and my Lumix Panasonic camera with me and also taken photos of some of the moths I managed to trap with a few moth pots I brought along. 

Above, there were a few families of Great Tits present and below, the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler eventually showed well. 

Though my list of sightings was nothing to get too excited about, there were a few surprises during my stay. I suppose I could have hired a car and gone off into the mountains to rack up a few more species, but though I have been to this area five times now, I am not confident enough in taking on those roads and strange traffic light systems. I have been forewarned that driving here is really taking your life in your own hands and so I was more than happy to check out the hotel grounds, mostly early morning or evening, to enjoy what this area had to offer. From the comfort of my balcony looking north towards the fields of agriculture and the mountains in the background, I found a few nice birds (and insects).

Above, a Small Mottled Willow and below, another nice moth, Golden Twin-spot moth. 

Below, the Mediterranean Brocade that was found by one of the pools. There were a lot of moths seen at night due to the bright lights around the entertainment area and also the big light globes, but few were easy enough to pot.

Though we flew out on Thursday, we arrived late in the evening to the hotel and so it was on Friday (22nd) that I got started in checking out the birdlife here. I think what was most notable were the Hirundines, where there were literally thousands of Swallows seen throughout the week, either flying low over the beach or Hotel Grounds or north of the Hotel, over the fields. Among these were good numbers of House Martins too, but best of all, were regular daily sightings of Red-rumped Swallows, but sadly, I did not get any photos of this beautiful Hirundine. A large shopping complex a little way east of our Hotel attracted a large breeding flock of Common Swifts, where at least 60+ birds were noted most days. Occasionally, some flew over the Hotel, but no rarer Swifts among them.

Above, another photo of a Hoopoe. Below, a Hooded Crow which were abundant throughout the area. Smart looking birds.

A Grey Heron flying east along the beach.

Apart from the local House Sparrows, probably the Collared Doves, Hooded Crows and the wonderful White-spectacled Bulbul (it used to be called Yellow-vented Bulbul the last time I was here!) were easily the most numerous species here; seen in very good numbers and quite showy most of the time here. There was a small flock of Starlings seen most days around the north of the Hotel, using a small football pitch mostly and sharing the grass with good numbers of the superb Hoopoe and White Wagtails which were seen daily. I have to say that I took the best photos of Hoopoe's ever as they seemed to be quite used to people passing by. Though common here at Lara Beach, it was always enjoyable watching these birds probing the grass with their Curlew-like bills. I even got to hear one individual call, which was a ‘first’ for me personally. The White Wagtails were very grey individuals, especially the juvenile birds, though there were a few adults present. 

Above, a White-spectacled Bulbul enjoying a dead Bee for breakfast. Below, a Starling was one one of a small flock that inhabited the area.

Collared Doves were also abundant throughout the Hotel Grounds, but there was only two sightings of Turtle Doves during our stay here.

The tall, thin conifers within the gardens attracted plenty of Greenfinches, which were again seen on a daily basis. I was sure I heard a Goldfinch, but I never got to see the bird. Not many Raptors were seen, but a male Kestrel was seen twice during the week, hunting over the agricultural fields to the north of the Hotel and a female Sparrowhawk soared and flapped lazily in the strong heat in the same area, being closely followed by a small flock of Swifts.

Above, another view of the mountains in the distance looking north from the balcony window. Below, one of a few Dragonflies seen although all remained distant in the heat.

On Saturday, it was much the same as the day before regarding my sightings, but a few Great Tits were added when I took an early morning walk around the grounds. Sunday was the same, but another Sparrowhawk was seen in the same place as yesterday. On Monday (25th), the day’s temperature got up to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, but that did not stop me noticing the birds during the day. Four Red-rumped Swallows were seen gliding over the southern end of the Hotel Grounds and one of 4 Hoopoe seen that day, was seen probing the ground near where we had an outdoor breakfast! Great entertainment. While checking the north of the Hotel from our balcony, I notched up another new sighting of the trip when I spotted a pair of Turtle Doves hurting past the Hotel and heading north.

Above, a distant Yellow-legged Gull perched on one of the buoys near the Jetty. Below, some of the pack of Dogs that popped in briefly within the Hotel Grounds. Big buggers too! 

On Tuesday (26th), the expected Eastern Olivaceous Warbler was finally seen, with at least 5 individuals seen throughout my early morning walk. Though they were never heard to sing, I did get to see them with a little patience, mostly flicking about the tops of the trees, though they did ‘chack’ a few times. Three Hoopoe’s were seen also on that walk and a Grey Heron flew west low over the Hotel Grounds, but never stopped. My first Yellow-legged Gull of the trip was seen perched on a small buoy out on the sea near the Jetty and the regular pack of Dogs (they were deemed safe by the staff here, though they were big dogs of which I saw them north of the Hotel grounds. Though it was a bit of a surprise to see them within the Hotel Grounds. Sadly, I found a Hooded Crow on the ground and it did not look all that good. Yes, it was moving about fairly freely, but it looked as though it survived any day as it was sniffed at by the passing Dogs!

Above, a collection of species including the Starlings, House Sparrow and White Wagtails. Below, another Hoopoe photo.

On the same day, before we headed off for our evening meal, I checked out the birds from the balcony and was surprised to see both Glossy Ibis and a Great White Egret passing overhead heading east. Further west up the road, there is a river of which most likely these birds had been feeding earlier in the day and I have read reports that this particular small river that flows into the sea does hold a variety of warblers; but I never got the opportunity to go and visit it. True, I could have walked it there (about a mile away), but in that heat? No thanks. To round off that day, there was a huge number of Swifts over the Shopping Complex east of our Hotel.

Above, an adult White Wagtail with a local House Sparrow. Below, another photo of the White-spectacled Bulbul.

Wednesday was also a quiet day as was Thursday, but we did do a boat trip up to the Waterfalls and sea caves further west along the coast where there were a few more Yellow-legged Gulls seen over the sea and a few Rock Doves (?) were seen in the caves. A probable female Sparrowhawk was seen on Friday, but it was on Saturday that I discovered a male Spanish Sparrow feeding its youngster near one of the Kids Pools on the east side of the Hotel Grounds. From the balcony that evening, I watched hundreds, possibly thousands, of sparrows coming in off the countryside and going to roost within the Hotel bushes and trees. The vast majority of these were actually Spanish Sparrows, which took me by surprise. A Cormorant was also seen that evening flying high east and was then followed by a flock of 9 birds also heading in the same direction. One thing I noticed was that a lot of them had their bills open, probably trying to get as much oxygen into their bodies in the humid heat.

A pair of Hoopoes together on the football pitch.

Away from the birds, I did find a few moths to look at and having brought along a few moth pots, I was able to grab a few and take them back to be identified. Now, I am no expert on moths from this region, but the guys on Moths Flying Tonight Abroad came swiftly to the rescue. They identified both Small Mottled Willow (an immigrant moth to the UK and I have had a few in the past) and Mediterranean Brocade and the following evening, I caught a gorgeous Golden Twin-spot moth. A 'Plume' species was found and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth was seen on Friday afternoon. A few Dragonflies and Damselflies were seen, but none close enough to grab a photo or two. A few butterflies were noted, mostly Small White’s (I assume), but a Long-tailed Blue and several other interesting looking butterflies were seen on the wing. Again, it was so hot during the day, that I did not venture out to take photos with my camera!

Me and the family by the Waterfalls on our boat trip.

All in all, my family had a great time and I was more than pleased with the array of wildlife within the grounds that kept me entertained. Previously, we had been here in the Autumn where a lot more species were picked up, but maybe next time, we might take a trip into the mountains? We had a late flight in the early hours of this morning and after a good kip when we finally got home, I managed to get onto my blog and write up my account for you readers.