Pamucak Wetlands - Turkey

The Pamucak Wetlands are a coastal marsh system on the Aegean coast of Turkey, located about 4.2 miles west of Selcuk and 2.4 miles west of the ancient ruins of Ephesus. It is formed where the Little Meander (Kucuk Menderes) River empties into the Aegean Sea at Kusadasi Bay. It is also known as the Pamucak Delta and Selcuk Bird Sanctuary. It has freshwater reeds, wide marshes, freshwater Catal Lake (located near Selcuk) and the salty lagoon Gebekirse Lake. On June 25, 2026 I was on a Viking Cruise with Judy's siblings and their spouses which originated in Istanbul, Turkey and ended in Athens, Greece. We stopped at Kusadasi with the primary destination for most travelers being ancient Ephesus where the Apostle Paul spent time. I'd been there previously so decided to do some birding instead. I was one of the first people off the boat and engaged a taxi driver, Hassan, to take me there and spend the morning. 

The Little Meander River just before it enters into Kusadasi Bay.

My driver, Hassan, on a dead tree at Pamucak Beach looking into Kusadasi Bay. 

One of the very fun animals I saw was a Greek tortoise, also known as the spur-thighed tortoise. I saw THREE of them, one in the grasses about 30 yards off of Pamucak Beach, one in the grasses off the Little Meander River and one crossing a paved road near the wetlands. 

The first significant bird I saw, a lifer, was the spur-winged lapwing. Two of them were doing aerials and squawking at each other in a muddy area about 75 yards off Pamucak Beach. I saw one later near the mouth of the Little Meander and saw more in the wetlands. 

My favorite bird was the greater flamingo. The first one I saw was on Pamucak Beach near the mouth of the Little Meander River. Later I saw a large flock of them spread-out through the Wetlands. 

Where the Little Meander River entered into Kusadasi Bay it was sided by a very thick mass of trees and thickets which were basically impermeable. A small ways up from the mouth I did my best to get near the river and saw another lifer, the eastern olivaceous warbler, and my third time seeing a European goldfinch. 

Eastern olivaceous warbler

European goldfinch

I got another lifer on Pamucak Beach not too for from the Little Meander River entrance into Kusadasi Bay. It was a little gull.

As I got to the wetlands, viewed from an asphalt road above the swamp, I got more birds from a little further distance.

Black-winged stilt.

Gray heron

Ruddy shelduck

House sparrow

Eurasian coot

Squacco heron in breeding plumage.

Finally, we drove into a little village and then into larger Selcuk where I saw some additional birds.

Barn swallow

Western house martin

Eurasian collared dove

In Selcuk itself we saw white storks.

I'd originally planned to go to a national park, south of Kusadasi, a further drive. My taxi driver talked me into the Pamucak Wetlands. It was a pretty good show for no preparation and no guide. I enjoyed it immensely. 

Red-Shouldered Hawk

I did a post on the red-shouldered hawk on February 6, 2014 shortly after seeing my first one in Everglades NP in Florida. It was about seven years later, in 2021, I was surprised to see my next one, virtually in my back-yard, early one morning in Live Oak Canyon. I had no idea they were found in California.

Later that year, I saw another one standing on the roof of my neighbor's house.

Early the next year, on January 15, 2022, I saw another one in Newport Bay Marine Protected Area.

A few weeks later, on February 5, 2022, I saw another red-shouldered hawk at Whittier Narrows in Los Angeles.

Subsequently, I've begun to see them more and more frequently in my neighborhood in Redlands. Earlier this year we had what I'm sure was a nesting pair which we saw almost daily on our morning walk. In fact, I've been seeing more red-shouldered hawks than red-tailed hawks, the most common hawk we used to see. Just recently, while visiting Sam in northern California, I got photos of a red-shouldered hawk flying in Somona Valley Regional Park. They are beautiful underneath.

There are four or five subspecies. I saw ssp. extimus in southern Florida. I've been seeing ssp. elegans in California. 

Illustration of ssp. extimus from Birds of the World. 

Ssp. elegans from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World showing, weirdly, that they are found in California and then much further east. 

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

I was at Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve near Huntington Beach yesterday and saw a bunch of yellow-crowned night herons. On January 2nd of this year I was at Bolsa Chica and a person pointed one out to me quite excitedly and described it as a real rarity there. 

Yellow-crowned night heron at Bolsa Chica on January 2, 2026

Yesterday I encountered another birder who asked me if I'd seen anything interesting and I said I'd seen several yellow-crowned night herons. She didn't seem surprised and didn't seem interested. I got the impression that they must be old-hat there now. 

I was quite thrilled as it was only my fourth sighting of that bird. My first sighting was on South Padre Island in Texas in September 2019 and I did a post on it (December 17, 2019). I saw some more at Brazoria NWR southwest of Galveston Island, Texas on November 27, 2021.

But yesterday I got by far my best, most and most diverse views. I saw several juveniles and was not sure what they were, but wondered if they might be juvenile night herons. 

A juvenile at Bolsa Chica.

Another juvenile. 

AI notes that it is rare, but increasingly reported in coastal Southern California and noted Bolsa Chica as a spot with sightings.

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a juvenile from Birds of the World. 

Note that this range map from Birds of the World does not show anything near Southern California.