Macedonia - Part I (September 26th - September 30th)

We arrived at out hotel in the centre of Skopje after dark on September 26th and on waking up the next morning it was all blue skies and sunshine despite the chilly air. It remained sunny all day but was quite noticeably cool although we did wear shorts and t-shirts so it wasn't too bad.

Skopje was very interesting with an old Turkish town on one side of the River Vardar and a new modern town on the other. The old town was very interesting with a variety of old buildings to keep us amused while the new town was brash and modern, filled with massive statues and fountains and very Las Vegas like.

Skopje

Skopje

Skopje

Skopje

We spent our first day exploring the city, visiting the Kale fortress, Mustafa Pasha Mosque and the Daud Pasha Amam Gallery while wandering around and we also visited the National Museum of Archaeology which was free due to it being International Tourism Day.

A few birds were seen while out and about - rook, hooded crow, jackdaw, swallow, pallid swift, kestrel, buzzard, white wagtail, tree sparrow, woodpigeon and house sparrow - and a few butterflies were seen too - white sp., blue sp., clouded yellow sp., red admiral and a Queen of Spain fritillary.

 White Wagtail

Jackdaws (soemmerringii race)

 Queen of Spain Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary 

Friday 28th September and we caught the bus out to Lake Matka just outside the city, a dammed river gorge creating a narrow ribbon lake with steep sides. It was very beautiful in the sunshine despite the continuing chilly air and we took a boat ride along the lake to the Vrelo caves while enjoying the stunning views. Birds and butterflies were noticeable and I saw spotted flycatcher, crag martin, jay, chaffinch, buzzard, sparrowhawk, kingfisher, little grebe, mallard, cormorant, grey wagtail and blackbird along with red admiral, white sp., blue sp., a great banded grayling, wall brown, skipper sp., copper sp., a swallowtail and hummingbird hawkmoths.

 Lake Matka

 Lake Matka

 Vrelo Caves, Lake Matka

 Great Banded Grayling

 Blue Sp.

 Wall

Swallowtail

Saturday 29th September saw us catching a bus again to the cable car station at the bottom of Mount Vodno for the trip to the top where a large metal cross has been controversially placed and which is lit up at night. The views from the top of the mountain were stunning if a little hazy in the chilly sunshine but the only birds seen were ravens, chaffinch, blackbird, a buzzard and jays. The usual butterflies were on view though with blues, whites, clouded yellows, walls and a swallowtail seen plus the usual hummingbird hawkmoths.

 Mount Vodno

 Mount Vodno

 Mount Vodno

 Mount Vodno

 Clouded Yellow Sp.

Blue Sp.

Skopje had been very interesting and enjoyable but it was time to move on and so the next morning (Sunday 30th September) saw us heading back to Skopje airport to pick up a hire car for the next part of our holiday.

Istanbul - Part I (September 23rd - 26th)

Saturday 22nd September and a wet and windy day saw us driving up to Heathrow Airport for the start of our holiday to Turkey and Macedonia. The weather precluded any views of red kites along the way but I did see a small covey of red-legged partridge in a field by the side of the A303 somewhere in Wiltshire.

We flew to Istanbul on Sunday 23rd September and arrived to blue and sunny skies and the first birds I saw as we landed were hooded crows, magpies, jackdaws (some showing distinct pale half-collars of the eastern race soemmerringii) and yellow-legged gulls all feeding on the grassy areas by the runways. It was getting dark as we arrived at our hotel in Beyoglu (the very lovely Pera Palace Hotel) but the next morning a look out from our balcony added house sparrow, laughing dove and Alpine swift to the bird list.

With sunny skies and pleasant temperatures we had a walk around some of the sights of Istanbul and along the way I saw a lesser whitethroat with great tits in pine trees at the Mosque of Selim I, a brief view of a flyover white stork, shags fishing by the Galata Bridge as we enjoyed a beer as the sun was setting and a pygmy cormorant flying high up The Golden Horn. Butterflies were also flitting about too - red admiral, southern comma, mallow skipper (?), blue sp. and white sp. - and it was good to see a few hummingbird hawkmoths too.

 Lesser Whitethroat

 White Stork

Shag

 Southern Comma

 Mallow Skipper?

Mallow Skipper?

The next day was a complete contrast with grey skies, spells of heavy rain and wind but we carried on regardless and caught a ferry up The Bosphorous to Kanlica on the Asian side of the city. The trip wasn't long enough at just over an hour but I did get some good views of black-headed gulls and cormorants and also the bird I really wanted to see - Yelkouan shearwaters - which were moving up and down The Bosphorous in small straggly flocks. Yelkouan apparently means wind chaser in Turkish which really sums up shearwatering well but the dull light and distance meant I could only get some poor record shots.

 Yelkouan Shearwaters

Yelkouan Shearwaters

Despite the weather we had a good day, visiting the Khedives Villa at Kanlica for lunch, enjoying some delicious yoghurt for dessert at a Kanlica cafe right by the waterside while watching Yelkouan shearwaters passing by and marvelling at the beauty of the Beylerbeyi Palace.

 Cormorant

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Wednesday 26th September and another cool and grey day with the odd shower didn't hinder our plans again and we visited the very beautiful Dolmabahce Palace where starlings were feeding on the grassy areas in the gardens, Alexandrine parakeets gave brief flight views between trees and variously aged and plumaged yellow-legged gulls loafed around on the waterfront including a delightful 1st winter bird munching on a drowned rat.

 Hooded Crow

 Yellow-legged Gull with a drowned rat for lunch

Yellow Legged Gull

Despite the weather we had a great time in Istanbul but it was time to head back to Ataturk airport for the next stage of our trip, a flight to Skopje in Macedonia.