We headed up to Stanstead Airport for an overnight stay on Saturday 19th September prior to flying out on holiday to Izmir in Turkey the following day. We've never flown from Stanstead before and it was a bit of an interesting experience but the train journey up from Plymouth went smoothly and ran to time and I saw the usual Red Kites along the way with a bonus Marsh Harrier seen somewhere in Somerset as we passed by on the train.
Our flight to Izmir involved a transfer in Istanbul and while waiting for the connecting flight at Istanbul Airport I watched Laughing Doves in the trees outside the terminal. We arrived in Izmir on time but unfortunately our cases did not as they had apparently been left behind in Istanbul, now the second time that this has happened to us this year. However the next day as we tried to sort things out we were informed that our cases were actually still at Stanstead Airport - FFS! - and so the day was spent buying emergency clothes and toiletries at a shopping mall in Izmir instead of seeing the sights and then sitting around the swimming pool.
We spent Tuesday 22nd September having a look around the ruins of Smyrna in Izmir although there wasn't a lot to see as most of it is still buried under the modern city. Swifts, Jackdaw, Hooded Crows, House Sparrows, Feral Pigeons and Laughing Doves were all seen at the site along with Mallow Skippers and Oriental Hornets.
We had a wander through the "medina" on our walk back to the hotel before stopping off at the old pier for a coffee where Mediterranean, Black-headed and Yellow-legged Gulls, Feral Pigeons and Cormorants were seen. A very large looking and brown toned Peregrine Falcon then came belting through on the hunt for some lunch and spooked all the small Gulls and Pigeons into the air, everything eventually settled again but I didn't see if the Peregrine caught anything.
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