Thursday, September 20, 2012

Goreme, day 2


Rather a fabulous day today, mostly because it started with a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the amazing landscape that is Cappadoccia.  This was my first balloon ride so I have nothing to compare it to, but I can easily belive the hype that this is one of the best locations in the world for balloning.

Whilst birding and wildlife played second fiddle to the immense and spectacular landscape I was pretty happy to score a couple of pairs of Western Rock Nuthatches from the balloon, as well as a Red Fox.

The afternoon was spent exploring "Pigeon Valley" just outside Goreme where the birding produced a nice world tick in the form of a male Syrian Woodpecker as well as perhaps 20 Spotted Flycatchers, several groups of European Bee-eaters, two female Black Redstarts, five Blackcaps, plus a male Blue Rock-thrush and twenty or so Alpine Swifts around the top of Uchisar Castle.

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