On a recent flight, we used the Turkish Airlines Stopover in Istanbul program to spend three days in Istanbul. It is an excellent program that I highly recommend. Even though Istanbul was still cold in February, we visited Gülhane Park every day. My son played in the playground area while I got a few minutes to do a little birdwatching. Being a public park in a city of more than fifteen million people, Gülhane is not a place to see any exotic species. However, it is in Sultanahmet which contains most of Istanbul’s major tourist attractions. As such, visiting Gülhane should be a priority for birdwatchers visiting Istanbul.
My birding highlights in Gülhane Park were the parakeets (Rose-ringed and Alexandrine), Pygmy Cormorants, and Gray Herons. I have never seen any parrot species in the wild, so watching the local parakeets be so social was amazing. I have always liked cormorants ever since I saw a documentary about Chinese fishermen using cormorants to catch fish. Any cormorant species will be a highlight for me. Gray herons are not rare in Europe and Asia, but because we visited in winter, all the trees had lost their leaves, and we could see the herons high up in their nests. I enjoy seeing large herons sitting in trees.
There is not much else to say about Gülhane Park. It is a nice city park that is free and easily accessible on Istanbul’s tram system. If you are visiting Istanbul, you will almost certainly be nearby, so make the park a morning stop before visiting all the gorgeous Byzantine and Ottoman architecture in Sultanahmet.
The Keasy Depot 