Turkey’s Lake Van basin is home to hundreds of bird species throughout the year, both resident and migratory. Lake Van is the largest body of water in Turkey and has protected wetlands set aside for wildlife. Photographers with the Anadolu Agency have documented quite a few of these fine-feathered creatures in and around this lake in recent years, and I’ve collected a few of their images below.
The Birds of Turkey’s Lake Van
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Read moreStorks stand silhouetted against the full moon in their nest on a power pole near Lake Van in Turkey's Van province on September 5, 2017. #
Ozkan Bilgin / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA Eurasian hoopoe, one of the most common birds in the basin, is seen on a field in Lake Van basin on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreGulls fly around the ruins of Ktuts Monastery on Carpanak Island during the spring, northeast of Lake Van near the Citoren neighborhood in Van's Tusba district, on April 4, 2018. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus) walks near Lake Van on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA flock of sand martins perch on wires near Lake Van on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA little owl flies between rocks before hunting in Van, Turkey on March 18, 2018. #
Ozkan Bilgin / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava feldegg) is seen among grass in Lake Van on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreSeagulls hunt for pearl mullets, a fish species living in Lake Van, on June 2, 2020. Every year during their spawning season, from April 15 to July 15, the pearl mullets move upstream, as the salty water of the lake does not allow them to reproduce. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA vulture glides in the sky to find food during winter in Van province on March 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA long-legged buzzard is seen after being released into the wild by members of Yuzuncuyil University's animal welfare and rehabilitation center in Van, on April 10, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreFlamingos take off from shallow water in Lake Van basin on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA Coracias garrulus, also known as a European roller, perches in the Lake Van basin on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreMigratory sand martins prepare their nests in the Edremit district of Van province on May 24, 2019. #
Ozkan Bilgin / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreMigratory sand martins prepare their nests on May 24, 2019. #
Ozkan Bilgin / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA black-headed bunting perches among yellow flowers in Van, Turkey on March 3, 2018. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA stork carries branches to build a nest in Van on May 5, 2020. Storks arrive in Van around spring, after their winter migration, and begin to make their nests then. #
Ozkan Bilgin / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreThe medieval Akdamar Church is seen on Akdamar Island on Lake Van during springtime, on May 11, 2019. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA heron flies over Lake Van basin on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA seagull pecks at the roof of a greenhouse in Van on March 2, 2019. #
Onder Altinal / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA white-headed duck paddles in Lake Van on June 17, 2018. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA bee eater (Meropidae) feeds in a field in Van Lake basin on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA common redshank, photographed near Van, Turkey, on June 16, 2020 #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA white pigeon sits among others on a wire in Van on January 8, 2018. #
Ozkan Bilgin / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA red-billed chough flies in Lake Van basin on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA peewit (Vanellus vanellus) walks through grass near Lake Van on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreRuddy shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea) fly over wetlands in Van on June 16, 2020. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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Read moreA green warbler perches in a blooming almond tree on Akdamar Island in Lake Van as spring arrives in Turkey's Van province on April 9, 2016. #
Ali Ihsan Ozturk / Anadolu Agency / Getty
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