Wildlife in Action
Some Local Birds & Beasts to Be Seen Around Uzumlu
Storks are quite numerous in this region, and finding a suitable nesting site can require some ingenuity. In this case, a telegraph pole has been adapted for the purpose. If you look carefully, you can just see the fairly large youngster behind the mother.
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People seem to be happy to allow the birds to take over the local infrastructure, and usually leave the nesting birds undisturbed.
The dome of this mosque has been extensively colonised by several nesting birds. Here we see growing chicks still in their nests, waiting for mum to get back with some tasty morsel.
This mosque is fortunately close to a local lake and wetland, offering a plentiful supply of fish and frogs. The picture below shows mum setting off again for new supplies after feeding her chicks.
The many ancient cities in this region may have been abandoned by their former human inhabitants, but are still very popular with all sorts of reptiles and insects. They like nothing better than to soak up the sun on the tumbled stonework lying around.
Of course, not all the local creatures are content to sunbathe. This coin-headed snake has decided that it's lunchtime, so a tasty lizard is on the menu. The unfortunate lizard was almost the same size as the snake, so it took nearly half an hour to subdue and then swallow it whole.
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Fortunately for me, the snake was so preoccupied by the struggle with its prey that I was able to photograph the whole process minute by minute.