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Description
The ancient ruins of Side are a fantastic place to combine culture and birding. It all depends on timing. Be there at first light and you will avoid the crowds and in summer the heat. And for big numbers be there during bird migration. If you are very lucky and you visit the area during bird migration you have a chance to witness a migrant fall. If this happens every tree and bush is alive with warblers. The site is not so good for raptors, but for warblers in times of migration the site can be mindblowing. But also without a migrant fall, and outside the migration period the birding can be very rewarding most of the time. Only in mid summer bird activity is low. But even then it is still a joy to walk around the ruins in early morning and you will always spot some nice birds.
A good place to explore are the bushy areas behind the ruins where you can find birds like ťuhýk běločelý, bulbul arabský, pěnice černohlavá, pěnice pokřovní, sedmihlásek šedý and vlaštovka skalní. Moving through the ruins everywhere there is plenty scrub to check and birds to discover. Among the other interesting birds you can see in the green areas between the ruins are hrdlička senegalská, dudek chocholatý, vlha pestrá, krutihlav obecný, strakapoud jižní, ťuhýk obecný, ťuhýk menší, ťuhýk rudohlavý, Chocholouš obecný, sedmihlásek olivový, pěnice turecká, strnad šedokrký and pěvec ryšavý.
Another good place to check out are the dunes near the big parking. From the parking head southeast until you see the remains of an old horse racing track. See the star on the map.
Details
Access
Side Ancient Ruins is signposted off the D400 at Manavgat. The car park costs some Turkish lira, but entrance to the site is free. Click on the P in the map to get directions.