War, who saw the red rookie at the Solid Waste Disposal Facilities in ile, said they came to this area to see the birds from time to time. War, an engineer by trade, revealed that he has been photographing and observing birds for over 15 years, and that they came to ile after organising on social media with other birdwatchers and shooters.
“That day, I saw black rookies here on the north side and took pictures. I didn’t pay attention to the red rookie when I took pictures. When I got home in the evening, I was going through the photos, and I noticed the red rookie, and I was so excited. Red rookie is a rare species in Turkey even during migration. But we noticed he’d been here a week. It in Turkey has never been seen as such a resident before.”
He said he’ll keep an eye on the red rookie’s movements in the next days to see where he goes and how long he stays.
“It has been filmed no more than 10 times in Turkey. Other birdies also showed great interest. We have friends who take hundreds of bird photos, but they don’t have red rookie photos. If you go to Spain, Germany, France, you’ll find a red rookie there. However, it is very rare in Turkey. It’s not the kind you can see and photograph at any time. Because it doesn’t have a place. There are some species, for example, you live in Sanliurfa, you go there and shoot. But the red rookie isn’t like that. It’s gratifying that we found him here and saw him living here.”
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On a global scale, the red rookie, which was first observed in Tekirda, Ankara, and lastly Bursa Karacabey 2-3 years ago, is considered a rare and endangered bird species. Red rookies are not commonly found in Turkey, according to Ergün Leg, a lecturer at Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Vocational School of Forestry.
“Its status is one of the species that we call rare when we look at the book of birds of Turkey, which we call rare every few years. It has several records in Istanbul in recent years, but it is a bird species that has been recorded no more than 10 times in total. Red rookie is one of the rare species that is not regularly found in Turkey or is not in a regular transition.”
The habitats of the birds have been devastated, according to Ergun Leg:
“The black rookie was a breeding species in Istanbul in the 1970s and would kidnap chicks and chicks from the coops of those who kept chickens in Istanbul, but now it can only be seen in migration times or unfortunately in landfills. Red rookie is a rare species for our country, but species such as black rookies unfortunately can have the status of being a rare species for Istanbul. We say it is important for the red rookie, but like the black rookie, the native species of Istanbul, breeding, summer and winter, will not be seen in Istanbul because unfortunately man destroys all habitats and creates his own habitat. Thus, the habitat of the birds is destroyed.”