Monitoring of Breeding White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) Populations in Central Anatolia,

Project supervisor: Itri Levent Erkol (Conservation Manager – Doğa Derneği) Project officer: İbrahim Kaan Özgencil (Biologist – Doğa Derneği) Project start and end dates: March, 2016 – September, 2016

INTRODUCTION White-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) is a diving duck from stiff-tailed ducks tribe (Oxyurini). It is the only Oxyurini species resident to the Palearctic region [4] and also one of the rarest birds in the region [26]. It is confined mainly to the steppe zones of the Palearctic [5]. The species occurs regularly in 53 countries, in 18 of which it occurs as a vagrant [25]. There are four assumed populations in the world [4] and there is no substantial differentiation across its whole range and no subspecies are recognized until now [5], [6]. Most of the world’s white-headed duck population breeds in Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Mongolia [1], [5], [25]. It is known that most of the world’s wintering population is hold in only seven countries: Algeria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Russian Federation, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan [4], [25]. White-headed duck has been listed by IUCN as globally Endangered (A2bcde+4bcde in 2012’s Red List Assessment) since 2000 [25]. Global population of the species is declining [25]. Global population size in 2002 was estimated by Birdlife International as 7,900 to 13,000 individuals, 5300 to 8700 of which are mature individuals [25]. National Red List Status of white-headed duck in Turkey was determined as Endangered in 2004 [29]. At that time, the estimated breeding population size was 200-250 pairs which was down to 82-168 pairs according to another assessment done in 2013 [28], [29]. Breeding white-headed duck population in Turkey is estimated to have declined 40 to 69% in the last 12 years [28]. Main reasons for this decrease are habitat loss due to extensive wetland drainage, hunting and possibly low breeding success [1], [9]. In Turkey, the species breeds mainly in Central Anatolia and surrounding Mediterranean and East Anatolia [3]. Central Anatolia population was estimated as 150-200 pairs by Green et.al. after an expedition in 1987 [30]. Later, in 1989, Important Bird Areas publication yielded a population size of 188-198 pairs in the region [31]. The latest study about the breeding white-headed duck in the region was conducted in (another one is being conducted) 1994 and the study estimated that there were at least 150 pairs breeding in Central Anatolia [1]. Although most of the Turkish population has been breeding in Central Anatolia, Van Gölü in East Anatolia and surrounding lakes and wetlands has started to harbor high numbers of breeding pairs as well (Mustafa Erturhan, pers.comm). Wintering population in Turkey is mostly confined to the Mediterranean Region and smaller numbers are seen in Central Anatolia, Black Sea and Marmara regions [3]. In 1991, about half of the world’s population wintered in in the Mediterranean; 10,927 white-headed ducks were seen in the lake [3]. In 2013, only 247 individuals were counted in Lake Burdur [32]. The Black Sea and Marmara regions seem to be increasing in importance for wintering white-headed ducks. In Mid-winter Waterfowl Surveys in 2013, 1,621 white-headed ducks were counted and 1,253 of these were from Marmara Region [32]. White-headed ducks favor shallow lakes or shallow parts of the lakes for breeding [5]. Although, water depths not exceeding 2.5m (usually less than 1m) are preferred, in places where there are floating vegetation masses like Sultan Marshes, the species can breed in waters as deep as 5m [1], [5], [30]. The species needs open pools which are flanked by dense vegetation which provide cover and nesting sites [5], [30]. Although the species mostly breeds in fresh water bodies, there also many records of use of saline and alkaline water

bodies for breeding [5]. Eutrophic lakes are preferred over oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes simply because eutrophic lakes can harbor a higher chrinomid biomass which is the main food source for both breeding pairs and their ducklings [4], [5], [7]. Today, in Central Anatolia, main white-headed duck breeding grounds are Lake Uyuz, Lake Mogan (both in province), Sultan Marshes (in Kayseri province), Akkaya Reservoir (in Niğde province), Lake Ulaş (in Sivas province). Akkaya Reservoir was home to about 15 pairs before it went dry in 2011. Now, the reservoir is back to good water levels and there are 3-4 pairs breeding there (Prof.Ahmet Karataş pers.comm.). Lake Ulaş harbored 3-4 pairs in the 2013 and this year there were 3 pairs breeding in the lake (Ferdi Akarsu pers. comm.). Breeding populations in Lake Mogan, Lake Uyuz and Sultan Marshes were the subject of this project. Although, there haven’t been any studies about breeding white- headed duck population in Lake Mogan, records from e-bird show that there aren’t many breeding records from the lake. It seems that the lake serves more like a pre-breeding ground, where numbers as high as 34 birds are seen in March and April. Due to its small size, Lake Uyuz never harbored many breeding pairs; a previous survey conducted in 1991 and 1993 suggested a population size 2 to 10 pairs in the lake [1]. In an unpublished study conducted by Doğa Derneği in 2014, the population size was estimated to be around 9-10 pairs. Breeding population in Sultan Marshes was estimated as around 20 pairs in 1991, before the marshes went dry [1]. There used to be other breeding grounds in Central Anatolia including the vast marshes of Ereğli and Hotamış [1], [3]. Those places have almost completely been dried by The General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) during the last 20 years. Ereğli Marshes’ white-headed duck population size estimated as 30-35 pairs and Hotamış Marshes’ population was estimated as 40-50 pairs in 1991 [1]. Lake Kulu was another place where white-headed duck were breeding [3]. The breeding population there was estimated between 30-40 pairs in 1991 [1]. The lake is no longer used by white-headed ducks for breeding. The reasons behind this are not very well known [3]. It should be noted that there are and have been many reports from other small water bodies throughout the region. This calls for an immediate need for detecting and monitoring of these small sized water bodies because they me harboring surprising numbers of white-headed ducks. Future studies aiming at discovering and monitoring of possible white-headed duck breeding grounds in Central Anatolia should be encouraged. Turkey along with Russia has the highest percentage of threatened bird species (about 10%). Main problems for white-headed ducks living in Turkey are habitat loss and degradation, hunting, trapping in fishing nets, lead poisoning and competition with carps over food sources [4], [9]. Habitat loss and degradation occurs as a result of catastrophic water policies of DSI including wetland drainage and dam constructions. A good example can be the case of Ereğli Marshes and Hotamış Marshes. These two used to extensive, so extensive that some people used to call them “seas”. Now they are almost completely dry. Hunting in Turkey is another problem for white-headed ducks and other waterfowl. 2 years ago, the government took the charge of conducting Mid-winter Waterfowl Surveys in the country. Since then, they are corrupting the data and keeping the results secret; the results are no longer public. This corrupted data is then used to set new hunting quotas which are far beyond acceptable range. This year’s hunting quotas are literally death sentences for many of the species. People have run online campaigns, written to the related ministries and

governmental bodies, but it didn’t work. The quotas are still the same and many waterfowl and other game birds are killed in numbers that are way too higher than acceptable limits. Hunter are not allowed to hunt white-headed ducks and their meat is not much favored by hunters [9]. Still, due to the lack of an efficient escape mechanism [5] and illegal hunting, white-headed ducks are shot both intentionally and unintentionally. These problems apply to our study sites which are located in Central Anatolia Region. Aim of this study was to monitor breeding white-headed duck populations in two lakes in : Lake Mogan and Lake Uyuz. Two other sites were also studied: Mogan Flood Control Dam (a newly discovered breeding ground for the species) and Sultan Marshes. Along with monitoring of the populations in the study sites, detecting and documenting possible threats for white-headed duck populations was also one of the aims of the project. The project also included some social work where our staff informed locals, bird photographers and birdwatchers about the project and the species.

Study sites Lake Mogan: Lake Mogan is a medium sized, shallow lake having a surface area of 561.2 ha [20]. It is located in Gölbaşı intercity district of Ankara. Gölbaşı has a total population of 122,288 [8]. The lake is 25 km south of Ankara city center [20] and is surrounded in the North by dense human settlements (Figure 1 below). There are many restaurants and recreation areas along shores of the lake. The biggest recreation area in the region is Mogan Park, which is located on the western shores of the lake. Mogan Park is big park; it has a total area of 203,650 square meters and is visited by hundreds of people every day [20]. According to our observations, the park is visited by more people in the spring and summer. The lake is used by people for fishing (fish and crayfish) and recreational purposes mainly. The municipality is highly interested in the lake and its recreational services. Therefore, recreational activities and facilities along the shores of the lake are constantly growing. Lake Mogan has been a part of Gölbaşı Special Nature Protection Area since 1990. Special Nature Protection Areas can be defined as “relaxed” forms of protected areas, in which constructions are allowed to certain extent [21]. The lake was also declared an Key Biodiversity Area in 2006 by Doğa Derneği [23].

Figure 1: Satellite image showing northern parts of Lake Mogan and Gölbaşı district – image retrieved from Google Earth, image date: 02.08.2016

Lake Uyuz: Lake Uyuz is small lake, with a total surface of 35 ha. This lake is also located in Ankara, 85 km south of the city center. There is only a single human settlement in vicinity of the lake: a village named Kömüşini Village. It is located 2,5 km northeast of the lake. The village was home to more than 3000 people in late 90s but now there are only around 200 people living there [22]. During our conversations with the locals, we learned that after the collapse of water buffalo husbandry and drying of the wetlands, people started to leave the village and move to big cities like Ankara and Konya where there are more job opportunities. The lake and the village are both inside Gölbaşı intercity district of Ankara. There is a bigger lake, Lake Çöl, 5 km north of Lake Uyuz. Lake Uyuz is surrounded by agricultural fields (mostly wheat fields). People use the lake mainly for recreational purposes, fishing and hunting. Lake Uyuz was declared a protected area in 1992 thanks to its breeding white-headed duck population. The lake is considered as an important area for breeding and migrating birds (including white-headed ducks) [23]. The lake was also declared an Key Biodiversity Area in 2006 by Doğa Derneği [23].

Mogan Flood Control Dam: The flood control dam was built in 2015 by DSI to stop flooding in some regions of Gölbaşı district [24]. The reservoir became a fully functioning ecosystem in spring of 2016. It is located 7,5 km south of Lake Mogan, in a remote part of Gölbaşı intercity district. There are no asphalt roads going to the reservoir; as a result, very few people know about the place. The human disturbance around the reservoir is minimal. We have only seen a handful of photographers, hunters and shepherds near the reservoir during our observations in the area. Although it is newly built, the reservoir already attracts many migrating and breeding bird species (around 100 species observed by our team up to now) and is already a very important bird area in the region. There are many water birds in the reservoir currently and we believe that the place will probably host substantial numbers of wintering birds. Reeds are newly developing along the shores of this new lake making it a very promising place for white-headed ducks. It is very likely that the reservoir will soon have many breeding white-headed duck pairs. The reservoir has a surface area of 125 ha (measured in Google Earth on an image taken on 02.08.2016).

Sultan Marshes: Located in Kayseri province, Sultan Marshes is one of 14 Ramsar sites in Turkey. It has a total surface area of 39,000 ha and is both a national park and an Key Biodiversity Area [23]. It is home to many different breeding, migrating and wintering bird species [23]. In spite of its vast size, Sultan Marshes is a very well protected area. DSI started to dry the marshes starting from 1970’s [23]. Due to DSI’s dam constructions, the place was almost completely dry in 90s and early 2000s. Now that the place is supplied with additional water from another catchment and it is back to a good state. Still, large parts of the marshes are still dry.

METHODOLOGY

Before we began our field trips in April, we collected as much information as possible from people who are familiar to the study sites and visit them often. Among these people were scholars, birdwatchers and bird photographers. By consulting them we learned the exact places where white-headed ducks are seen or have been seen during previous breeding season. We were lucky to meet some bird photographers who helped us very much throughout the project. Bird photographers in Ankara probably outnumber birdwatchers by several folds. Contacting them and cooperating with them was very useful in our project. We also tried to reach as many people as possible to let them know about the project and asked for their help in collecting information and monitoring the populations. In other words, we tried to establish an information network through which people report their sightings to our team. Many people volunteered to help us and their help contributed to the project significantly. After learning the breeding sites used by the species we started monitoring the sites. Nevertheless, we also checked other possible breeding sites which we believe may harbor some breeding white-headed duck pairs. Unfortunately, only one of them turned out to be a white-headed duck breeding ground. Still, it was a success for our team to discover a new and highly promising white-headed duck breeding site. We have learned from our information network and confirmed that there are two breeding sites in Lake Mogan. In the satellite image below, those two sites are shown as the yellow polygon (Station 1) and blue polygon (Station 2). Green place marks are the observation spots we used frequently and red ones are the ones we used rarely.

Figure 2: White-headed duck breeding sites (polygons) and our observation spots (placemarks) in Lake Mogan – image retrieved from Google Earth, 2016 (image date: 02.09.2015)

Lake Uyuz is a small lake and it was not hard for us to cover more than 90% of the lake’s surface from two spots. Observation spots (green: frequently used, red: rarely used) and white-headed duck breeding site (yellow polygon) is shown in the satellite image below.

Figure 3: White-headed duck breeding site (yellow polygon) and observation spots in Lake Uyuz – image retrieved from Google Earth, 2016 (image date: 02.09.2015) Although Lake Uyuz is a small lake and we studied almost the lake, Lake Mogan is a big lake and we might not have been able to locate and monitor all the breeding sites in the lake. Northern parts of the lake are surrounded by dense human settlements and there aren’t many dense reed beds there; hence, we believe there are no white-headed ducks there. But southern parts of the lake which has dense and scattered reed beds might harbor some other small breeding groups. Most of those areas are only accessible from water; a boat ride is needed to get there. Although we believe we covered all the possible breeding sites in our study, there is a slight chance that our estimation of the breeding population size might be an underestimation of the real population size and there might be some small groups hiding in almost inaccessible southern parts of the lake (see the future recommendations part). Although we’ve reached many people and asked for their help, there were only around 8 credible reports submitted to us. One reason for that is that the bird photographers and birdwatchers mostly visit station 2 in Lake Mogan. Other stations are not visited often by people. Station 1 is harder to reach and bird photographers don’t favor the place as one has to climb a steep hill to be able to watch the site and the observation spot is too far to serve as a good photographing site (see the results). Therefore, we didn’t receive any reports for station 1 in Lake Mogan. For Lake Uyuz, the story is not much different. Being located about 85km away from Ankara and not having too many interesting bird species, the lake doesn’t attract many birdwatchers and bird photographers. As a result, we could only

get one credible report from the lake. Lack of reports from our network can also be because of the secretive and shy nature of the species. During our field trips, our team was mostly made up of 3 people. We used a telescope (Swarovski 20-60x80mm), binoculars (Olympus 10x50mm) and DSLR camera (Canon 600D equipped with Canon 400mm objective – when available). Our project officer wore camouflage and used camouflage nets about 70% of the time to decrease his chance of scaring off the birds. The project officer attended all of the observations. The observation spots were chosen so as to so cover as much area as possible without scaring the birds. Therefore, vantage points which were located far enough from the water were chosen as observation spots. The project officer always had a satellite image printout showing the area to mark the exact spots of different activities and nests. Our observations lasted 4.21 hours on average (SD= 2.76 hours) and were mostly concentrated around afternoon hours of the day following [2] according to pers.comm. of Burak Özkırlı who studied the species in the past. This helped us to use our limited resources more efficiently as white-headed ducks were more active during afternoon hours, especially right before the sunset. However, the observations were also done in the morning and all- day from time to time. During our field trips we also tried to talk to the local people around the breeding sites and let them know about the species and project. We also detected threats or possible threats to white-headed ducks and the whole ecosystem during our visits and tried to document them whenever it was possible. We also checked ebird.org entries frequently to see if any white-headed ducks were seen in our study sites. Our national database (which doesn’t exist anymore), kusbank, was also used to recover past white-headed duck records from the study areas. In addition to Lake Mogan and Lake Uyuz, our team also visited Lake Gök (Kozanlı) and Lake Düden (Kulu) to see if there are any breeding white-headed ducks there. These two places used to harbor some breeding white-headed ducks [1], [3]. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find any breeding white-headed ducks in neither of the lakes. Sultan Marshes, a previous breeding site [1], [3], [4] was visited by our team as well. Luckily, we located pairs inside the marshes and our local contacts (Mehmet Ünlü and Prof. Dr. Ahmet Karataş) also confirmed that there are white-headed ducks breeding in the marshes. Results of all our sightings and reports from our network are shown the results section of the report.

RESULTS and DISCUSSION

1) Lake Mogan: Figure 4 below shows satellite image of Station 1 from Lake Mogan with observation spots (man-shaped place marks), the area white-headed ducks were found (yellow polygon), the area used for feeding activities (turquoise polygon) and possible nest sites (yellow dots) marked on it.

Figure 4: Satellite image showing Station 1 in Lake Mogan in detail (retrieved from Google Earth, 2016 – image date 02.08.2016) Green colored place mark in the image shows the observation spot which was used frequently and red colored ones show the spots which were used rarely, mostly for supplementary purposes. Our favorite observation spot is located on top of a hill and has a very good cover of the breeding ground. The species was always seen inside the yellow colored polygon. On the northern part of the polygon lies Mogan Park, a crowded recreational park. Hundreds of people go there every day and take boat rides into the bay. It is not very farfetched to assume that human disturbance and deeper water levels there are the reasons why our team failed to locate any white-headed duck on the northern side of the bay. On the other hand, reed beds lying on west of the breeding ground seems to be a little too shallow and exposed for the species to breed. It is known that the species doesn’t favor waters that are too shallow or too exposed as breeding grounds [2], [5]. White-headed ducks in this station used the open pool surrounded by reed beds (the turquoise polygon) for feeding. During our visits, we detected 3 possible nest sites (yellow spots in the image). They were all inside dense reed beds. Detailed records of our observations done at Station 1 are summarized in Table 1 below. The table also shows highlights from our observation notes in the notes column.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get any extra reports for Station 1 from our information network. Possible reasons for this are listed in the methodology section of the report.

Date of the visit Min.number of Notes white-headed ducks seen 01.04.2016 1 male, 3 females 3 females swimming next to a male. 22.04.2016 4 males Aggression between two males. Other than that only preening and feeding activities. Males were sleeping and swimming very close to each other. They performed several dives and a dive lasted 30 seconds on average. One of the males attacked a red-crested pochard female which was swimming with 8 ducklings. Red-crested pochard chased him off after a non-contact fight. Number of males can well be 5. But the max.number of individuals seen at the same time was 4. 11.05.2016 4 males, 1 female Territorial behaviour by a male in the middle of a pool – when no other bird was arround. No aggression between males, although they were swimming very close to each other. Female seemed to be single and was observed only for 15 minutes, then she disappered in the reeds. 17.06.2016 2 males One of them chased the other for about 2,50 minutes. Chase was over when the other male was far enough. Then the chaser returned to his territory. He then fed by diving 22 times in a raw. 31.07.2016 1 pair, 5 males, 3 A female with 3 ducklings seen. A male was very close females, 3 juveniles to them. He might be their father. Ducklings and the female stood very close to the reeds and then disappeared near a possible nest site. One of the females also disappeared near another possible nest site. She entered the reeds and got out again repeatedly. We believe she was incubating. One of the males displayed to a seemingly single female by side- hunching. The female didn’t flee; she just watched him very close. 11.09.2016 5 juveniles Parents all seem to be gone to their molting/wintering grounds. 5 juveniles all seem to be from the same clutch. They were fleeing to one of the possible nest sites whenever there was panic in the pool.

Table 1: Result of the observations done by our team at Station 1

Figure 5 below shows satellite image of Station 2 from Lake Mogan with observation spots (man-shaped place marks), the area white-headed ducks were observed (yellow polygon), the area used for feeding activities (turquoise polygon) and possible nest sites (yellow dots) marked on it.

Figure 5: Satellite image showing Station 2 in Lake Mogan in detail (retrieved from Google Earth, 2016 – image date 03.09.2015)

Green colored place marks in the image show the observation spots which were used frequently and the red colored one show the spots which were used seldom. Our frequently used observation spot south of the bay is located on top of a hill and has a very good coverage. Therefore, it was the observation spot of choice most of the time. The other frequent spot which lies north to the yellow polygon is located at a tip and is used mostly by bird photographers from our information network. This bay is surrounded by shallow and dense reed beds on the eastern side. Those reed beds are too dense and don’t have any openings/pools rendering them inhabitable by white-headed ducks [3], [5]. Details from our observations at Station 2 are shown in table 2 below. Table 3 shows the reports and sightings forwarded to us by people from information network. Highlights and comments from the observations are listed in the notes column of the tables.

Date of the visit Min.number of Notes white-headed ducks seen 01.05.2016 None Too many people around the bay. Around 40 people barbecuing and walking around the bay. It was a Sunday afternoon; poor choice of time. 12.05.2016 1 male It was a late morning observation. Only one male was seen swimming from the western end of the polygon towards the eastern side. 18.08.2016 4 juveniles 4 juveniles were seen swimming together. They were all of the same size and probably belonged to the same clutch. Parents were all gone, probably to their moulting/wintering grounds. 21.08.2016 8 juveniles 8 juveniles from seemingly 3 different clutches. They were all juveniles and were of 3 different sizes, so we believe they were from 3 different clutches. 4 from one clutch, 3 from another clutch and a single one from another.

Table 2: Result of the observations done by our team at Station 2

Date of the report Min.number of white-headed Notes ducks reported 17.06.2016 2 males, 1 female From a photographer. First half of July 3 pairs From a photographer. 13.07.2016 3 pairs From a photographer. Pair formation was observed certainly. 21.08.2016 8 juveniles From a birdwatcher and a photographer. They confirmed that there were 3 different sized juveniles. 17.09.2016 11 juveniles Not confirmed. If there really were 11 juveniles, then there had to be another breeding pair.

Table 3: Result of the reports from Station 2 forwarded to us by people from information network

Below are some photographs of white-headed ducks taken at Station 1 and 2 in Lake Mogan during the study. Credits are shown below the photographs.

Figure 6: Two males, from Station 1 – İ.Kaan Özgencil, May 2016 (taken through telescope)

Figure 7: A female resting with her ducklings, from Station 1 – İ.Kaan Özgencil, August 2016 (taken through telescope)

Figure 8: 4 juveniles from Station 2 – Fikriye Kepenek, August 2016

Figure 9: 8 juveniles swimming together, from Station 2– Hasan Özcan, August 2016

2) Lake Uyuz: Figure 6 below shows satellite image of our second major study site, Lake Uyuz, with observation spots (man-shaped place marks), the area white-headed ducks were found (yellow polygon), the area used for feeding activities (turquoise polygon) and possible nest sites (yellow dots) marked on it.

Figure 10: Satellite image showing Lake Uyuz in detail (retrieved from Google Earth, 2016 – image date 03.09.2015)

Green colored place mark in the image shows the observation spots which were used frequently and red colored one shows the spots which was used only twice. The green place mark north to the lake is located inside recreational area built by the municipality. We use the watch tower there to make our observations. The tower has a very good coverage and by looking through its windows we avoid scaring the birds. The other green place mark which lies near the Northeast corner of the lake is a hilltop and has a very good view of the most important white-headed duck pool in the lake. Because of the small size of the lake, either of our frequent observation spots could cover almost the whole lake. Still, some of our volunteers sometimes took small walks along the shores with binoculars in their hand to provide extra eyes on the lake. Probably due to the huge human disturbance in the lake, white-headed ducks living in the lake is confined to a small place (yellow polygon in the figure). There are several favorite feeding spots for white-headed ducks and they are shown as turquoise polygons in the image. We spotted 3 possible nesting sites (yellow spots in the image) in the lake. Detailed records from our team’s observations in the lake are shown in table 4 below. Due to the reasons listed in the methodology part, we could only get one credible report for this lake and it is shown in Table 5. Notes column has the highlights from the observations and reports.

Date of the visit Min.number of white- Notes headed ducks seen 16.04.2016 None Spent around 20 minutes before the sunset but failed to see any white-headed ducks 17.04.2016 2 males, 1 female No visible interaction between individuals. Only some dives for feeding were observed. Dives lasted between 28 and 33 seconds. 31.05.2016 None A morning observation. Although 47 species were seen and although they were highly active, 4 hours of observation around the lake, from different spots was not enough to see any white-headed ducks 08.06.2016 2 males, 1 female 14 hours observation. Max. 3 individual seen at the same time but over 20 different observations of males and 14 different observation of a female was done. Yet, we believe they were all the same individuals and there probably were 2 males and a female. Both of the males displayed and fought for the female. There was some serious non-contact aggression between the males. Females did not favor any of the males and went her own way. Other than that, the individuals spent their time feeding and sleeping. 21.07.2016 2 males Two resting males were seen. They only rested and slept. No sign of females. 21.08.2016 None Shockingly, there were almost no waterfowl in the lake. Normally, the lake would be swarming with Eurasian coots and even coots were gone. Only 5-6 water birds were seen. Marsh harriers were gone as well. Only a single marsh harrier was seen. The lake was surrounded by many fishermen. However, we suspected a poisoning case upon finding several European starling and a long-eared owl carcasses (see threats section). 03.09.2016 None A carcass and water sample was collected for testing. The lake still looked abandoned and there was no sign of white-headed ducks or any other ducks. Only a handful of waterfowl (see threats section).

Table 4: Result of the observations done by our team in Lake Uyuz

Date of the report Min.number of white-headed Notes ducks reported 07.06.2016 3 pairs From an experienced birdwatcher. Pair formation was seen and the nest sites were also located.

Table 5: Result of the report from Lake Uyuz forwarded to us by people from information network

3) Mogan Flood Control Dam: Figure 7 below shows a satellite image of the reservoir with observation spots (man-shaped place marks), possible nest sites and the area where white- headed ducks were seen (yellow polygon). Turquoise colored polygon show the area used by white-headed ducks for feeding.

Figure 11: Satellite image showing Mogan Flood Control Dam in detail (retrieved from Google Earth, 2016 – image date 02.08.2016)

Just like in the other images, green colored place mark shows the frequently used observation spot and the red colored one shows the rarely used one. The frequently used spot is located on top of the dam wall and has a full view of the reservoir lake. Our only possible nest site lies at the southernmost part of the reservoir. This is because white- headed ducks need reed beds to breed [2], [3], [5], [6], [7] and reed beds are present only in the southernmost part of the lake. Therefore, we believe that the reeds there are the only option for white-headed ducks to build their nests. However, those parts of the lake were too inaccessible or too far for us to watch, so we failed to see any individuals there. Still, some individuals were seen in the middle of the reservoir (yellow polygon in figure 7). Table 6 shows the records of our observations at the dam and table 7 shows reports that were submitted to us by people from our information network. This place is visited by bird photographers on a regular basis. As a result, we could get some reports from the area. The reason why we couldn’t get more reports is probably because white-headed ducks swim in the middle of the reservoir and they are simply too far away for someone with a digital camera to see. We could hardly see them with our 60x magnification telescope.

Date of the visit Min.number of white- Notes headed ducks seen 01.05.2016 None The southern reed beds were visited in the morning. It was a little late but the place was found to be very much suitable for the species. 12.05.2016 None The southern reed beds were visited again. The observation lasted for 2,5 hours but we failed to see any white-headed ducks. We still thought that there had to be some white-headed ducks there as the habitat there was quite suitable. 18.08.2016 2 females/juveniles 2 juveniles/females were seen swimming next to each other. Although the sun was almost down and the distance was very far, we believe that that the individuals were juveniles rather than females. Their size was also smaller than what we would expect from an adult female. Still, we couldn’t be sure 100% and decided to report them as juv/female. 21.08.2016 3 pairs, 6 3 apparent pairs, swimming together and 6 females/juveniles juveniles/females were seen. The birds were too far away for us to distinguish between juveniles and females with high accuracy. Nevertheless, we believe at least some of those 6 individuals were juveniles. 11.09.2016 2 pairs, 2 2 males and 2 females swimming together. They females/juveniles looked like they were 2 pairs. 2 juveniles/females were seen. They looked more like juveniles to us.

Table 6: Summary of the observations done by our team in Mogan Flood Control Dam

Date of the report Min.number of white-headed Notes ducks reported First half of July 3 males Reported by a group of photographers. 13.07.2016 3 males Reported by a photographer. 09.08.2016 2 females/juveniles First report of possible juveniles by a group of photographers. 21.08.2016 4 females/juveniles From a group of photographers. Seen on the same day we saw the birds.

Table 7: Summary of the reports from Mogan Flood Control Dam forwarded to us by the people from information network

4) Lake Düden, Lake Gök and Sultan Marshes: Lake Düden (Kulu) and Lake Gök (Kozanlı) were also visited during the project. The former was visited once in April and once in early September, and the latter was visited once in April, once in August and once in September. By looking at the observation records from the databases and pers.comm. with Güven Eken

we had already known that the species doesn’t breed in these two past breeding sites [2] anymore. Nevertheless, we visited these areas to check if there are any birds breeding there. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find any white-headed ducks in these areas. Sultan Marshes was another area we visited during our project. The area was visited twice. During one of these visits, one of our volunteers and the project officer took a boat ride to the center of the marshes. Summary of the results of our observations and reports submitted to us by people from our network are shown in table 8 and 9, respectively. The reason why we couldn’t get many reports from this birding hotspot is probably because not too many people take a boat ride and look for white-headed ducks in the marshes. Also, considering the vastness of the marshes and all the inaccessible parts of it, it is very likely that the breeding population size in the marshes is way more than what we and our contacts from the area were able to see.

Date of the visit Min.number of white-headed Notes ducks seen 21.05.2016 5 males, 5 females (at least 2 10 individuals spotted during a boat ride pairs) inside the marshes. They were all seen in the central pool. Among them were 2 pairs. The other were not fully acting as pairs. 06.07.2016 None Observation was done from the watch tower. No white-headed ducks. They probably are deep in the marshes.

Table 8: Summary of the observations done by our team in Sultan Marshes

Date of the report Min.number of white-headed Notes ducks reported June, 2016 7 pairs Reported by an experienced birdwatcher.

Table 9: Summary of the reports from Sutlan Marshes forwarded to us by the people from information network

5) Summary of the results: breeding population size estimates: By taking into account our observations and reports of the sightings from our study sites, we made estimations of the breeding population sizes in each of our study sites. Our estimations are conservative and they are shown in table 10 below. It is likely that these estimations are underestimations for Lake Mogan (as stated in methodology part).

Lake Mogan, Station 1 4-6 pairs Total: 7-10 pairs Lake Mogan, Station 2 3-4 pairs Lake Uyuz 3 pairs Total: 3 pairs Mogan Flood Control Dam 3 pairs Total: 3 pairs The Sultan Marshes At least 7 pairs Total: 7+ pairs

Table 10: Estimated breeding white-headed duck population sizes for our study sites

6) Threats for white-headed ducks living in the study sites: During our visits to the study sites, our team tried to detect and document all the possible threats to white-headed ducks. These threats are listed under relevant headings, in the following section.

6.1. Lake Mogan: Due to being located in a densely populated district and the municipality’s interest in the lake, the lake is under serious pressure. According to our evaluations, the first and the most serious threat to the existence of white-headed ducks (and other water birds) in Lake Mogan is habitat loss/degradation and pollution. Reeds are considered as sources of pollution, mosquitos and untidiness by the municipality of Ankara. As a result, there has been some reed cleaning campaigns in the past. This resulted in a big habitat loss for wildlife thriving in reed beds. Especially near Mogan Park, there have been huge reed clearings in 2004 and 2005 [23] some of which were stopped thanks to Doğa Derneği’s rejections. White- headed ducks need emergent plant beds to breed [2], [3], [5], [6], [7] and the reed clearings must have had some impact on their populations. Pollution is also known to affect white- headed ducks negatively [9], [10]. Considering the ever growing population and settlements around the lake, pollution problem won’t be solved in near future. In figure 1 from the introduction part, it can be seen how dense the human settlements and recreational areas around the lake are. We detected the second biggest threat for the white-headed ducks in Lake Mogan as human disturbance. Park Mogan and the restaurants (there are dozens of them) are visited by thousands of people every day. We’ve observed during our project that the number of visitors increase during spring and summer. The number of summer houses visited by their owners also increases during the warm months of the year. People come to the lake to picnic and barbecue, mostly. People can also take boat rides into the lake in spring and summer. It has been documented that human disturbance can have detrimental effects on foraging efficiency and reproduction of ducks [11], [12]. It can cause a decrease in number of breeding pairs, increase in nest desertion, decrease in hatching success and decrease in duckling survival [14]. The disturbance is especially bad for females as it costs them their precious feeding time which is very limited during incubation. After the incubation is over, females still need to feed at a higher rate to compensate for the loss they suffered during incubation and thus, disturbance is still a huge threat to them [13]. In figure X is taken from one of the observation points at station 1 and shows a part of Mogan Park and two boats. Reeds at the bottom part of the photograph are border to the white-headed ducks’ (and many other water birds’) breeding site.

Figure 12: Two boats near Station 1 in Lake Mogan, Fikriye Kepenek, August 2016

Because of all these human activities near Station 1, white-headed ducks are visibly isolated from the rest of the lake during the spring and summer. Around Station 2, there are about a dozen small summer houses. The owners visit these houses to picnic and barbecue. The small bay sometimes gets as many as 50 people around it (especially at the weekends). This causes a huge disturbance for resident breeding ducks there. It was observed twice that white-headed ducks couldn’t leave the reeds to reach their feeding places because there were cars and people near the shore and the birds were simply afraid to go out there to feed. Because the bay is small and most parts of it is exposed, it is easier for people to disturb water birds in the bay. The third most serious to the existence of white-headed ducks and other species inhabiting the lake, according to our evaluation, is use of insecticides to control mosquitos. It has been shown that some insecticides can affect reproductive success and survival in some ducks species [15], [16]. During our field trips in early spring, we have seen municipality boats spraying gaseous insecticides inside reed beds which are located 30-40m away from Station 1. The fourth biggest threat to the existence of white-headed ducks in Lake Mogan is presence of carps. We have seen many times during our observations that the lake is inhabited by a huge number of carps. Our interviews with fishermen from the area also confirmed that. Carps pose a threat to white-headed ducks because they compete with them over their main food sources and limit their population size [4], [17]. Considering the big biomass of introduced carps present in Lake Mogan, it is plausible to conclude that there is some competition pressure by carps limiting the number of white-headed ducks. According to our evaluations again, the fifth biggest threat to white-headed ducks in Lake Mogan is hunting and fishing. Because the lake is a non-hunting area there aren’t many

legal hunters coming to the area. Furthermore, the meat of white-headed duck is not favored by hunters in Turkey, so white-headed ducks are usually killed unintentionally [18]. Fishing is another factor posing threat for white-headed ducks. White-headed duck is a diving duck [5] and it is known that white-headed ducks can get tangled up in fishing nets and end up drowning [4]. We’ve seen during our observations that Station 1 almost always had fishing nets dropped all over the pools where white-headed ducks live (figure 13 and 14).

Figure 13: Fishing nets dropped in one of the pools where white-headed ducks live, Fikriye Kepenek, July 2016

Figure 14: A fisherman dropping nets in white-headed duck feeding pools in Lake Mogan – Fikriye Kepenek, August 2016

There is yet another threat to white-headed ducks living in Lake Mogan. We found the sixth most serious threat to be water level fluctuations. After the construction of Mogan Flood Control Dam a couple of kilometers upstream of a stream that feeds Lake Mogan, Lake Mogan’s water level seemed to be lower than previous years. Water levels haven’t been measured by our team but both our experience and our conversations with the locals have pointed to an obvious drop in the water level especially in the summer. We concluded that the drop in the water level could be because of the flood control dam. The dam is now holding huge amounts of water. Because both of our breeding stations are located in already low-water level areas of the lake, after July, we observed a huge drop in water levels across both stations. It is known that water level fluctuations may cause fluctuations in population size of white-headed ducks [19] and water levels below 50cm can cause white-headed ducks to abandon their breeding grounds [7]. The dropping water levels can well be because of some other factors like increased temperatures or decreased rainfall. This issue needs to be studied in detail in the future studies.

6.2. Lake Uyuz: Lake Uyuz was the most problematic place among all of our study sites. Human disturbance in the lake is tremendous. This small lake is visited by hunters, fishermen and recreational visitors frequently. During all of our trips to the lake, we have seen at least one person near the lake shore fishing. There were around 5 fishermen near the lake at any time of the day. Most of these fishermen were practicing rod fishing. We have decided that human disturbance is the biggest threat for white-headed ducks living in Lake Uyuz. As many as 14 cars and 52 people were seen around the lake during a single observation. Most of these people were fishermen and recreational visitors (figures 14 and 15). Lake Uyuz is a very small lake and almost every part of it is very open and exposed and this leaves white- headed ducks with only a single area where they are not disturbed. The recreation area where the watch tower is located has almost always had some people having a picnic or partying and the area is covered full of thrash (figure 16).

Figure 14: People fishing and sitting only 10-15m away from possible nest sites – İ.Kaan Özgencil June, 2016

Figure 15: Four fishermen and their cars near Lake Uyuz – İ.Kaan Özgencil, June 2016

Figure 16: Recreation area at Lake Uyuz is covered with thrash and shotgun shells, İ.Kaan Özgencil, August 2016

The second biggest threat for white-headed ducks and other waterfowl living in Lake Uyuz is pollution and poisoning. The lake is fully surrounded by agricultural fields most of which are wheat fields. Farmers were seen using extensive amounts of herbicides early in spring. When interviewed, they confirmed that they use herbicides and insecticides. The lake probably gets huge amounts of herbicides and insecticides through runoff water and wind loading. This must be damaging the water birds breeding in the lake considering the detrimental effects of these toxins on water birds [15], [16]. During our latest visits to the lake, we were shocked to see the lake almost with no birds. When we visited the lake in Late August, we found the lake almost abandoned; only a few water birds were spotted. The lake is normally full of Eurasian coots (Fulica atra). We saw that even coots were gone and the lake was looking like a dead lake in August. When we walked along the shores of the lake we found several dead European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and a long-eared owl (Asio otus) (figure 17). There was also a coot body floating on water. The top-predators of the lake, Western marsh harriers (Circus aeruginosus) were also very low in number (just 1 or 2 were seen, normally there are around 5 to 10 individuals even during Mid-winter Waterfowl Surveys). This lead us to think that there might have been a poisoning case. The wheat crops had already been harvested and there most probably hadn’t been any herbicide or insecticide use because it was too late in the season. When we talked to the fishermen and asked them about any fish or bird deaths, they said they hadn’t seen any mass fish or bird deaths. Still, we went on and collected a carcass and water samples to get them tested for any sign of poisoning. When we found an expert to do the analysis and talked to him, he told us that the carcasses are no longer suitable for toxicological analysi. We couldn’t find any other fresh carcasses in our next trip, so we failed to conduct any toxicological analysis

unfortunately. The water and some tissue samples from the carcasses are still kept and can be analyzed later on if we can find a lab to do it.

Figure 17: A dead European staling (on the left) and a long-eared owl (on the right) found near Lake Uyuz, İ.Kaan Özgencil, August 2016

There might well be other explanations for the absence of many waterfowl from the lake. One explanation is short distance migration. Many of the waterfowl species breeding in the lake are migratory or partial migratory [3], [5]. They might have left the lake after breeding and migrated to their moulting and wintering grounds. However, by looking at the historical bird sighting and Mid-winter Waterfowl Survey records of the lake, we see that the lake is not normally this much birdless and there have always been some birds (unless the lake is frozen). Still, this might be the case and the birds might have just migrated to other water bodies to moult or winter. We have seen a couple of times during our observation that thousands of European starlings come to sleep in the reeds of the lake sometimes. This must explain why we found several dead starlings along the shore which further supports the idea that there is no poisoning and the absence of the birds can be attributed to normal things. We also failed to see any white-headed duck juveniles in the lake. It is possible that breeding attempts of the three pairs in the lake have failed due to normal reasons. It could also be because of human disturbance or poisoning (if there has been one). Still, we are very sad to report that there were no white-headed duck ducklings or juveniles were seen this year by our team or any other people from our network. The possible poisoning case remains a mystery for the time being. According our evaluations, the third biggest threat for white-headed ducks breeding in Lake Uyuz is hunting and lead poisoning. When we’ve talked to the locals of the area, we learned that many hunters and non-season hunters visit Lake Uyuz. During our walks around the lake, we found dozens of shotgun shells (figure 18). Because their meat is not favored by hunters [18], white-headed ducks are usually killed by legal hunters unintentionally. It is also known that hunters sometimes deliberately kill white-headed ducks like it happened in Lake Burdur in [9]. White-headed ducks are extra vulnerable to hunting because of lack of any efficient escape mechanism unlike other ducks [5], [9]. Lead poisoning due to shotgun balls is also another problem threatening waterfowl including white-heade ducks [4].

Figure 18: Shotguns shells found in a trough near Lake Uyuz, İ.Kaan Özgencil, April 2016

The fourth biggest threat for white-headed ducks living in Lake Uyuz is presence of carps. According to our conversations with fishermen, carps are very abundant in this eutrophic lake. We’ve witnessed many fishermen catching medium and big sized carps. As stated in the previous section (see section 6.1.) carps pose a threat to white-headed ducks by competing with them over their food sources [4], [17].

6.3 Mogan Flood Control Dam: Mogan Flood Control Dam is more isolated and remote than all the other study sites. The fact that there are no asphalt roads to the dam and it is not widely known, saves the place from human impact (for now). We believe that this will not last long because hunters have already started to visit the place. The only thing that threatens white-headed ducks in the reservoir, according to our evaluations, is hunting. Newly formed reservoir lake became almost a fully functional lake this spring. We think white-headed ducks breed there in small numbers and migrate to the reservoir post- breeding to moult and possibly to winter. We actually think that the reservoir will probably an important wintering ground for the species. As a result, during the hunting season, it is very likely that there will be some hunting pressure on waterfowl in the lake and white- headed ducks will suffer from this too.

6.4 Sultan Marshes: Sultan Marshes was almost completely dry in 1990’s and the beginning 2000’s (see the introduction part) due to dam constructions and DSI’s efforts to dry up the marshes. When we talked to our contacts from the region, they told us that the place was almost like a ghost town during the dry period. Then, the marshes were saved by supplying it with extra water brought from other catchments. This Ramsar sites is now back to good

health and is under very good protection. The only possible threat for white-headed ducks living in the marshes is water level fluctuations. Nobody can guarantee that the marshes won’t dry out again. The General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) has had a reckless approach towards drying wetlands, marshes and dam constructions. If their approach doesn’t change, the danger will always persist.

SPECIAL THANKS AND FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS

I would first like to thank OSME for providing us with the fund to conduct this study. I also thank my supervisor Itri Levent Erkol, President of Doğa Derneği Dicle Tuba Kılıç for their support throughout the project and our friends Fikriye Kepenek, Alaz Uslu, Mücait Oğuzhan Topçu, Batuhan Yıldırım, and Umut Tank for accompanying me during my field trips and volunteering for this project. I also thank Güven Eken, Burak Özrkırlı, Ertuğrul Korkmaz, Hasan Özcan, Kuzey Cem Kulaçoğlu, Akif Akyurt, Ferit Başbuğ, Mehmet Ünal, Prof.Ahmet Karataş, Ferdi Akarsu and Elif Deniz Ülker for helping the project by reporting their white- headed duck sightings, sharing their knowledge and photographing them. Without their support the project would not achieve its purposes. The project had its difficulties for us. We studied breeding populations of white- headed duck in areas which hadn’t been studied in a very detailed manner before. As a result, there have been many cases we needed to discover things about the breeding cycle of white-headed ducks in the region on our own. The species differs from other waterfowl species in that it breeds significantly later that the other specie [4]; that we know very well. But the exact timing of breeding cycle events was not so clear. For example, we have seen some cases where single white-headed duck males were displaying to single females a few meters away from juvenile red-crested pochards which were already 1 to 1.5 months old. Unfortunately, our study haven’t been able to define exact timing of breeding cycle events for white-headed ducks breeding in the region, but it helped us to have a better estimation of timing of the events. To be able to document the exact timing of breeding cycle events would require a much more frequent field trip plan to the breeding sites and that would require a lot more resources and manpower. Considering all the experience we gathered and lessons we learned during the project, we strongly believe that if funded properly, a future project planned and executed by our team will certainly reveal the exact timing of breeding cycle events and shed light to secretive lives of the species in this highly urbanized region of Turkey. In this aspect, I’d like to recommend the following points for the future projects to be conducted in Central Anatolia.

1) If the project is resource-limited (which will mostly be the case), then it would be better to start field trips in May. Earlier than that would be too early in the breeding cycle to study the breeding populations in the region. 2) If the resources are sufficient, the field trips should be planned for whole days rather than just afternoons or mornings. By observing the breeding grounds for longer periods of time one can better spot possible nesting sites, feeding sites and record daily and breeding related activities better. So rather than visiting a site for 3 hours for 3 days, plan a full-day trip for one day. Still, make sure that your field trips are frequent enough. 3) The species may be present even in the smallest pools of the lakes. Therefore, any visually suitable breeding site should be checked during preliminary trips. Additionally, to study Lake Mogan thoroughly, a boat ride might be needed to access the remote parts of the lake which are otherwise not accessible or observable from land.

4) The project schedule can also be adjusted to be more resource-effective by using the information we collected about timing of the breeding cycle events. Conducting more frequent field trips to the breeding sites between early July and mid-August seems like the most efficient way to follow. Especially between mid-July and mid-August, each site should be visited on a weekly basis. 5) The birdwatching and bird photographing communities should be informed about the project. Their help should be asked for collecting information about and monitoring the populations. 6) In Central Anatolia, there are many small sized water bodies which can support breeding white-headed duck populations most of which are not even visited by birdwatchers or bird photographers. Therefore, future studies should also check these small sized candidate sites and should aim at locating new breeding sites. 7) This project helped us learn how many white-headed ducks breed in the study sites and what part of the sites they use for breeding. Next part of this study can be formation of groups of local groups to conduct the monitoring and the protection of the species at a local level. Future projects aiming to do that should be supported.

REFERENCES

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