Bird Paradise National Park (Kuş Cenneti Milli Parkı) is one of the earliest national parks of Turkey, surrounding Lake Kuş (Turkish: Kuş Gölü, lit. “bird lake”). It’s an important stop-over and final destination for migratory birds, which migrate to warmer places south in winter. There are 239 species inhabiting the area during summer, totalling about 3,000,000 individual birds, although whole area is only 64 hectares, tiny in world standards. What makes the area so popular with the birds is its ecosystem: at the end of winter, with the level rise of the water of the lake (which is related to the rising streams, which in turn are related with the dissolving of snowcover up in the mountains), a small willow grove and reed beds at the northwest of the lake submerge underwater, making it a perfect area to nest, and for the youngs to hatch and grow.
Bird Paradise National Park has been awarded with Class A European Diploma by the European Council for four times since 1976, because of its effective and successful protection of the wildlife.
Detailed information about the birds, and the park in general, is provided in the museum and the administrative building inside the park. The best months for bird watching are between March and July, and September and October, roughly corresponding to the migration period of the birds. There is a watchtower that commands a wide area for viewing. Scientific research in the park requires permission from the park directorate.
There are no facilities for food or accommodation within the park. The nearest community to the park is the village of Sigirciatik. Bandirma is the nearest big-enough city.
Park lies 20km southwest of Bandirma, and around 50km north of Balikesir. It is easily accessible via Bandirma-Balikesir highway.
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Southern Marmara Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
