Records and photographs for Around the Region should be sent as soon as possible after the event to Around the Region, OSME, c/o The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, U.K.  You can also email records by using the form below.

A Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus at Riva(Çayagzi) on 12 December was the 15th record for Turkey. Three Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis were seen by the River Euphrates south of Birecik on 26 July. A flock of 31 Bewick's Swan Cygnus columbianus at Sariyer Baraji - Nallihan (Ankara) on 19 December was the 24th record. On 26 December a Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis was seen at Yörükler, the 31st record since 1966. Two Scaup Aythya marila at Mert lake, Igneada, Edirne on 1 January 2005 is an excellent record of this rare bird in Turkey. Seven Caucasian Black Grouse Tetrao mlokosiewiczi and two Caspian Snowcock Tetraogallus caspius were at Sivrikaya on 18 June. A pair Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo were east of Bulanik on 29 June. At Yeni Akpinar Köyü, Birecik one Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor was recorded on 8 July, with four there on 10 July. An adult Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus in nonbreeding plumage was reported from the lake shore at Arin Gölü (north of Lake Van) on 18 September. The record is currently being assessed by the German Rarities Committee. Five Red-wattled Plover Hoplopterus indicus were recorded 5km north of Cizre on 30 June and three were on River Tigris at Cizre on 27 July. Three Sociable Plover Chettusia gregaria were at Hürmetçi Marshes, Kayserí on 29 September and 3 October; there have been rather few records of late (none between 1995 and 2002). A count of 103 Knot Calidris canutus at Gediz, Izmír on 13 December was high for this species. Two Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica at Gediz, Izmír on 18 December was the fifth winter record for Turkey. At Birecik three juvenile Striated Scops Owl Otus brucei were seen on 3 July with an adult and two juveniles there on 26 July. A Tengmalm's Owl Aegolius funereus at Kizilcahamam, Ankara on 18 September was the ninth or tenth record. At least one pair of Alexandrine Parakeets Psittacula eupatria nested in Gulhane Park next to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Breeding first took place nearby in 2003. A Pied Kingfisher Cerycle rudis seen on 14 November at Kocahisar köyü/Seytan Köprüsü, Adiyaman was at the northern limit of its range in Eastern Turkey. At least 10 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus were at Hüyükülü on 3 July, a flock of 50 being recorded at Ani ruins, Arpa çayi (Armenian border), Kars on 19 September and three at Mogan Gölü, Ankara on 24 September.

Three Radde's Accentors Prunella ocularis were at Demirkazik on 5 July and 15 Red-tailed Wheatears Oenanthe xanthroprymna were at Nemrut Dagi, near Kahta on 30 July. At Ercek Gölü at least three Paddyfield Warblers Acrocephalus agricola were recorded on 26 June. The fifth Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus for Turkey was at Ege University campus, Izmir on 29 October. On 24 and 25 June two Plain Leaf Warblers Phylloscopus neglectus were found singing from a sparsely vegetated sloping hillside South of Van on the Çatak road about one kilometre south of the junction with the road to Bahcesaray. The area had scattered 3m-tall mature junipers and Daphne mucronata shrubs. It is possible that three birds were present. This is the first record from Turkey and the first breeding season record away from Iran. A Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor at Tayakadin, Edirne on 1 January 2005 is a good record. A record of seven Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis at Tuzla on 29 May was the fourth from Istanbul; the status of this species is still unclear in Turkey. A pair and three juvenile Mongolian Trumpeter Finches Bucanetes mongolius were near Serpmetas on 28 July and at least seven Trumpeter Finches B. githagineus including two fledged juveniles were at Ishak Pasa on 24 June. Two Grey-necked Buntings Emberiza buchanani were in Van Hills on 28 July.

The following assisted in the compilation of this review: Alexander Abuladze, Yosef Ali Alzaby, Vasil Ananian, Ian Andrews, Parviz Bakhtiari, Gerry Bilbao, Tom Coles, Judy Dawes, Rob Felix, Peter Flint, Ramezanali Ghaemi, Jan Goedelt, Ian Green, Nader Hamidi, Tomas Haraldsson, Peter Hellyer, Volker Hesse, Menno Hornman, Lior Kislev, Abolghasem Khaleghizadeh, Marcus Kohler, Graham Langley, Alexander Lees, Graham Lobley, Martin Lok, Mary Megalli, Peter Meininger, Babak Musavi, Yoav Perlman, Thomas Pettersson, Stefan Pfutzke, Colin Richardson, Nir Sapir, Dave Sargeant, Heiko Schmaljohann, Shellie Senzer, David Stanton, Marius Teeuw, Hannes Uhlig, Magnus Ullman, Harvey van Diek, Colin Walters, David Whaley, Frank Willems and Mark Zekhuis.