Wintering Bird Diversity and Population Sizes at Obruk Dam Lake (Corum) in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, species diversity of waterbirds, which are the indicator species of wetland quality were investigated at Obruk Dam Lake in Turkey, which was built in 1996 and started to operate in 2009. Obruk Dam built on River Kızılırmak within Çorum province has created a new habitat for waterbird with a lake surface area of 50 km2. As a result of the studies, 21 waterbird species belonging to 6 orders were identified. According to the results of the mid-winter waterbird census revealed in 2018 and 2019, 26.975 and 13.158 individuals of waterbirds were counted in Obruk Dam Lake respectively and it has been proved that the Obruk Dam Lake forms a new terrain especially for birds. Although the census for the year 2020 could not be done completely due to adverse conditions, short observations in 2020 show that the Obruk Dam Lake continues to be used intensively by waterbirds. During the research, intensive and off season hunting activities were observed in the field. In this context, studies have been initiated to keep the censuses continuous in order to monitor the status of the new wetland formed by the Obruk Dam Lake and the waterbirds which are using this wetland.

Keywords

• benefits of dams
• wetlands
• biodiversity
• bird census
• waterfowl