Aras Bird Paradise: Migration on the Armenian Border

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1. What is the Aras Bird Paradise?
2. How do you get to the Aras Bird Paradise?
3. When is the best time to visit the Aras Bird Paradise?
4. What is the history of the Aras Bird Paradise?
5. What is the Aras Bird Paradise famous for?
6. What can you do at the Aras Bird Paradise?
7. Frequently asked questions about the Aras Bird Paradise
8. What do the official records say about the Aras Bird Paradise?

What is the Aras Bird Paradise?

The Aras Bird Paradise (Aras Kuş Cenneti) is a stretch of wetland, reedbed and riverside woodland on the Aras River in Iğdır province, and the name of the research station that studies it. The river forms the border with Armenia here, and its oasis of green in the dry plain draws huge numbers of migrating birds every spring and autumn.

Since 2006 the KuzeyDoğa Society has run a bird ringing station at Yukarı Çıyrıklı village, with permission from the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks and support from Iğdır, Utah and Koç universities. It has become one of the most productive ringing stations in Türkiye.

How do you get to the Aras Bird Paradise?

The station is at Yukarı Çıyrıklı village in Tuzluca district, west of Iğdır town near the Aras. Go by car or taxi from Iğdır or Tuzluca; there is no regular public transport to the site. The nearest airport is Iğdır, about 16 km west of the town. Because the site is a working research station on a border river, contact the KuzeyDoğa Society before you go if you want to watch ringing, and stay on the paths you are shown.

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When is the best time to visit the Aras Bird Paradise?

Spring (April–May) and autumn (late August–October) are the migration seasons, when ringing is in full swing and the most species pass through. Early morning is the best time of day, both for bird activity and for avoiding the heat of the Iğdır plain. Summer brings breeding birds; winter is quiet.

What is the history of the Aras Bird Paradise?

The Aras has always been a corridor for birds migrating between Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Russia. Systematic study began in 2006, when the KuzeyDoğa Society, led by the ecologist Çağan Şekercioğlu, set up the ringing station on the river.

In its first 21 years of work the station caught and ringed about 200,000 birds; the 200,000th was a Caucasian chiffchaff (Phylloscopus lorenzii), a species found only in the Caucasus region. In 2023 alone 101 species were ringed. In recent seasons researchers have also fitted satellite transmitters to raptors such as the pallid harrier (bozkır delicesi), one of which crossed into Azerbaijan within four days, and tracked birds of prey across Russia and dozens of other countries. A marsh harrier (saz delicesi) tagged here was seen back on the Aras after a journey of about 30,000 km.

The research has also reached beyond the river: surveys of a wetland at 2,200 m in the province recorded 35 species, showing how varied the habitats of Iğdır are between the plain and the mountains.

The wider Iğdır wetlands are now recognised as one of the richest bird areas in Türkiye: 348 species have been recorded in the province, 316 of them at the Aras site.

What is the Aras Bird Paradise famous for?

• Bird ringing on a scale few Turkish sites match.
• Species diversity: water birds in the wetland, and steppe and rocky-habitat birds on the nearby slopes.
• Satellite tracking of migratory birds, which has revealed journeys across dozens of countries.
• Caucasian specialities such as the Caucasian chiffchaff.

What can you do at the Aras Bird Paradise?

Watch ringing. In the migration seasons researchers and volunteers take birds from mist nets, measure, weigh and ring them, and release them. Visitors who arrange it in advance can watch at close range.

Birdwatch along the river. Herons, ducks and waders use the reedbeds and channels, and warblers and other songbirds the riverside trees and scrub. Bring binoculars and a field guide covering the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Combine it with Tuzluca. The Tuzluca Salt Caves, also in Tuzluca district, make an easy pairing in the same day, and the Rainbow Hills nearby are worth a stop for photographers.

Join the researchers. Students and volunteers from Türkiye and abroad, among them foreign researchers studying the species of the region, take part in the spring and autumn ringing seasons. Bring long sleeves against mosquitoes in the reedbeds.

Respect the border. The Aras is the Armenian border. Do not approach the riverbank beyond the station area, and keep cameras pointed at birds rather than at border installations.

Frequently asked questions about the Aras Bird Paradise

What do the official records say about the Aras Bird Paradise?

Archaeological and prehistoric research carried out on Iğdır to date shows that the settlements in the region are as old as human history and that the region has hosted many civilisations.

The first settled people of the region were the Hurrians, believed to have settled in today’s Azerbaijan, the Sürmeli basin and Eastern Anatolia in 5000–4000 BC. After the Hurrians, in 3000–2000 BC, peoples such as the Mitanni, Hittites, Assyrians, Cimmerians, Medes, Persians, Sumerians and Subarians are thought to have lived on the slopes of Mount Ararat, in the Aras River basin and in Eastern Anatolia. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Iğdır Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)