Kızılırmak Delta: Samsun’s Bird Sanctuary on the Black Sea

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

What is the Kızılırmak Delta?

The Kızılırmak Delta is the plain the Kızılırmak has built over thousands of years where it meets the Black Sea north of Bafra. The 2002 inventory describes a fertile delta formed from the sediment the river has carried down from Anatolia, holding the Bafra Fish Lakes (Balık Gölleri), one of Türkiye’s most important wetland ecosystems.

It is also one of the best places for birdwatching in the country. The inventory records 310 bird species in the delta, 146 of them breeding there, and about 100,000 waterbirds wintering. Wikipedia’s summary puts it at three quarters of all the bird species recorded in Türkiye. The delta was listed under the Ramsar Convention on 15 April 1998.

How do you get to the Kızılırmak Delta?

Drive from Samsun to Bafra, about 52 km northwest on the D.010 coast road, then head north towards the coast. The wetlands lie north of the Samsun–Sinop road, which passes through Bafra. Minibuses link Samsun and Bafra, but there is no regular public transport into the delta itself, so you need a car or a taxi from Bafra.

The delta is large, and its lakes are spread out over the eastern side. If you are not a birder, a local guide or a trip with a birdwatching group will save a lot of time finding the towers and lake shores.

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When is the best time to visit the Kızılırmak Delta?

The inventory puts it plainly: the coast offers sea tourism for about two months in summer, but birdwatching and nature tourism have potential in all four seasons.

Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) bring migrants: the delta is a feeding and resting place for small songbirds and waterbirds crossing the Black Sea, as well as raptors, storks and cranes. Winter is the season for geese, swans, ducks, coots and grebes, with around 100,000 waterbirds counted in midwinter. Summer is hotter and buggier, but the breeding birds are present and the beaches nearby are open.

Go early in the morning for the most activity and the softest light.

What is the history of the Kızılırmak Delta?

The delta is young in geological terms and is still growing. Before the Bafra plain existed, the Kızılırmak met the sea further inland: the prehistoric mound at İkiztepe, 7 km northeast of Bafra, stood at the old river mouth, according to the inventory.

The river’s ancient name was the Halys, and its lower course was a frontier for much of antiquity. In the Ottoman and Republican periods the plain behind the wetlands became one of the main tobacco-growing areas of the country, and Bafra grew rich on it. Much of the plain is now farmland, and dams upstream at Altınkaya and Derbent hold back the river’s flow and sediment.

Conservation came with the Ramsar listing in 1998. Türkiye later placed the delta on its UNESCO Tentative List and nominated it in 2016, but the nomination did not meet the criteria of the IUCN, UNESCO’s advisory body for natural sites; the delta remains on the Tentative List.

What is the Kızılırmak Delta famous for?

• Birds. More than 300 species recorded, making it one of the richest bird areas in the country. The inventory calls the delta wetland internationally important for its birdlife.
• An intact wetland. The inventory describes it as the largest and most important wetland on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast that has kept its natural character.
• Feral horses. Around 450 horses live free in the delta, grazing on the meadows between the lakes.
• Its lakes. The Balık Gölleri on the eastern side and Karaboğaz Lake on the western side.

What can you do at the Kızılırmak Delta?

Birdwatching. Two observation towers run by Ondokuz Mayıs University’s ornithology research centre are open to visitors. Expect herons, egrets, pygmy cormorants, ducks and waders on the lakes, and harriers over the reeds. Bring binoculars and, if you have one, a telescope.

Walking and cycling. Rural tracks run between the lakes, meadows and dunes. Walking, cycling, photography and picnicking are the main activities, and about 100,000 people visit each year.

Ringing station. At Cernek, the university operates a bird ringing station where birds are caught, ringed and released during migration.

The landscape. The inventory describes the scale: a delta plain about 56,000 hectares wide north of the Samsun–Sinop road. On the eastern shore there are about 13,000 hectares of wetland with lakes, reedbeds, dunes and flood meadows, and on the western side Karaboğaz Lake and its reedbeds cover about 1,500 hectares.

Bafra. Finish in Bafra with a pide, and visit the Bafra Museum, where finds from İkiztepe are displayed, or the Bafra Tobacco Museum.

Frequently asked questions about the Kızılırmak Delta

What do the official records say about the Kızılırmak Delta?

In the fertile delta that the Kızılırmak has formed with the sediment it has carried from Anatolia for thousands of years lie the Bafra Fish Lakes, one of our country’s most important wetland ecosystems. With the variety of species it shelters, the rich habitats it offers to living things and its still unspoiled natural structure, the Kızılırmak Delta is one of the rare wetlands of international importance in our country.

The variety and number of bird species in the delta show how rich and healthy the ecosystem is. To date, 310 bird species have been recorded in the Kızılırmak Delta, 146 of which breed in the region. The delta is also an extremely important wintering area for migratory waterbirds: according to midwinter waterbird counts, about 100,000 waterbirds (geese, swans, ducks, coots and plovers) winter in the delta. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Samsun Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)