Istanbul; under the sea, Istanbul above the clouds!

‘'Say Istanbul and a seagull comes to mind
Half silver and half foam,

Half fish and half bird.’

The Saga of Istanbul by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu

The birds and the sealife at the Bosphorus

As soon a ferry sets sail there will be a stream of black-headed seagulls tailing it. The ferry passengers are ready to throw small pieces of simit to the seagulls and they are the experts to catch the tasty food covered with sesames.

The Bosphorus also lies on a migratory route and the one of the great sights of the city is that of the storks arriving back from their winter residence in Africa in March and then leaving again in even bigger numbers the third week of August. For lovers of birds and nature, Istanbul is an ideal place to partake in a spot of bird watching.

On rare occasions, especially early mornings,  you might see small groups of dolphins swimming across the Bosphorus, in addition to migratory dolphins,  Bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and harbour porpoises have all returned to the water. These joyful creatures are a delight to watch for ferry passengers and fishermen.

Black Sea coastline has traditionally depended on fishing for a part of its livelihood as the plenty fish stocks migrate between the cold Black Sea and the warmer Sea of Marmara. Although there is a decline in the numbers, still, some stocks of smaller fish, such as bluefish, red mullet, mackerel snapper are still part of the sea life.