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A Bird Lagoon Beside Tuzla's Shipyards
Cultural

A Bird Lagoon Beside Tuzla's Shipyards

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Tuzla sits at the south-eastern tip of Istanbul, with 13 kilometres of shore on the Sea of Marmara. Most people know it for its shipyards, the largest concentration in Turkey.

Tuzla, İstanbul
Cultural
Radar Editör
September 24, 2026

About Trip

Tuzla sits at the south-eastern tip of Istanbul, with 13 kilometres of shore on the Sea of Marmara. Most people know it for its shipyards, the largest concentration in Turkey. Yet a few kilometres from the cranes there is a shallow lake by the sea: Kamil Abduş Lake, also called Tuzla Lake or Balık Gölü. This lagoon once dried out completely, was given water again, and is now a birdwatching spot you can reach by Marmaray. Bring binoculars, spend a morning here, then walk along the Tuzla shore.

Getting there

The Marmaray suburban line is the most practical option. İçmeler station is about two kilometres from the lake as the crow flies, with Tuzla station a little further east. From the station take a short bus ride or walk; check current bus lines on the İETT website. There is a cycle path, a running track and a walking path around the lake, so coming by bicycle also makes sense.

The story of a lagoon

The lake covers about 300 hectares and is separated from the sea by natural and artificial barriers; the Umurbey stream feeds into it. It is named after Kamil Abduş, a farmer who arrived in the population exchange and was given the surrounding land. A 2006 Milliyet report says he came from Western Thrace and that the lake passed to the state when his line died out.

Sources disagree on where the name Tuzla, "salt pan", comes from. Wikipedia and the same report say the lake supplied Istanbul's salt until 1929. The Tuzla District Governorship takes another view: because the local streams drain into Kamil Abduş, its water would be too fresh, and the real salt pan was a different lake now inside the Naval Academy grounds. The governorship also cites an Ottoman land register of 1530 listing 31 salt workers in Tuzla village; salt production is certain, the lake is disputed.

According to Milliyet, the lake remained a lagoon and a haven for birds until 1969. Shipyards then took up two thirds of it, and a road across the rest cut it off from the sea. As it turned to fresh water, 27 resident bird species and the marine life left, and in 2001 it dried out completely. Restoration work deepened the bed, opened two channels to the sea and built artificial islets for birds to breed and rest. At the time the project's adviser expected sea water to bring a food chain based on a small crab known locally as pavurya, with Marmara fish such as grey mullet, two-banded sea bream and sea bass able to live in the lake. A 2016 study in Biological Diversity and Conservation describes how the rehabilitation brought the lake back to life as an aquatic ecosystem and examines its plankton.

A protected area

The lake and its surroundings were registered as a natural site by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change on 14 August 2020, partly as a qualified natural protection area and partly as an area for sustainable protection and controlled use; part of the lake was also registered as a strictly protected sensitive area. In practice this is simple: stay on the paths and keep out of the reed beds and islets.

Which birds you can see

Instead of an official species list, citizen science records give a good picture. On iNaturalist, 76 bird species have research-grade, expert-confirmed records within 1.5 kilometres of the lake's centre between 2023 and 2026. The main groups are:

  • Waterfowl: mallard, common pochard, red-crested pochard, garganey, Eurasian wigeon, teal, coot and mute swan.
  • Grebes and cormorants: little grebe, great crested grebe, black-necked grebe, great cormorant and pygmy cormorant.
  • Herons: grey heron and little egret; the grey heron is the most frequently recorded species.
  • Waders: common redshank, greenshank, common sandpiper, Terek sandpiper, curlew sandpiper, little stint, ruff, ringed plover, oystercatcher, turnstone, black-winged stilt and collared pratincole.
  • Gulls and terns: black-headed gull, yellow-legged gull, Sandwich tern, common tern and gull-billed tern.
  • Raptors and reedbed birds: marsh harrier, kestrel, kingfisher, Cetti's warbler and reed bunting.

The list also includes land birds from nearby gardens and meadows, such as sparrows, goldfinches, chaffinches and stonechats. What surprises here is not one showy species but the number of different groups in such a small area; a redshank on the shore, a grebe on the water and a marsh harrier over the reeds on the same morning is quite possible.

Tips for watching

Come early in the morning, when birds are most active and the path is still quiet. Choose a shore where the sun is behind you and colours are easier to read. Binoculars are enough; a field guide or an identification app on your phone helps. Do not get too close to waders, as flushing them costs them energy. Keep dogs on a lead. If you log your sightings on iNaturalist or eBird, you add to the list.

Walking the Tuzla shore

After the lake, walk down to the shore and towards the centre of Tuzla. According to the governorship, the area was once called Akra or Akritas, meaning cape, and ancient writers identified Akritas with today's Tuzla Burnu. A Greek fishing village survived here until the population exchange of 1923. The oldest traces go much further back: in 1958 Neolithic finds came to light while foundations were dug for the old school building at Kalekapı that now houses the district education directorate. The governorship notes that those early settlers fished, gathered mussels on the shore, hunted wild cattle and kept sheep and goats, so living from the sea here is thousands of years old. Today a seafront strip known as the Kordon runs along the shore; finish your walk there. The Naval Academy stands on Tuzla Burnu to the south and the ITU Maritime Faculty in the centre; together with the shipyards they show how Tuzla still lives from the sea.

Season and timing

Istanbul lies on one of the main bird migration routes between Europe and Africa, and the metropolitan municipality reports that about 393 bird species have been recorded in the city. Most confirmed records at Kamil Abduş fall between February and May and in November, with almost none in July and August. This partly reflects when observers visit, but it suggests that winter and the spring migration are the richest times. By family the pattern is clearer: sandpiper records cluster between March and May, duck records peak in November. Choose spring mornings for waders and November or winter days for ducks. Summer middays are hot and quiet.

A morning walk

Take the Marmaray to İçmeler and head for the lake. Walk the path around it slowly; stop opposite the islets and at the edge of the reeds and wait a few minutes; standing still usually shows you more birds. Then go down to the shore and follow the Kordon to the centre of Tuzla. Have lunch in town and take the Marmaray back from Tuzla station. It is a flat, easy half-day plan that works with children too.

Practical notes

  • The lake is a natural site; stay on the path and keep out of the reeds and islets.
  • Bring binoculars, a hat and water; the wind on the shore can be strong.
  • Do not feed the birds, make noise or fly drones.
  • The shipyards are working industrial zones; use only paths open to pedestrians.

Sources

Location - A Bird Lagoon Beside Tuzla's Shipyards

Trip Info
CityTuzla, İstanbul
TypeCultural
DateSeptember 24, 2026
SourceRadar Editör
Radar TürkiyeAuthorRadar TürkiyeVisit SourceGet Directions