Bird diversity of hevsel gardens and environmental problems

The bird diversity of Hevsel Garden's was studied between February 2022 and September 2023 period, during this study. Hevsel Gardens (37°53'53. 9"N 40°14'31. 8"E), which has a special ecosystem character based on its environmental components, is adjacent to Diyarbakır city center and located in the south and east of the city. During the 20-months research period, 103 days of observations were carried out in the study area by standard ornithological equipments (binoculars, telescope, camera, GPS and ornithology handbooks). During the observations, point count and transect line methodologies have been used together. Field excursions were attempted to be carried out at varying time periods between early morning and sunset, and observations were made at least for 3-4 hours. In the scope of study, 164 different bird species that belong to 13 orders and 38 families were identified in Hevsel Gardens. Among of them 50 species are native, 65 are summer migrant, 28 are winter migrant while 21 are transit migrant categories. Among these determined species 55 of them has a breeding potential in the area while 49 of them non-breeding species and use the area for out of breeding season or migration seasons. In addition, national and global threat categories of the species that identified in the study area were determined. Accordingly, 9 are nationally and 2 are globally threatened species. Among the determined species some of them are firstly reported for the region; such as Montifringilla nivalis (White-winged snowfinch) Periparus ater (Coal tit) and Buteo lagopus (Rough-legged buzzard). In addition, some species that reported during previous studies from the region in the past have not been encountered in this study. The habitat diversity provided by the Tigris River can be considered among the main reasons for the high bird diversity in Hevsel Gardens. Despite of the area is sheltering to enormous diversity, some environmental problems had also been observed. There is serious environmental pollution in Hevsel Gardens due to intense human impact, which may cause irreversible damage to the living and non-living environmental components. The main causes of environmental problems are irrigation with sewage water, discharge of sewage water into the Tigris River, uncontrolled deforestation together with using of fertilizer, monoculture, agriculture, hunting and chemical pesticides. Keywords: Hevsel Gardens, Birds, Environmental pollution, Sewage wastes, Chemical wastes.