Bird migration

Migration is normally something we refer to in numbers, counting the thousands. When we're not counting thousands, we're mourning dozens or hundreds. And when we're not mourning, we're cursing, assigning blame to others, depending on the circumstances and the intensity of the political rivalries in the country. 

Approximately 43,000 irregular migrants have been deported since the beginning of the year, indicating a 29 percent increase compared to the same period last year, the Interior Ministry's Migration Management Directorate has announced.

Nearly 3,800 people died on migration routes within and from the Middle East and North Africa last year, the highest number recorded there since 2017, according to data published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Within the scope of the efforts to protect wildlife in the eastern province of Van's lake basins, gendarmerie units are keeping a close watch on endangered white-headed ducks by patrolling the region 24/7.

Lake Erçek, located near Lake Van, hosts thousands of birds every year. One of the rarest birds of the region, white-headed ducks, also live around this area.

Veterinarian Gökçe Coşkun, who carries out scientific studies on wildlife rehabilitation, provides voluntary treatment for birds that leaves Africa and the Arabian Peninsula in March and are injured during their migration to Northern Europe via Türkiye.

Just days before the elections in Turkey, the most affected earthquake regions expect a reversed migration wave before May 14. The weak performance of the state after the earthquake could also alter the political arithmetics in the affected provinces.

At least 25 migrants from Africa have died and 15 others are missing after a boat carrying them to Europe sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia, authorities said.

The Turkish Coast Guard has caught 77 illegal migrants in four separate operations off the coast of the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

Initiating an operation upon notification that there were four groups of irregular migrants in a rubber boat off the coast of Ayvacık district, the teams rescued a total of 77 irregular migrants.

A 2022 report by the Union of Polish Metropolises showed that the number of inhabitants of Poland surpassed 41 million after the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in the first months after the start of the war, which the report describes as unprecedented in the history of the country.

More than 2,300 irregular migrants were caught between Jan. 20 and Jan. 26, the Directorate of Migration Management of the Interior Ministry has announced.

"Our fight against irregular migration continues. Between Jan. 20 and 26, a total of 2,322 were apprehended," the directorate stated in a social media post.

Nearly 3,000 irregular migrants were also deported, it noted.