This tour is created to show you the best birdlife of Bulgaria and the Danube Delta in Romania. We are going to start form Bulgaria in Vitosha and Rhodope mountains where we will enjoy mainly mountain species, including the Wallcreeper. We continue to the extreme south of Bulgaria for the ultimate highlights like Masked Shrike, Olive-tree Warbler, Rock Nuthatch. At the Bulgarian seaside we will enjoy Semi-collared Flycatcher, Pied Wheatear and Paddyfield Warbler. The lakes and wetlands in Eastern Romania, together with the unique Danube Delta will reveal enourmous number of White & Dalmatian pelicans, Red-necked Grebes, and Collared pratincoles, among other highlights like Marsh Sandpiper, Penduline Tit, Black Woodpecker and the Majestic White-tailed Eagle.

Within the tour we will see over 200 bird species and our route in both countries goes along different habitats and beautiful scenery, with plenty of options for plants, mammals and butterflies. This travel experience will be enhanced by the excellent food (national cuisine) & wines of both countries, and the cultural sites will give impressions of the two most beautiful, though unknonw countries in Eastern Europe.
This tour is operated by Spatia Wildlife Group, in partnership with Diana Travel for the Romanian part.

The tour starts on 21 May

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrival at Sofia Airport and transfer to Vitosha Mountain for less than hour. Accommodation and short evening walk in the hotel's surroundings. Dinner.

Day 2

We will spend the day exploring the mountain's top and forests for Pallid Swift, Water Pipit, Horned Lark, Nutcracker, woodpeckers and many others. With some luck we will see the Alpine Accentor. Picnic lunch. Overnight at the same hotel in.

Day 3

Transfer to the town of Koprivshtica with one stop for Long-legged Buzzard, Rock Bunting, Sombre Tit and others. If we are lucky we will enjoy the Saker Falcon. Already in the town (architectural reserve), we are going to make short walk and birding - Crossbill, Serin, Redstart and more. Lunch in a typical bulgarian style restaurant. After lunch we head south and first we stop for Imperial Eagle, Isabelline Wheatear, Souslick. Than we have a long driving with several stops on the way to Trigrad Gorge - the best place in Europe to see the Wallcreeper. Here in the gorge we stop and look for the wallcreepers. Other species are Dipper, Peregrine, Swifts etc.
In the evening we go to our hotel, a small and cozy family hotel offering excellent self made typical bulgarian food.

Day 4

Early in the morning we go for Rock Partridge, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Rock Thrush and other species. We go back to the hotel for breakfast and after that we leave the area. We stop in the gorge for a half an hour to see the wallcreepers again. Long transfer to the Eastern Rhodopi Mountain; though long, the route goes trough beautiful landscape and we will have several stops on the way. We reach our hotel at late noon. After lunch and siesta we go for evening birding to the nearest river valley Р Rock Nuthatch, Black-headed Bunting, Black Stork, Bee-eater, Black-eared Wheatear and many others. Late in the evening, after dinner, we go and look for the tiny Scops Owl.

Day 5

We go to a day trip to the Biala Reka river valley, 1 hour away of driving. Here we will have about one and a half hours of walking to reach the river. It will be moderate walking, as we have plenty of time to look for mediterranean warblers, including Olive-tree, Sardinian, Subalpine and Orphean warblers, as well as Masked Shrike, Levant Sparrowhawk, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle and many others. Picnic lunch and overnight in the same hotel.

Day 6

After breakfast we drive less than an hour to a place where we can see Griffon, Egyptian and Black vultures, also Honey Buzzard, Black Stork, and Cirl Bunting. From here we continue to the Black Sea Coast Р the town of Nesebar. We will have several stops on the way and a picnic lunch. The town is an old Byzantium colony with many old houses and 13 churches and we will make sightseeing walk. Dinner in one of the local restaurants. Overnight at hotel in Nesebar.

Day 7

After breakfast we continue north and first stop will be for Semi-collared Flycatcher and woodpeckers. Then we drive to the Kaliakra steppe reserve (2 hours), one of the last remaining steppe habitats in Europe. Here we will enjoy Pied Wheatear, Calandra Lark, Short-toed Lark, Stone Curlew, and Shag (the mediterranean ssp.), possible Eagle Owl. Lunch in a restaurant at Cape Kaliakra. Late in the afternoon we head to Durankulak Lake and we will overnight right next to it, in small bungalow camping, few kilometers from the Romanian border.

Day 8

After an early breakfast we will explore Lake Durankulak for Paddyfield Warblers, Purple Heron, Ferruginous Duck and grebes. When ready, after some minutes of driving we enter Romania and explore the area next to the border for Pied Wheatear, Long-legged Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Levant Sparrowhawk and woodland species. Spotted Crake is possible. After our picnic lunch a short stop at the lakes along the shore will reveal Ferruginous Duck, Little Bittern, Purple Heron, and Black-necked Grebe. Calandra and Crested Larks may be seen on the surrounding fields. Time in the evening for a short exploration of the Romanian Black Sea Coast. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Mamaia.

Day 9

We dedicate this day to the wetlands of the Razim Lagoon. First stop will occupy the best part of the morning with Collared pratincoles, Little Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Gull, White and Dalmatian pelicans, Spoonbill and various waders. Spanish sparrows and Red-Footed Falcon will complete the palette of species in the morning. Rose-coloured Starlings are possible in the summer. We move onwards to Histria and explore the area for White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Stone Curlew, Paddyfield Warbler, Marsh Sandpiper and Montague's and Pallid harriers, mostly in migration. We end the day in a beautiful Dobrudja gorge where Red-rumped Swallow, Pied Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Booted Eagle along with other raptors might be seen. Dinner and overnight in Mamaia.

Day 10

We leave Mamaia for a full day trip through Dobrudja. The morning hours will be spent in Babadag Forest where we shall see Levant Sparrowhawk, Sombre Tit, Barred Warbler, Black, Grey-headed, Middle Spotted, Syrian and Lesser Spotted woodpeckers, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Ortolan. We spend the rest of the day at a range of wetland sites on our way to Tulcea, where we may see: Mediterranean Gull, White and Dalmatian pelicans, Red-crested Pochard, a great colony of Avocets, all these completed with a good number of Rollers and Bee-eaters. We arrive in Tulcea just in time for the houseboat that is expecting us here, ready to go downstream. The typical deltaХs birds like: Pygmy cormorants, egrets, Glossy Ibis, Squacco and Night herons, pelicans will soon appear on our sight. Dinner and overnight on the floating hotel in the heart of the Delta.

Days 11-13

We shall spend these 3 days exploring as wide a variety as possible of the habitats of the delta, either on foot or using a combination of the pontoon and small motor boats. We cannot foresee the exact itinerary because it will vary according to the water level conditions and silting , but we will visit some extensive lakes where a diversity of birds will be seen: Great White Egret, Glossy Ibis, Black-tailed Godwit, Red-necked Grebe, Pygmy cormorants, Spoonbill, White and Dalmatian pelicans flying above, Penduline Tit, all heron species and about 5 species of woodpeckers, including Black and Grey-headed. Rollers and Kingfishers are common in the area around. Raptors will include sightings of Marsh Harrier and Red-footed Falcon, and there is always a chance of locating a White-tailed Eagle. A novel experience and an unforgettable journey.

Day 14

We leave the Delta behind after an early breakfast on the pontoon. We pass through the forests of Dobrudja where we stop for: Grey-headed Woodpecker, Wood Warbler, Sombre Tit, and Nuthatch. Our picnic lunch will be combined with some birding and Black-necked Grebe, Ferruginous Duck, Black-winged Stilt, Spotted Redshank, and Little Gull may be seen at a lake on the way, before boarding the flight at the airport in Bucharest.