Bulgaria

Itinerary – Day tot day Summary:
Day 1:
Arrival and birding around Bourgas wetlands
After checking into our hotel, we can go birding at the wetlands surrounding the city. The area is a bottle-neck site where thousands of birds fly past. There are marshes, saline lagoons, brackish and freshwater lakes and each with a variety of birds. Farmland, meadows and broad-leaved forest add another set of habitats, hosting a range of species. Don’t nglect the sky for the all the soaring birds flying over.

Day 2 & 3:
Birding around Bourgas wetlands
You can have an early start with a pre-breakfast walk around the hotel grounds. These walks are usually productive for the migrating passerines that are actively feeding to collect energy. After breakfast we start driving the wetlands around Bourgas. Our first stop is at an ancient woodland with an open pasture where we shall be looking for Masked Shrike, Sombre Tit, Middle spotted Woodpecker, Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Short-toed Treecreeper and Grey-headed Woodpecker.

After that we head to the wetlands. Some of birds we can expect to see are White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorant, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Marsh Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Collared Pratincole, Penduline Tit, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Kentish Plover, Little Bittern, Gull-billed Tern, Slender billed Gull, Little Gull, Purple Heron and many others. The birds of prey on the list of expected species are White-tailed Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Lond-legged Buzzard, Saker Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, Lesser-spotted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Osprey, Montagu’s Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, Levant Sparrowhawk, Hobby, Red-footed Falcon, Black Kite and many others.

Day 4:
Strandzha mountains
Today we drive for an hour to the South of Bourgas to reach the largest Oak woodland in Europe. This area is home to woodpeckers and our main targets are the White-backed, Black, Grey-headed, Middle spotted, Lesser spotted and Syrian Woodpecker. Other than them, we can also expect to see Black Stork, Sombre Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Redstart and many others. In the afternoon we are back to Bourgas wetlands where we continue with waterfowl and birds of prey.

Day 5:
Transfer to the Northern Black sea coast
We change locations with another superb area situated in the North-Eastern corner of Bulgaria. En route we stop at quite a few sites with a variety of habitats including saltpans, mountain meadows and coastal cliffs. We check the saltpans for new arriving birds and then stop at a mountain pass to spend some time enjoying migration of soaring birds. We can expect to see Steppe Buzzards, Honey Buzzards, Black Kite, more White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Montagu’s Harrier, White Storks, Hawfinches, Sombre Tit, Wood Lark and others. After lunch we continue our travel to the north with stops for Middle spotted Woodpecker, Short-toed Treecreeper and Eagle Owl. Our last part of the day is along a coastal road with opportunities for Red-footed Falcon, Lesser-grey Shrike, Greater Short-toed Lark, Calandra Larks and Stone Curlew.

Day 6:
Birding around Shabla and Durankulak lakes
Before breakfast we walk around the hotel grounds and check for migrating passerines and the local Pied Wheatear, Syrian Woodpecker, Golden Oriole, Lesser spotted Woodpecker, to name but a few.

After breakfast we head to the lakes of Durankulak and Shabla lagoon.
These coastal wetlands in the Northern part of the country often attract a good number of waterfowl. Amongst the birds that we can expect are Ferruginous Duck, Purple Heron, a number of waders like Broad-billed Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Avocet, Marsh Sandpiper all the three marsh terns, Caspian Tern, Red-breasted Flycatcher. Thrush Nightingale is also on its way to the south and can be expected.

Day 7:
Birding around Kaliakra cape and steppe
After the optional pre-breakfast walk, we visit a narrow coastal valley which often attracts lots of migrating passerines. There we can expect to see Grey-headed and Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Pied and Black-eared Wheatears, Mediterranean Shag, Thrush Nightingale, Red-breasted Flycatcher and many others. The very picturesque cape Kaliakra and surrounding steppe we shall be searching for Pied Wheatear, Stone Curlew, Calandra Lark, Tawny Pipit, Greater Short-toed Lark and migrating birds.

Day 8:
Transfer to Bourgas
Depending upon the time of departure we can do more birding around Bourgas wetlands.
Please, plan for a pm flight.

Get in touch with one of our team members for more information at info@naturetravelbirding.com