2008 Tour Narrative
Seeing great birds is always pleasing, but sometimes the views are so good that the whole experience is simply unbeatable! From start to finish, this year’s Bulgaria tour enjoyed spectacular views of such highly desired species as Eastern Imperial Eagle, Pygmy Cormorant, Masked Shrike, Red-footed Falcon, Black Vulture, Olive-tree Warbler, Semi-collared Flycatcher, Isabelline Wheatear, Ferruginous Duck, Levant Sparrowhawk (in slow-winged display type flight, certainly the best view ever on a spring tour), Pied Wheatear, Paddyfield Warbler, and Black Woodpecker. We also had stunning views of sometimes secretive and elusive species, and our experiences with Scops Owl, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Honey Buzzard, Red-rumped Swallow, Middle and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Penduline Tit (with nest), Alpine and Pallid Swifts, Ortolan and Black-headed Buntings, Hawfinch, and Savi’s, Sardinian, Barred, Eastern Bonelli’s and Icterine Warblers were also outstanding.
On top of this we had marshes and wetlands filled with herons, and egrets from displaying Little Bitterns to feeding Squacco Herons. Among our total of 21 raptor species, especially memorable were the Golden Eagle dropping its prey (probably a tortoise) to the ground, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures in the air together, perched Peregrines, soaring Long-legged Buzzards, and both Marsh and Montagu’s Harriers. We were lucky a few times, not least with our 11th-hour Yelkouan Shearwater from Cape Kaliakra, where we had enjoyed nearby clifftop fields full of Calandra Larks and wildflowers. Even before we reached our hotel we found several Stone-Curlews, a Tawny Pipit, and quite a few Short-toed Larks. The woodlands were always great, and we eventually managed looks at all the expected woodpeckers, with Syrian and Gray-headed particularly pleasing.
We even had time to “twitch” a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos and to catch up with some late White Stork migration (in addition to those huge nests with Spanish Sparrows for lodgers!). Adding color and excitement to an already dazzling list were breeding Black Storks, hedgerows lined with Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrikes, the sound of Nightingales and Golden Orioles filling every scrubby area, and other highlights ranging from Western Rock Nuthatch to Garganey, from Eagle Owl (with chicks!) to Sombre and Crested Tits, from Little Owl to Collared Pratincole, Purple Heron, Bee-eater colonies, Blue Rock Thrush, Hoopoes and Rollers, and numbers of Rose-colored Starlings hurtling somewhere at great speed (one day we saw more than 600 before breakfast!). Last but not least, the Wryneck deserves special mention: it took some searching, and the pressure built each day, but we finally got one!
As wonderful as the birds are, they are only part of the Bulgaria experience, and we amassed a great list of mammals and reptiles, topped by an incredible encounter with a Wild Cat (simply breathtaking!). We also enjoyed close-ups with Badger, Fallow Deer, and a snake species, as well as some distant Harbor Porpoise, Balkan Green Lizards, and Eastern Festoon butterflies.
The birds and wildlife all behaved themselves, and with great thanks to the always good-humored Nikolay Dilchev, the trip went smoothly: never was a request too much, and he was always keen for us to sample the local foods and wines—which were, like the birds, never in short supply.
- James Lidster
Updated: June 2008