Bulgaria and Romania: Birding The Balkans in Spring

Bulgaria and Romania: Birding the Balkans in Spring
May 2025/2026

This birding tour encompasses the majority of species-rich Bulgaria, along with the mighty Danube Delta in neighboring Romania. It offers a good chance of finding several tough and localized European birds, along with providing some great scenery and culinary delights!

The huge Dalmatian Pelican is usually seen well on this tour.

Bulgaria and Romania both sport bird lists of around 400 species (following International Ornithological Congress (IOC) v14.2 taxonomy as of August 2024) with the most productive time of year being spring, after the arrival of many sub-Saharan migrants. Our tour, being timed to witness the peak of this spring migration phenomenon, will also be combined with expert local guides and a comprehensive itinerary, and will result in a great bird list of around 200 species.

Some of the target birds for this trip include Dalmatian Pelican, Pygmy Cormorant, Ruddy Shelduck, Ferruginous Duck, numerous shorebirds (waders), and gulls (such as Pallas’s Gull, Caspian Gull, and Mediterranean Gull), and many raptors, including Eastern Imperial Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, and Levant Sparrowhawk.

Other localized and highly sought-after species include the famous Wallcreeper (a monotypic family), Masked Shrike, Western Rock Nuthatch, Sombre Tit, Pied Wheatear, Isabelline Wheatear, Spotted Nutcracker, Ring Ouzel, Olive-tree Warbler, Paddyfield Warbler, Semicollared Flycatcher, and several woodpecker species.

Lesser Kestrel is one of the many raptor species we should encounter in Bulgaria and Romania.

During the tour we will visit several Important Bird Areas (IBAs), identified by BirdLife International as extremely valuable for birds. Some of these include Trigrad Gorge, Studen Kladenets volcanic region, Krumovitza, Lake Burgas, Atanasovsko Lake, Srebarna Nature Reserve, Cape Kaliakra, Durankulak Lake, the vast Danube Delta, and Lake Techirghiol.

If you want to extend your time in this wonderful part of Europe then why not join our Birding Tour Greece: Spring Birding Adventure and Birding Tour Greece: Lesvos in Spring Extension tours, which both run before this tour. These fabulous birding trips are designed to follow on from each other and offer a wonderful range of birds, habitats, and experiences in one of Europe’s oldest countries. Some of the highlights of these tours include Rüppell’s Warbler, Cretzschmar’s Bunting, Rock Partridge, Alpine Chough, Spur-winged Lapwing, Krüper’s Nuthatch, Cinereous Bunting, Eleonora’s Falcon, and Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin.

If you are unable to make the dates of this scheduled tour, please do get in touch and we would be happy to help build a custom tour with dates to suit you.

Ruddy Shelduck is readily encountered in Bulgaria and Romania.

Itinerary (13 days/12 nights)

Day 1. Arrival in Sofia and travel to western Rhodope Mountains

Our tour will start in the midmorning in Sofia, where you will be met by your Birding Ecotours tour leader and local guide. If you cannot arrive in Sofia in time for the start of the tour, please plan on arriving the day before the tour starts, we can help with extra accommodation if required. Perhaps you would like to explore the beautiful and ancient city ahead of the tour.

Our first birding stop will be to visit Vitosha Mountain near Sofia, before beginning our journey southeast towards the western Rhodope Mountains. Target species at Mount Vitosha and the general area include Spotted Nutcracker, Ring Ouzel, Eurasian Bullfinch, Common Firecrest, Goldcrest, and Grey Wagtail.

After our birding at Vitosha Mountain we will make our way through farmlands, perhaps looking for Corn Crake and various other migrants such as Western Marsh Harrier and Red-rumped Swallow. In the late afternoon we will begin a gradual ascent into the western Rhodope Mountains where we might find the likes of Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Red (Common) Crossbill, and Crested Tit.

Overnight: Osina area

Tall coniferous forests will be birded for Spotted Nutcracker.

Day 2. Birding in Trigrad Gorge and the surrounding area

Today the focus will be birding Trigrad Gorge, which is famous for the few pairs of Wallcreeper that reside in this ideal habitat for the species. We will spend some time (it can often take a few hours) throughout the day, scanning the tall cliff faces for this bizarre and beautiful species, a highly sought-after monotypic family. Here we should also see Alpine Swift, Pallid Swift, White-throated Dipper, Peregrine Falcon, Grey Wagtail, Eurasian Crag Martin, and European Serin.

We will spend the rest of the day in the region looking for Crested Tit, Black Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Black Redstart, White-throated Dipper, and other species in the conifer forests nearby. We may also be lucky enough to find Northern Chamois, an unusual-looking wild mountain goat.

Overnight: Yagodina, or nearby

Day 3. Trigrad Gorge and transfer to the eastern Rhodope Mountains

We will again visit the gorge for Wallcreeper, should we have missed it the previous afternoon. Otherwise, we will do some birding around the village, where various woodpeckers, tits, and finches can be expected. After lunch we will begin the transfer to the Krumovgrad area. Due to the nature of the mountain and rural roads, this is normally a drive of a few hours, which we will intersperse with numerous birding stops as we keep our eyes peeled for anything exciting.

We slowly move out of the high mountains associated with the western Rhodope Mountains, into the lower lying reaches of the eastern Rhodope Mountains. Along these stops we can find species such as Little Owl, Cirl Bunting, Black-headed Bunting, Woodlark, Woodchat Shrike, Eurasian Hoopoe, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, and the highly prized Sombre Tit.

Overnight: Krumovgrad

Patches of woodland should produce Sombre Tit.

Day 4. Birding Madjarovo and Ivaylovgrad reservoir

Today we will move to the Madjaraovo volcanic region and the area around Borislavtsi village, at the shore of the Ivaylovgrad reservoir, where the Arda river meanders through this stunning landscape. This will take us into prime rocky areas, holding specials such as Western Rock Nuthatch, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Stork, Rock Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, and a range of raptors including Egyptian Vulture. The thickets in these areas also play host to large numbers of warblers, and our targets will include the Sardinian Warbler, Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Barred Warbler, and Eastern Orphean Warbler.

This is the land of vultures, and we can expect to see Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, and the prized Cinereous Vulture, a huge bird, even by vulture standards. Other raptors present here include Short-toed Snake Eagle, Black Kite, and Eurasian Honey Buzzard. We also have a good chance of finding Northern Raven and various wheatears like Eastern Black-eared Wheatear and Northern Wheatear, shrikes including Woodchat Shrike and Masked Shrike, and the same gorgeous warblers mentioned above. Alpine Swifts grace the sky here, and the ubiquitous Crested Lark struts around on open patches of ground.

Overnight: Madzharovo, Eastern Rhodopes Conservation Centre

Rock Bunting – one of the several bunting species we are likely to see.

Day 5. Birding the Dolna Kula valley and Studen Kladenec

Today we will visit the Dolna Kula rocky valley. The entire eastern Rhodopes region is absolutely spectacular for birding and also plays host to some incredibly scenic routes. This valley has more woodland and bush than other parts of the region and hosts virtually all the warblers occurring in Eastern Europe! Following up on their mixed and jumbled calls is the best way to locate them, and that is just what we will do. Some of our warbler targets today include Eastern Olivaceous, Olive-tree, Sardinian, Eastern Subalpine and Eastern Bonelli’s Warblers.

Hawfinch inhabits the seeding trees here and great emphasis will be placed on finding Blue Rock Thrush and Chukar Partridge, as this must surely rank as one of the best sites in Europe for them. Black Stork breeds on inaccessible ledges in this area. Various species of bunting, including Cirl Bunting, Black-headed Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, and Corn Bunting occupy prominent song perches.

Common Cuckoo, Eurasian Golden Oriole, European Roller, and Common Nightingale litter the trees along the river, and Sombre Tit is another quality inhabitant here. This is also a good area to get to grips with European Turtle Dove, which is becoming less common around Europe due to a rapid population decline. Various hirundines can also be expected here, such as Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, and Common House Martin.

In the afternoon we will continue our birding around the Studen Kladenec area. This is yet another beautiful location where we can look for birds of prey, warblers such as Eastern Subalpine Warbler and Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler, Sombre Tit, Ortolan Bunting, Woodlark, and others. After dinner we may search for Eurasian Scops Owl near the hotel.

Overnight: Madzharovo, Eastern Rhodopes Conservation Centre

Day 6. Travel to Pomorie, birding on the way

We will have an early morning start as we commence our journey northeast, to reach the southern Black Sea coast on the eastern boundary of Bulgaria, where we will be staying at a local hotel for the next two nights. We will, of course, be looking out for birds along the way and we have a few birding stops lined up. Some of these may yield the likes of Eastern Imperial Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Olive-tree Warbler, and Masked Shrike. Other possibilities could include Spanish Sparrow, Booted Eagle, Eurasian Golden Oriole, European Bee-eater, Black-headed Bunting, Isabelline Wheatear, and Montagu’s Harrier.

Our tour will be given a splash of exotic color as the skies fill with European Bee-eaters arriving from their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Time permitting, in the afternoon (or over the next couple of days) we will visit some wetlands around the town of Burgas, just north of our base in Sozopol, where many waterbirds can be expected. Specials here include Pygmy Cormorant, Little Bittern, Great Crested Grebe, Purple Heron, Squacco Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Eurasian Penduline Tit, Common Kingfisher, and various warblers, including Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, and Great Reed Warbler.

Overnight: Sozopol

Day 7. Birding the wetlands around Pomorie and Burgas

Before breakfast we often make an early visit to Strandzha Nature Park, where the main prize is White-backed Woodpecker. This species is, however, tricky to locate at this time of the year. We will bird the forested areas of the park, where we might also find Grey-headed Woodpecker, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper and Willow Tit.

The remainder of the day will be spent focusing on the waterbirds in the immediate Pomorie/Burgas area, one of the top migration hotspots in Europe, with an impressive variety of birds in every season. The main habitats include saltpans, freshwater lakes, and woodland fringing the lakes. We expect to see many shorebird species today, together with raptors, herons, and warblers, forming an interesting mix of birds.

We should encounter many different gull species, such as the striking Pallas’s Gull.

Some of the exciting shorebird species we expect to find include Common Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Dunlin, Eurasian Curlew, Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, and Collared Pratincole. Temminck’s Stint and Broad-billed Sandpiper are rare visitors, but at this time of year almost anything is possible.

Various gulls and terns are also expected, including Little Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, and Black-headed Gull, while on the tern front, we will look for Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Tern, Little Tern, and White-winged Tern. We will also search for waterbirds like Pygmy Cormorant, a range of herons, Spotted Crake (always tricky to see though), Western Marsh Harrier, Western Yellow Wagtail, Great White Pelican, Mute Swan, Eurasian Teal, and others.

The reedbeds will be scoured for Eurasian Penduline Tit, Bearded Reedling (another monotypic family), and various warblers. The woodlands surrounding some of the wetlands here are home to resident specials such as Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and Middle Spotted Woodpecker, and migrants like Collared Flycatcher, European Pied Flycatcher, and Red-breasted Flycatcher. Interestingly, these three flycatchers all overwinter in incredibly different areas, yet all arrive here to breed. European Pied Flycatcher spends the winter in West Africa, Collared Flycatcher in Southeast Africa, and Red-breasted Flycatcher in West Asia (e.g. India). It is an interesting point to ponder as we watch these tiny and gorgeous birds here.

Overnight: Sozopol

Red-footed Falcons are usually seen in good numbers on this tour.

Day 8. Travel to Kavarna and birding around Burgas

Should we have missed any key species the previous day, we will again go birding around the nearby saltpans this morning, before transferring to the town of Kavarna on the northern Black Sea coast. During the journey we will visit a highly productive section of forest located in the Balkan Mountain range. Here, targets will include Semicollared Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Short-toed Treecreeper, Eurasian Nuthatch, and Wood Warbler, along with various tits and woodpeckers, including Middle Spotted Woodpecker.

This is a great area in winter and on our Birding Tour Bulgaria: Black Sea and Vitosha in Winter tour we will spend four days here, observing overwintering Red-breasted Geese (and many other species). During spring, the birding here involves different species but is also great.

We will likely spend most of the day making the journey northwards, birding along the way. We will stop at various lakes and wetlands where we will search for Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Lapwing, Kentish Plover, Little Bittern, Glossy Ibis, and many other widespread migrants that are making their way back to their breeding grounds.

Before arriving at our accommodation in Kavarna we will scan some tall cliffs near town, where we hope to find roosting Eurasian Eagle-Owl.

Overnight: Kavarna

Cape Kaliakra usually holds good numbers of migrants such as Alpine Swift.

Day 9. Birding Cape Kaliakra and various wetlands around Kavarna

We will likely start the day with a trip to Cape Kaliakra Nature Reserve and Bolata for a completely different suite of birds. Here we can expect to see Calandra Lark, Greater Short-toed Lark, Eurasian Skylark, Tawny Pipit, Pied Wheatear, and many other migrants passing through the area. A scan of the sea can reveal various seabirds, including Black-throated Loon (Diver), Yelkouan Shearwater, Parasitic Jaeger (Arctic Skua), and the local subspecies of European Shag (desmarestii).

Next, we will head to the productive Durankulak Lake, along with possible visits to Shabla Tuzla Lake and the Kamen Bryag rocky steppes. Target species for the day include Montagu’s Harrier, Western Marsh Harrier, Squacco Heron, Purple Heron, Caspian Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Great White Pelican, Paddyfield Warbler, and Bearded Reedling.

We will also make another attempt at the larks, should we have missed any this morning, and will have another opportunity for pipits, including Red-throated Pipit. We should also be able to find some other great birds, like Eurasian Stone-curlew, Rosy Starling (erratic and often difficult to pin down), Levant Sparrowhawk, Common Reed Bunting, European Stonechat, European Pied Flycatcher, and Isabelline Wheatear.

Overnight: Kavarna

Pygmy Cormorant is common in the Danube Delta.

Day 10. Travel to the Danube Delta, Romania, birding en route

Today we will travel to the massive Danube Delta in neighboring Romania. During the journey we will likely visit Sinoe and Techirghiol Lakes. These lakes in the southeast of Romania offer a great range of habitats, including vast reedbeds, shallow lagoons, and sand bars. Birding these lakes will allow us to search for a range of species, including Pallas’s Gull, Caspian Gull, Paddyfield Warbler, European Bee-eater, and various shorebird and duck species. The surrounding farmlands host species such as Grey Partridge, Common Pheasant, Short-toed Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Red-footed Falcon, Calandra Lark, Tawny Pipit, Black-headed Bunting and so many others.

We will likely arrive in the late afternoon (by boat) at our accommodation, situated on an island in the Delta, where we will stay for the next two nights. The area around our hotel can be quite productive for birding, with migrants such as Common Cuckoo, Common Redstart, and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler often present.

Overnight: Uzlina Island

Day 11. Birding the Danube Delta

The Danube Delta’s impressive network of channels and lakes will be explored for the day by boat, which often allows us close-up views of many of our target species. We will also bird fishponds, associated flooded meadows, woodlands, and small pans, situated throughout the delta.

Birds of prey here include White-tailed Eagle, Eurasian Hobby, Red-footed Falcon, and Western Marsh Harrier, while wildfowl species will be evident, such as Greylag Goose, Common Shelduck, Mute Swan, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Garganey, and Gadwall. Other waterbirds are numerous, and we should be able to find Black Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill, Dalmatian Pelican, Great White Pelican Pygmy Cormorant, Red-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, all the European species of egrets and herons, and Glossy Ibis.

Garganey is one of the many waterfowl species we should see on this tour.

The flooded meadows should hold shorebirds like Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper, and terns including Caspian Tern, Black Tern, Whiskered Tern, and White-winged Tern.

The wooded riverbanks should hold the dazzling Common Kingfisher and woodpeckers including Syrian Woodpecker and the reedbeds might give up a new suite of warblers, including Savi’s Warbler, Sedge Warbler, and Moustached Warbler. These are all very vocal species but extremely skulking, so will usually require patience to come out of their reedbed habitats for a view.

Overnight: Uzlina Island

Day 12. Birding Danube Delta to Vadu

Following our great stay in the Danube Delta, we will depart this wonderful area for our final birding destination at Vadu. Here, the area’s expansive wetlands represent some of the country’s finest birding.

We will likely take most of the day slowly working our way back southwards, as we bird various lakes, wetlands and farmlands for any missing species, which may include Moustached Warbler, Paddyfield Warbler, or Rosy Starling. The area also hosts colonies of the scarce, Endangered (IUCN) European Ground Squirrel (also known as European Souslik).

We will ensure we are in Vadu by the mid-afternoon to enjoy some fantastic wetland birding, to cap off our Balkans birding adventure. The wetlands here are usually full of waterfowl, herons, shorebirds, various other waterbirds, and warblers, including Eurasian Teal, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Bittern (we’re likely to hear them booming here and see them as they fly low over the reedbeds), Squacco Heron, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, Collared Pratincole, Savi’s Warbler, and Paddyfield Warbler. Bearded Reedlings are often seen here too, as they flit between the vast reedbeds.

The often-elusive Eurasian Bittern can occasionally put on quite a show.

We will spend the night on the edge of Vadu town, overlooking wheatfields, from which Common Quail are often heard calling (although they are normally very tricky to lay eyes on)!

Overnight: Vadu

Day 13. Transfer to Bucharest for departure

This is mostly a non-birding day, as we transfer from Vadu to Bucharest, where the tour will conclude at midday, in time for your late afternoon or early evening flights out of Bucharest (please do not book flights any earlier than 3pm).

If you would like to spend some time in the wonderful city of Bucharest, we can easily help organize extra accommodation for you.

Overnight: Not included

Returning migrants such as Eastern Subalpine Warblers are a highlight of this spring tour.

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors. In addition, we sometimes must use a different guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling or other factors.

Bulgaria and Romania – Birding the Balkans in Spring Trip Report

10 – 22 MAY 2024

By Dominic Rollinson

Lesser Kestrel was one of the many lovely spring migrants that we saw on this tour.  

Overview

This Bulgaria and Romania birding tour was timed to enjoy the impressive spring migration of birds returning from their (mostly African) non-breeding grounds, while we also took in a host of resident bird specials and spent time in the massive Danube Delta. The peak of the migration was a little earlier than usual this year which meant we missed some species, however, it also meant that other species were already well-established on their breeding grounds, and we enjoyed seeing and hearing birds defending breeding territories often providing us with lovely views.

This tour started in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, before heading south to bird the Rhodope Mountains (where we even enjoyed the last patches of snow in the highest areas) and we found specials such as Corn Crake, Cinereous Vulture, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Wallcreeper, Black, Middle Spotted and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Sombre and Crested Tits, Masked Shrike, Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Barred Warbler, Rock Bunting and many others. While birding in the Rhodope Mountains we were lucky enough to see Northern Chamois – a striking-looking mountain goat!

From the eastern Rhodope Mountains we carried on eastwards to the Black Sea coast where we enjoyed some fantastic coastal and wetland birding with highlights including Dalmatian Pelican, Garganey, Spotted Redshank, Eurasian Penduline Tit and Bearded Reedling.

Huge Dalmatian Pelicans were abundant in wetlands of Bulgaria and Romania.

All along the Black Sea coast the area was full of passage or breeding migrants which was a delight to see. Some of the commoner migrants included Western Marsh Harrier, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Eurasian Hobby, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Woodchat and Red-backed Shrikes, Common Nightingale, European Roller and European Bee-eater. Cape Kaliakra and the surrounding area was particularly rewarding for migrants such as Black-throated Loon, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Pied Wheatear, Whinchat, Tawny Pipit, Western Yellow Wagtail and Calandra Lark.

We then crossed into Romania where the excellent birding continued, and we even managed to find a Romanian rarity in the form of Pectoral Sandpiper. Other highlight species here included Red-footed Falcon, Ruddy Shelduck, Grey Partridge and Ortolan and Black-headed Buntings.

We had several sightings of Ruddy Shelducks in waterbodies near to the Black Sea.

Next up was the massive Danube Delta where we spent a full day out on a boat enjoying the likes of White-tailed Eagle, Dalmatian Pelican, Pygmy Cormorant, Red-necked Grebe, Eurasian Spoonbill, Black Tern, Pallas’s and Caspian Gulls and Bearded Reedling. We never tired of working our way through large groups of waterfowl where we picked out Garganey, Eurasian Wigeon, Ferruginous Duck and Northern Shoveler.

The adventure ended with a day in the Vadu area which was just full of birds. Some of the standout species here included Eurasian Bittern, Red-crested Pochard, Collared Pratincole, Paddyfield and Savi’s Warblers and huge numbers of waterfowl and other water bird species. We then made our way to Bucharest (adding Levant Sparrowhawk at one of our final stops) where the tour ended after a highly enjoyable two weeks in the Balkans.

Detailed Report

Day 1, 10^th May 2024. Mount Vitosha birding, transfer to the western Rhodope Mountains

Vickie and I met Dancho (our Bulgarian guide and driver), who had fetched Melanie from the airport, at our lovely accommodation in Sofia and we immediately made our way up Mount Vitosha, which sits above the capital city. Unfortunately, the weather was grim and the higher we went, the thicker the fog got! We soon arrived at our birding spot and braved the cold conditions (with limited visibility) and managed to eke out a few nice birds. The normally reliable Spotted Nutcrackers would not show for us today, but we did find Common Firecrest, Eurasian Wren, Ring Ouzel, Dunnock and Yellowhammer.

We then headed back down Mount Vitosha and steadily made our way south and into the western Rhodope Mountains. Before reaching the mountainous areas with their tall conifer forests, we birded some farmlands where we had superb views of a calling Corn Crake and also got our first looks at Common Woodpigeon, Common Cuckoo and Corn Bunting.

The tour started with a bang with this showy Corn Crake.

At our lunch stop (good old KFC) we got our first taste of some of the commoner migrants including Western Marsh Harrier, Common Swift, Barn Swallow and Western House Martin, as well as a few singing European Greenfinch and European Goldfinch.

We then started climbing again and birded a nice patch of pine forest which held Great Spotted and Eurasian Green Woodpeckers, Coal and Crested Tits, Song Thrush and another Common Firecrest. Today had mostly been a travel day but we’d still squeezed in some fine birds!

Day 2, 11^th May 2024. Birding Trigrad Gorge and the western Rhodope Mountains

We started the day with a rather chilly pre-breakfast walk around the hotel grounds which turned out to be quite bird-rich and we soon saw Pallid Swift, Common Cuckoo, Mistle Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Eurasian Bullfinch and Red Crossbill.

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and started the drive towards Trigrad Gorge. After a few minutes Dancho pulled in at a known Black Woodpecker spot and, before we knew it, we had great looks at this massive woodpecker. With the sun out, we had some nice raptors overhead including European Honey Buzzard, Common Buzzard and Eurasian Sparrowhawk. From here, the drive proved to be a beautiful one as we drove through large gorges and along fast-flowing rivers. A couple riverside stops produced White-throated Dipper, while passing through the many small towns en route added breeding White Stork and Black Redstart.

The large and distinctive Black Woodpecker showed well for us.

We arrived at Trigrad Gorge in the late morning and started the vigil to find Wallcreeper, a monotypic family. After scanning the tall cliffs for a while, we decided to give it a break and take our lunch break a bit earlier. The lunch was great (fish and chips) and we enjoyed a nice distraction in the form of a Willow Tit. After lunch we decided to bird some open areas nearby, which was a welcome break from staring at the cliffs. Here, we added Eurasian Crag Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Grey and White Wagtails and European Serin.

It was then back into the gorge where we spent a couple more hours scanning for Wallcreeper. We were just about to give up when we spotted some movement high up on the cliffs and then enjoyed prolonged, although distant, scope views as a Wallcreeper scurried about on the sheer cliffs. Relief!

In the mid-afternoon, we arrived at our lovely accommodation set in the extremely picturesque village of Yagodina and decided to take it easy for the remainder of the day.

Day 3, 12^th May 2024. Birding the Rhodope Mountains

An early morning walk around town produced more nice sightings of previously seen species and Vickie did well to spot a Northern Chamois, a wild mountain goat, which proved to be the only sighting of the trip.

This Northern Chamois watched us in the hills above town.

After breakfast, we packed our bags and hit the road again. We made our way along the Rhodope Mountains for most of the morning and stopped off at a spot where Spotted Nutcracker is sometimes seen. We heard them calling soon after arriving and I managed brief flight views but unfortunately the birds disappeared and that was the end of the nutcracker show. We continued birding the general area and climbed higher into the mountains, where we saw large areas of snow-covered ground which had not yet melted from the winter. Other nice species seen as we made our way through the mountains included White-throated Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Black Stork and Ring Ouzel.

Before arriving in Krumovgrad in the late afternoon, we stopped at a small patch of trees alongside a river, which proved to be an incredibly productive hour or so of birding. Here, we quickly found Short-toed Treecreeper, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted and Eurasian Green Woodpeckers, Eurasian Golden Oriole (our first of many), Icterine Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Eurasian Tree Sparrow and Short-toed Snake Eagle. Nearby we found our first Cirl Bunting of the trip. We then arrived in Krumovgrad in the late afternoon where we enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.

Day 4, 13^th May 2024. Birding the eastern Rhodope Mountains

The change in vegetation was quite noticeable here in the eastern Rhodope Mountains; a much drier and sparsely vegetated environment compared to the tall forests of the western Rhodope Mountains. The change in habitat of course meant a change in bird species on offer and we racked up a good selection of new species today. We started our day with a walk along the Krumovgrad River, where we easily found Little Ringed Plover, Black and White Storks, Syrian and Black Woodpeckers, Eurasian Hobby, Lesser Grey Shrike, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Barred Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Common Nightingale and Black-headed Bunting.

Black-headed Buntings were common in the eastern Rhodope Mountains.

After our breakfast we headed out for the remainder of the day and spent most of the day in the Madjaraovo volcanic region. One of our first stops was a viewpoint where vultures are regularly seen and, within a few minutes of arriving, we saw Griffon, Cinereous and Egyptian Vultures as well as Booted Eagle, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Common Kestrel and Common Raven. Another stop in some nearby woodland further added Great Spotted Woodpecker, Woodchat Shrike, Sombre Tit and Marsh Warbler (after much effort, we managed to get satisfactory views and Melanie managed to fire off a few pics).

We then stopped at a nearby rocky outcrop to see if we could find the scarce Western Rock Nuthatch. Despite Dancho showing us its nest hole, the birds were unfortunately not around today and instead we had to settle for Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Blue Rock Thrush, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear and Ortolan Bunting. Next, we stopped off at the nearby conservation center for lunch, it was interesting to see the vulture display and learn a bit more about their conservation in the area.

After lunch we had another go at the nuthatches, this time at the traditional Madzharovo Crater area, where we spent a while birding the boulder-strewn slopes hoping for the nuthatch. Yet again, we drew a blank on the nuthatch, but we did find Griffon Vulture, Booted Eagle, Eurasian Hoopoe, Peregrine Falcon, Blue Rock Thrush and Rock, Cirl and Ortolan Buntings.

This Rock Bunting put on a show for us at the Madzharovo Crater.

We then moved around the corner to the Ivaylovgrad Reservoir and the surrounding area, which was full of birds. Dancho got very excited en route when he spotted a Masked Shrike, which saved us a detour a couple of days later. At the reservoir itself we found Great White Pelican, Black Tern, Squacco Heron, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint and a slightly out-of-habitat Sanderling. In the surrounding area we added European Turtle Dove, European Bee-eater, European Roller, Woodchat Shrike, Spanish Sparrow and Western Yellow Wagtail. Dancho’s sharp eyes picked out our first Little Owl of the trip which was sat on top of a ruined building. A final stop back at Madzharovo Crater still did not yield the hoped-for nuthatches and so we decided to head back to Krumovgrad after a wonderful day’s birding.

Eastern Subalpine Warblers were abundant in the eastern Rhodope Mountains.

Day 5, 14^th May 2024. Further birding in the eastern Rhodope Mountains

Another early morning walk along the Krumovgrad River produced much of the same diversity as yesterday’s walk, although we had better looks at Eurasian Golden Oriole and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler this morning.

After breakfast we again headed out for most of the day and started birding some scrubby areas near Potochnica village, where we saw Egyptian and Griffon Vultures, Olive-tree and Sardinian Warblers and Yellowhammer. The warblers took some effort to see but we eventually managed decent looks at them. Amazingly, Melanie even managed a photo of the Olive-tree Warbler as it dashed between bushes.

A nearby vulture restaurant turned out to be the source of all the vulture activity and we further added Cinereous Vulture to the day list and also saw Black Kite here. The nearby scrub held Eurasian Hoopoe, European Roller, Woodlark, Common Whitethroat, Eastern Subalpine Warbler and European Goldfinch.

Our lunch stop was a peaceful, shady spot along a river which we thought looked perfect for White-throated Dipper and, sure enough, a pair of these cute birds flew by as we were finishing up lunch.

We spent the rest of the afternoon birding various rocky ridges and patches of scrub which held more of the same as earlier in the day, while a stop along the Arda River added Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Nuthatch and Long-tailed Tit. We had still not had any luck with Chukar Partridge and it was starting to look like we might dip, but then Melanie somehow spotted a dot on the horizon, which turned out to be our target partridge. Other nice birds seen near the Krumovitsa River included European Roller, Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear and Cirl Bunting.

Later that evening, after dinner, we took a walk to a nearby park which produced the hoped-for Eurasian Scops Owl within a minute of starting our search. The whole operation took about 15 minutes, from leaving our hotel to getting back to our hotel!

Eurasian Scops Owl proved easy to locate in Krumovgrad.

Day 6, 15^th May 2024. Birding the eastern Rhodope Mountains to the Black Sea coast

Before reaching the Black Sea coast we had some important birds to find as we left the Rhodope Mountains. Highest on the agenda were a bunch of raptor species, and birding the slopes of the mountains gradually added Long-legged Buzzard, and Eastern Imperial and Lesser Spotted Eagles. We then visited a colony of Lesser Kestrels, where artificial nesting boxes have been installed to aid the conservation of this species in Bulgaria. Before heading to the coast we had a look for Great Spotted Cuckoo which unfortunately did not show for us, however, Vickie managed to spot a distant female Red-footed Falcon.

We still had a decent drive ahead of us and so we hit the road and made it to the coast, where we birded a roadside wetland which held Western Marsh Harrier, Pygmy Cormorant, Cetti’s Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. We arrived in Sozopol, along the Black Sea coast, in the late afternoon. Our hotel was beautifully set, overlooking the town, and we enjoyed taking it easy for the late afternoon. We then took a leisurely stroll into town for dinner at a restaurant overlooking the coast.

Day 7, 16^th May 2024. Birding the Black Sea coast

We set off early this morning to bird the Strandzha Nature Park where we would be targeting White-backed Woodpecker. We walked along a wooded stream which was very birdy but, despite hearing White-backed Woodpecker, the best we managed was a brief glimpse as it flew out the back of some trees. We did better with the other woodpeckers of the area though, and had good looks at Middle Spotted and Grey-headed Woodpecker, as well as Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Treecreeper and Long-tailed Tit.

We then headed back to Sozopol for a late breakfast, after which we spent the rest of the morning birding nearby wetlands which held Great White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Garganey, Gadwall, Common Pochard, Pygmy Cormorant, White-tailed Eagle, Eurasian Hobby and Great Reed Warbler.

Garganey proved rather abundant and, at times confiding, on this tour.

For our lunch stop we had a picnic on the edge of a salt works which was, of course, full of birds including the likes of Common Shelduck, Greater Flamingo, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Yellow-legged and Mediterranean Gulls and other regular shorebirds. Another nearby salt works additionally held Grey Plover and Little, Common and Sandwich Terns.

We finished the day birding other nearby lakes around Burgas, which were full of feeding birds. New birds here included Kentish and Common Ringed Plovers and Dunlin. We also enjoyed good long looks at Dalmatian Pelicans, which showed well in the late-afternoon light.

Day 8, 17^th May 2024. Northwards along the coast

We had another go for White-backed Woodpecker this morning at Strandzha Nature Park, but did not even hear them calling and thus had to give up with this particular species. Gladly, we did get a showy Marsh Tit. Saying goodbye to Sozopol, we hit the road north, stopping off at a couple of roadside wetlands en route, which added Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Lapwing, Whiskered Tern, White-winged Tern and Common Reed Warbler.

Moving further north, we birded some other wetlands which held Ruddy Shelduck, Common Pheasant, Wood Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis and Eurasian Coot, while the nearby woodlands had Common Nightingale, Spanish Sparrow, Common Linnet and good numbers of Eurasian Turtle Doves. Another nearby marshy area eventually yielded Eurasian Penduline Tit,and Cetti’s Warbler was a bit more obliging than before.

The cute and tiny Eurasian Penduline Tit.

As we traveled north, we made our way through the lower areas of the Balkans Mountains and birded a forested area which finally yielded Semi-collared Flycatcher and Spotted Flycatcher.

In the late afternoon, before getting into Kavarna, we stopped to scan some cliffs for Eurasian Eagle-Owl, which Dancho spotted. While we were searching for the owl, we also added Hawfinch. Melanie was lucky enough to see a European Badger before it disappeared down its burrow, never to be seen again! After a long but incredibly fun and productive day we pulled into Kavarna, where we were based for the next two nights.

Day 9, 18^th May 2024. Birding the Kavarna area

We spent the full day birding the various birding sites around Kavarna, moving between coastal steppes, wetlands and the coast itself. We started the day at Cape Kaliakra, which is a great place to watch migrating birds move by, and soon after we arrived we found a number of migrant passerines hanging around. Highlights of our time at Cape Kaliakra included Black-throated Diver, European Shag, Lesser Grey, Red-backed and Woodchat Shrikes, Eurasian Jay, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Northern and Pied Wheatears and Black-headed Bunting.

Pied Wheatears were abundant at Cape Kaliakra.

The steppes near Cape Kaliakra were alive with birds and we soon added Greater Short-toed, Calandra and Crested Larks, Woodlark, Isabelline Wheatear, Tawny Pipit and Corn Bunting.

After our lunch stop we birded Lake Durankulak, which further yielded Ferruginous Duck, Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern and a few Western Marsh Harriers. Before calling it a day, we again stopped at the same steppes as earlier in the day, where we managed to find the hoped-for Eurasian Stone-curlew.

Day 10, 19^th May 2024. Crossing into Romania

After our breakfast we again hit the road and kept heading north, and it wasn’t long before we crossed into Romania. Thankfully, the border crossing was very straightforward and took all of around two minutes to get into the country. We quickly added a new bird for the trip, in the form of Rook. It seemed like these birds did not like to cross into Bulgaria, since they were really abundant here but had not been seen until now.

Next stop was Techirghiol Lake, which produced some excellent birding as we drove slowly around the lake. In the open areas surrounding the lake we saw Grey Partridge, Long-legged Buzzard, Rook, Northern Wheatear, Western Yellow Wagtail and also heard Common Quail, which unfortunately would not show. The shoreline was scattered with birds including Black-necked and Great Crested Grebes, Common Moorhen, Grey Plover, Mediterranean Gull, Northern Lapwing, Wood and Curlew Sandpipers, Ruff, Little Stint and we also got lucky with good views of a Pectoral Sandpiper, a rarity in Romania. The highlight of our time around the lake was probably the good numbers of Red-footed Falcons which showed remarkably well for us.

We enjoyed watching Red-footed Falcons hunting dragonflies on the edge of Techirghiol Lake.

We then continued our way north through Romania and birded a quarry where we looked for Rosy Starling, which unfortunately wasn’t around today. Nearby wetlands, however, added Greylag Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, Red-crested Pochard, Little and Pallas’s Gull, Collared Pratincole, Purple Heron, Sand Martin, Moustached Warbler (heard only) and Bearded Reedling.

After another long day out, we caught our boat transfer to our lovely accommodation in the Danube Delta, where we saw our first Caspian Gull of the trip and enjoyed a fine meal that evening.

Day 11, 20^th May 2024. Birding the Danube Delta

Excitingly, we had a full day boat trip out on the Danube Delta. We made our way through a complex network of channels and lakes and spent the day working through a broad array of waterfowl and other water birds. Highlights of our boat trip included Garganey, Common and Red-crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Dalmatian and Great White Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorant, Red-necked and Black-necked Grebes, Black-crowned Night Heron, Purple Heron, Great and Little Egrets, Eurasian Spoonbill, Common Redshank, Black, Common and Whiskered Terns, Caspian, Black-headed, Pallas’s and Mediterranean Gulls, Bearded Tit, Western Yellow Wagtail and Common Kingfisher. We also enjoyed watching huge White-tailed Eagles fishing, with Western Marsh Harriers, Red-footed Falcons and Eurasian Hobbies hunting overhead. A stop along the Black Sea coast did not produce too much of interest, besides a few Sandwich and Common Terns passing by.

The striking Pallas’s Gull was seen well in Romania.

Day 12, 21^st May 2024. Danube Delta to Vadu

This morning Vickie and I took a walk around the lodge grounds and we managed to find a Common Redstart,which was a lifer for Vickie. After breakfast, we caught our water taxi back to our vehicle and then birded our way back south to Vadu, our base for the final day of the tour.

Our first stop was at a large lake and adjoining salt flats which was full of birds, including Common Shelduck, Red-crested and Common Pochards, Black-winged Stilt, Black-headed and Caspian Gulls, Western Marsh Harrier and Red-footed Falcon, with Crested Lark and Western Yellow Wagtail seen on the edges of the lake.

We stopped at the same marsh where we had heard Moustached Warbler a few days ago but, unfortunately, they weren’t even calling today and this species would remain as ‘heard only.’ We did, however, again get good looks at Bearded Reedling here.

Red-necked Grebes were seen in the lakes of the Danube Delta.

As we continued to make our way south, we stopped in at the impressive Enisala Fortress, which is perched up on an imposing hill. The fortress was built in the 14^th century by Genovese merchants who used it to oversee the movement of enemy troops, both at sea and on land. There were some nice birds around here, such as Great Egret, European Bee-eater, Northern Wheatear and White Wagtail.

Our lunch stop was a very pleasant picnic lunch along the edge of Lake Razim, with Bearded Reedlings moving between reedbeds. Here, we also saw a couple of large Tessellated Water Snakes, nonvenomous snakes which often feed on fish!

In the early afternoon we birded some marshy areas near Lake Sinoe, finding the hoped-for Paddyfield Warbler, as well as a good selection of water birds such as Kentish Plover, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Little Stint, Collared Pratincole and Great White Pelican. In the surrounding farmland we encountered Common Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Long-legged Buzzard and Western Marsh Harrier.

For our final birding of the day, we birded the vast network of lakes, ponds, channels and reedbeds around Vadu. This area is one of Romania’s most popular birding spots and, after the afternoon birding here, we could clearly see why. Over the course of our couple hours here, we found many exciting species, such as Garganey, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Gull, Eurasian Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron, Squacco and Purple Herons, Eurasian Spoonbill, Red-footed Falcon, Woodlark, Bearded Tit, Paddyfield, Common Reed, Garden and Savi’s Warblers, Whinchat and Common Reed Bunting. A sure highlight was hearing Eurasian Bitterns booming right nearby us, and we managed to see a couple birds flying low over the reedbeds, capping off another fantastic day. Our final night was in a lovely hotel, right on the edge of town, overlooking wheatfields, with Common Quail calling away (but, of course, not revealing themselves).

Long-legged Buzzards were widespread in Bulgaria and Romania.

Day 13, 22^nd May 2024. Vadu birding and departure from Bucharest

For our final day in Romania, we enjoyed some early morning birding around Vadu’s wetlands which produced more of the same as yesterday, as well as slightly improved views of Eurasian Bittern and Savi’s Warbler.

It was then time to hit the road and head west towards the Romanian capital, Bucharest. We still had some time for birding in the late morning. We had a productive final stop in some woodlands and farmlands, which added the likes of Long-legged Buzzard, Eurasian Hoopoe, Syrian Woodpecker, Eurasian Tree Sparrow and the highlight of the morning, Levant Sparrowhawk (well-spotted by Vickie).

Our roughly two weeks in the Balkans ended with drop-offs at Bucharest Airport, where we said our goodbyes. Thanks to Dancho for his expert guiding and navigation and to Vickie and Melanie for making this trip a thoroughly enjoyable one! Look forward to traveling with you both again soon!

Bird List – Following IOC (December 2023)

Birds ‘heard only’ are marked with (H) after the common name, all other species were seen both by clients and guide.

The following notation after species names is used to show conservation status following BirdLife International. EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable.

Mammal List – Following Mammalwatching.com

Reptiles List – Following Mammalwatching.com

This is a sample trip report. Please email us ([email protected]) for more trip reports from this destination.

Your guide will be driving you in a comfortable vehicle during this spring tour. The tour does not require a great deal of walking or steep hiking to see most of the birds, although there are opportunities for some longer hikes if you wish.

The weather in Bulgaria and Romania at this time of year is generally dry and warm to very warm. Inland Bulgaria will have daytime temperatures of 77 – 95^oF (25 – 30^oC), while coastal areas and the Danube delta will be more mixed, but generally cooler at around 64 – 77^oF (18 – 25^oC). Nighttime temperatures throughout the tour will range between 57 – 64^oF (14 – 18^oC).