4th – 12th September
Three of us spent a week spent birding the ‘Black Sea Flyway’ of eastern Bulgaria in search of migrating birds.
This was a two centre trip, equally divided between Krapets and Sarafovo. We flew in to Varna and flew out of Burgas.
ITINERARY
Day 1 – Arrive Varna, transfer to Krapets
Day 2 – Cape Kaliakra, Kaliakra Nature Reserve and the steppe at Sveti Nikola
Day 3 – Lakes Durankulak and Shabla
Day 4 - Kaliakra, Kaliakra Nature Reserve and the steppe at Sveti Nikola
Day 5 – Kamchia NR, Panitsovo (raptor watchpoint) and Lake Pomorie
Day 6 – Lake Pomorie, Pomorie Bay, Alanosovska Lake Managed Reserve and Lake Poroy
Day 7 – Alanosovska Lake MR, Lake Mandra and Poda Protected Area
Day 8 – Panitsovo and Lake Mandra
Day 9 – Debravino River Valley and Yatata Nature Reserve, return to London
The list below shows the 184 species that we saw during the week and gives the number of occasions on which we saw each species (not the number of individual birds).
|
SPECIES |
SIGHTINGS |
|
NOTES |
1 |
Mute Swan |
11 |
|
|
2 |
Ruddy Shelduck |
1 |
|
|
3 |
Common Shelduck |
3 |
|
|
4 |
Gadwall |
2 |
|
|
5 |
Wigeon |
1 |
|
|
6 |
Mallard |
8 |
|
|
7 |
Northern Shoveler |
2 |
|
|
8 |
Garganey |
4 |
|
|
9 |
Common Teal |
2 |
|
|
10 |
Common Pochard |
2 |
|
|
11 |
Ferruginous Pochard |
4 |
|
|
12 |
Tufted Duck |
1 |
|
|
13 |
Black-throated Diver |
1 |
|
|
14 |
Little Grebe |
9 |
|
|
15 |
Red-necked Grebe |
1 |
|
|
16 |
Great Crested Grebe |
6 |
|
|
17 |
Black-necked Grebe |
3 |
|
|
18 |
Levantine Shearwater |
3 |
|
|
19 |
White Stork |
4 |
|
A couple of large flocks of over 500 birds |
20 |
Great Cormorant |
17 |
|
|
21 |
European Shag |
3 |
|
|
22 |
Pygmy Cormorant |
9 |
|
|
23 |
Great White Pelican |
5 |
|
1300+ |
24 |
Dalmatian Pelican |
5 |
|
Largest group of 20 individuals |
25 |
Little Bittern |
2 |
|
|
26 |
Grey Heron |
12 |
|
80+ |
27 |
Purple Heron |
6 |
|
20+ |
28 |
Great Egret |
1 |
|
1 |
29 |
Little Egret |
6 |
|
|
30 |
Squacco Heron |
4 |
|
c.22 |
31 |
Black-crowned Night Heron |
1 |
|
3 |
32 |
Glossy Ibis |
1 |
|
2 |
33 |
Spoonbill |
1 |
|
6 |
34 |
European Honey Buzzard |
7 |
|
About 90 birds in total |
35 |
Short-toed Eagle |
6 |
|
1 |
36 |
Lesser Spotted Eagle |
8 |
|
27 |
37 |
Greater Spotted Eagle |
1 |
|
|
38 |
Booted Eagle |
1 |
|
|
39 |
Golden Eagle |
2 |
|
|
40 |
Marsh Harrier |
13 |
|
|
41 |
Hen Harrier |
1 |
|
|
42 |
Pallid Harrier |
2 |
|
|
43 |
Montagu's Harrier |
6 |
|
|
44 |
Levant Sparrowhawk |
4 |
|
|
45 |
Sparrowhawk |
4 |
|
|
46 |
Black Kite |
4 |
|
|
47 |
White-tailed Sea-eagle |
2 |
|
|
48 |
Common/Steppe Buzzard |
10 |
|
|
49 |
Water Rail |
4 |
|
|
50 |
Little Crake |
2 |
|
|
51 |
Common Moorhen |
6 |
|
|
52 |
Coot |
8 |
|
|
53 |
Stone Curlew |
1 |
|
|
54 |
Pied Avocet |
1 |
|
c.600 |
55 |
Oystercatcher |
1 |
|
3 |
56 |
Grey Plover |
1 |
|
|
57 |
Northern Lapwing |
2 |
|
|
58 |
Kentish Plover |
4 |
|
|
59 |
Common Ringed Plover |
3 |
|
|
60 |
Little Ringed Plover |
6 |
|
|
61 |
Terek Sandpiper |
2 |
|
|
62 |
Common Sandpiper |
5 |
|
|
63 |
Green Sandpiper |
3 |
|
|
64 |
Spotted Redshank |
2 |
|
|
65 |
Common Greenshank |
6 |
|
|
66 |
Marsh Sandpiper |
2 |
|
82 |
67 |
Wood Sandpiper |
7 |
|
Largest group30+ |
68 |
Common Redshank |
4 |
|
|
69 |
Curlew |
2 |
|
|
70 |
Black-tailed Godwit |
2 |
|
|
71 |
Ruddy Turnstone |
2 |
|
|
72 |
Red Knot |
1 |
|
|
73 |
Ruff |
4 |
|
|
74 |
Broad-billed Sandpiper |
2 |
|
4 birds, seen twice |
75 |
Curlew Sandpiper |
3 |
|
|
76 |
Temminck's Stint |
1 |
|
|
77 |
Dunlin |
6 |
|
|
78 |
Little Stint |
3 |
|
|
79 |
Common Snipe |
2 |
|
|
80 |
Red-necked Phalarope |
1 |
|
|
81 |
Collared Pratincole |
1 |
|
|
82 |
Slender-billed Gull |
2 |
|
|
83 |
Black-headed Gull |
18 |
|
|
84 |
Little Gull |
7 |
|
|
85 |
Mediterranean Gull |
7 |
|
|
86 |
Common Gull |
1 |
|
|
87 |
Yellow-legged Gull |
31 |
|
|
88 |
Baltic Gull |
2 |
|
|
89 |
Little Tern |
2 |
|
|
90 |
Gull-billed Tern |
1 |
|
|
91 |
Caspian Tern |
1 |
|
|
92 |
Black Tern |
4 |
|
|
93 |
White-winged Tern |
2 |
|
|
94 |
Whiskered Tern |
7 |
|
|
95 |
Common Tern |
5 |
|
|
96 |
Sandwich Tern |
6 |
|
|
97 |
Feral Pigeon |
15 |
|
|
98 |
Common Wood Pigeon |
2 |
|
|
99 |
Turtle-dove |
9 |
|
|
100 |
Collared Dove |
15 |
|
|
101 |
Common Cuckoo |
3 |
|
|
102 |
Eagle-owl |
1 |
|
|
103 |
Little Owl |
3 |
|
|
104 |
Alpine Swift |
2 |
|
|
105 |
Common Swift |
6 |
|
|
106 |
Hoopoe |
6 |
|
|
107 |
Common Kingfisher |
4 |
|
|
108 |
European Bee-eater |
22 |
|
|
109 |
European Roller |
6 |
|
|
110 |
Wryneck |
2 |
|
|
111 |
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker |
2 |
|
|
112 |
Middle Spotted Woodpecker |
5 |
|
|
113 |
Great Spotted Woodpecker |
3 |
|
|
114 |
Syrian Woodpecker |
6 |
|
|
115 |
Green Woodpecker |
4 |
|
|
116 |
Kestrel |
9 |
|
|
117 |
Hobby |
6 |
|
|
118 |
Peregrine Falcon |
1 |
|
|
119 |
Red-backed Shrike |
26 |
|
|
120 |
Lesser Grey Shrike |
3 |
|
|
121 |
Golden Oriole [oriolus] |
7 |
|
|
122 |
Jay |
8 |
|
|
123 |
Magpie |
15 |
|
|
124 |
Jackdaw |
10 |
|
|
125 |
Rook |
2 |
|
|
126 |
Hooded Crow |
7 |
|
|
127 |
Common Raven |
3 |
|
|
128 |
Bearded Reedling |
1 |
|
|
129 |
Calandra Lark |
2 |
|
|
130 |
Greater Short-toed Lark |
1 |
|
|
131 |
Crested Lark |
4 |
|
|
132 |
Skylark |
4 |
|
|
133 |
Woodlark |
5 |
|
|
134 |
Sand Martin |
17 |
|
|
135 |
Barn Swallow |
30 |
|
|
136 |
Red-rumped Swallow |
7 |
|
|
137 |
House Martin |
15 |
|
|
138 |
Sombre Tit |
3 |
|
|
139 |
Blue Tit |
3 |
|
|
140 |
Great Tit |
7 |
|
|
141 |
Long-tailed Tit |
1 |
|
|
142 |
Nuthatch |
3 |
|
|
143 |
Short-toed Treecreeper |
2 |
|
|
144 |
Cetti's Warbler |
1 |
|
|
145 |
Willow Warbler |
2 |
|
|
146 |
Common Chiffchaff |
6 |
|
|
147 |
Wood Warbler |
3 |
|
20+ birds in bushes at Krapets on 5th |
148 |
Icterine Warbler |
1 |
|
|
149 |
Reed Warbler |
3 |
|
|
150 |
Great Reed Warbler |
3 |
|
|
151 |
Blackcap |
2 |
|
|
152 |
Garden Warbler |
2 |
|
|
153 |
Barred Warbler |
1 |
|
|
154 |
Lesser Whitethroat |
7 |
|
|
155 |
Greater Whitethroat |
4 |
|
|
156 |
Spotted Flycatcher |
8 |
|
|
157 |
European Robin |
2 |
|
|
158 |
Thrush Nightingale |
2 |
|
|
159 |
Common Nightingale |
1 |
|
|
160 |
Red-breasted Flycatcher |
4 |
|
Dozens of birds at Cape Kaliakra on 7th |
161 |
European Pied Flycatcher |
1 |
|
|
162 |
Common Redstart |
1 |
|
|
163 |
Whinchat |
6 |
|
|
164 |
Northern Wheatear |
10 |
|
|
165 |
Pied Wheatear |
3 |
|
|
166 |
Black-eared Wheatear |
2 |
|
|
167 |
Blackbird |
8 |
|
|
168 |
Song Thrush |
1 |
|
|
169 |
Mistle Thrush |
1 |
|
|
170 |
European Starling |
15 |
|
|
171 |
Yellow Wagtail |
11 |
|
|
172 |
Gray Wagtail |
1 |
|
|
173 |
White Wagtail |
7 |
|
|
174 |
Tawny Pipit |
2 |
|
|
175 |
Tree Pipit |
4 |
|
|
176 |
Yellowhammer |
1 |
|
|
177 |
Cirl Bunting |
3 |
|
|
178 |
Corn Bunting |
11 |
|
|
179 |
Chaffinch |
11 |
|
|
180 |
European Greenfinch |
5 |
|
|
181 |
European Goldfinch |
3 |
|
|
182 |
Hawfinch |
2 |
|
|
183 |
House Sparrow |
15 |
|
|
184 |
Tree Sparrow |
2 |
|
|