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BULGARIA

The Best Birding in the Balkans

Birdquest's Bulgaria birding tour explores the richest country for birdwatching in Southeast Europe. Our Bulgaria tour is a highly enjoyable springtime journey in search of the country's many specialities, which include Levant Sparrowhawk, Paddyfield and Olive-tree Warblers, Semicollared Flycatcher, Sombre Tit, Rosy Starling and the wonderful Wallcreeper.

Saturday 18th May - Monday 27th May 2013
(10 days)

Leaders: Derek Scott and a local bird-guide

Group Size Limit: 12

Tour Category: Easy

The nomadic Rosy Starling is highly unpredictable, and in some years is present in its thousands (János Oláh)

Bulgaria, a small Slavic nation in the southeastern corner of the Balkans, is now well-established as one of the prime destinations in Europe for birdwatchers. Due to its political history, Bulgaria has long been shrouded in secrecy and until relatively recently even Bulgarians were not allowed to visit their own border regions! Fortunately, with the collapse of communism, times have changed and Bulgaria’s now democratic government is happy to see visitors wandering unhindered throughout the country. As a result visiting birders can now begin to discover an avifauna that is as rich as the scenery is beautiful, with a host of specialities and other good birds.

Within a country four-fifths the size of England there is packed a landscape that encompasses high alpine mountains, deep gorges channelling rapidly tumbling rivers, rolling, scrub-covered hills, wide cultivated plains, dark spruce and twisted oak forests, marshes and lakes, cliffs that plummet vertically into the sea and the gentle sandy beaches of the Black Sea coastline. This is a country where peasant traditions are still very much in evidence and traditional farming methods widespread. Here the shepherd still watches his sheep working their way across the hillside, the horse and cart vies with the motor car on the roads and everywhere in the countryside there is a sense of a way of life that has continued largely unchanged for many years.

We will begin our circular tour of Bulgaria in the capital Sofia, quickly moving on to the valleys and gorges of the Rhodope Mountains, situated along the Greek border, which hold the unique and much sought-after Wallcreeper as well as Pallid Swift. Moving further east, amongst the rivers, rounded hills and rocky outcrops of the eastern Rhodope, we will watch Black Stork, the stately Imperial Eagle, Egyptian and Eurasian Griffon Vultures, the rare Eurasian Black Vulture, Chukar, Syrian Woodpecker, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Eastern Olivaceous, Subalpine, Eastern Orphean and Barred Warblers, Sombre Tit, Western Rock Nuthatch, Lesser Grey Shrike and Black-headed Bunting. Closer to the coast, Isabelline Wheatear, Olive-tree Warbler and the lovely Masked Shrike will vie for our attentions.

Burgas, a port city on the Black Sea, is surrounded by rich lakes and lagoons of outstanding ornithological importance, especially during the migration period. Here we can expect Great White Pelican, Pygmy Cormorant, Ruddy Shelduck and White-tailed Eagle, as well as an abundance of herons, waders, gulls and terns. In the coastal forests are two specialities that have been seen by relatively few birders; Levant Sparrowhawk and Semi-collared Flycatcher, as well as Middle Spotted Woodpecker.

Heading further north to Kavarna we will visit Cape Kaliakra with its dramatic limestone cliffs and breeding Pied Wheatears and Rosy Starlings, while our explorations at Lake Durankulak should produce Paddyfield Warbler on its westernmost European breeding grounds and Red-footed Falcon on migration. At Lake Srebârna in the Danube Valley we shall see the endangered Dalmatian Pelican. Finally, in complete contrast, we will explore the rugged Vitosha range near Sofia, home of Spotted Nutcrackers and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrushes. By the time we have to return home we will have encountered a whole series of Europe’s most exciting and most wanted birds.

Birdquest has operated tours to Bulgaria since 1994.

(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels and guesthouses are of normal Birdquest standard throughout. Road transport is by minibus and roads are nowadays mostly good.

Walking: The walking effort is almost all easy, but there is an optional moderate grade walk up Vitosha on the last morning.

Climate: Warm, dry and sunny weather is interspersed with cool, wet and overcast periods.

Bird Photography: Opportunities are quite good.

Tour Price: (provisional): $2250 Sofia/Sofia. Price includes all transportation, all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.

Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $175.

Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.