An 11-day tour focusing on the spectacular annual migration of hundreds of thousands
of birds of prey, pelicans, storks and passerines along the Black Sea Flyway (known
as the Via Pontica) and on the Eastern Rhodopes Mountain – one of the richest sites
in Europe for birds of prey.
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We recommend a travel insurance.
- Day 1
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Arrival
Flight to Varna. Transfer to hotel (3 0S).
- Day 2
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Eastern Rhodopes Mountain
Adjarovo region: cliffs, schrubs, oak forest, including a visit to the BSPB’s
Nature Conservation and Information Centre “Eastern Rhodopos”.
- Day 3
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Eastern Rhodopes Mountain
Morning until early afternoon: visit the vulture feeding place near Studen
Kladenetz, where we regularly bring carcasses to attract vultures and other
raptors. Visitors stand on a small hill about 250 mtrs away from the feeding
place. In the afternoon visit to other bird areas around Studen Kladenetz.
Key species to be seen at the Eastern Rhodopes Mountain: Cinereous Vulture, Griffon
Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, White-tailed Eagle, Imperial Eagle – to be seen at
the feeding place: Black Stork, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Long-legged
Buzzard, Chukar, Syrian Woodpecker, Scops Owl, Pallid Swift, Red-rumped Swallow,
Woodchat Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear,
Rock Nuthatch, Sombre Tit, etc..
- Day 4
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Black Sea Coast
Today we will drive to the southern Black Sea coast. En route we will stop
in Sakar looking for the Eastern Imperial Eagle, Levant Sparrowhawk and
possibly Olive-tree Warbler. Accommodation in the area near the towns of
Nessebar or Bourgas (4 OS).
- Day 5
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Wetlands around Bourgas
This day is dedicated to the wetlands around Bourgas, which form one of
Europe‘s richest bird areas. Together they harbour 340 of the 400 bird species,
recorded in the country. One of the biggest attractions of the Bourgas wetlands,
however, are the huge flocks of Dalmatian and White Pelicans stopping for long
periods there during the migration. The numbers of soaring birds following the
Black Sea coastal flyway in autumn can rival those at the Bosphorus or Gibraltar
– endless flocks of thousands of White Storks and Honey Buzzards and good numbers
of Black Storks, Booted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, Lesser Spotted Eagles, Black
Kites, Red-footed Falcons, Montagu’s Harriers, Levant Sparrowhawks, etc. pass
overhead.
In the morning we will visit Bourgas Lake (Vaya) and enjoy pelicans, ducks,
gulls and terns, then we will have a packed lunch in the PODA Visitor Center
(managed by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, the BirdLife
partner in Bulgaria). Early afternoon we will spend our time on the terrace
of the Centre, watching raptor migration or walk in the Poda Protected Site,
focusing on waders.
In the afternoon we move on to Mandra Lake for even more migration delights.
- Day 6
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Dyulinski Pass, Atanasovsko Lake
We will spend the morning watching the migration at Dyulinski Pass - a watch
point high up in the wood-clad hills of the Eastern Balkan range overlooking
the seashore below. We will have a packed lunch there and move down to the
Atanasovsko Lake in the afternoon. Atanasovsko Lake is part of the Bourgas
wetlands complex. It is a shallow saline lagoon with traditional saltpans
still preserved. The lake is of major importance for a huge number of birds,
including Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Broad-billed and Curlew Sandpipers,
Marsh Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Slender-billed and
Mediterranean Gulls, Gull-billed Tern and many other migrating wader and
waterfowl species.
- Day 7
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Cape Emine
We will spend a full day at Cape Emine, the easternmost point of the Balkan
range - a great place for migrating passerines and raptors. We will have
packed lunch in the area.
- Day 8
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Kamchia forest and river
Drive to the northern Black Sea coast via Pomorie Lake – a shallow lagoon,
especially good for waders, Goritza oak forests and Kamchia forests and sand
dunes. The area around the Kamchia river mouth is remarkable for its variety:
flooded riverine forests, wide beaches with huge unspoiled sand dunes, freshwater
marshes and riverbeds, cutting deep into the forest. The coexistence of ash, oak,
elm, alder and maple trees with lianas climbing between their branches, creates
the impression of a tropical forest. There we can expect to find some residents
like the White-tailed Eagle, Black Woodpecker, Middle-spotted Woodpecker,
Short-toed Treecreeper. Acommodation in the area of the coastal towns of
Balchik and Kavarna (3 OS).
- Day 9
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Cape Kaliakra
In the next two days we will explore Coastal Dobrudja. This is the northernmost
part of the Bulgarian Black sea coast. The relief is plain, rolling gradually
towards the coastal sand dunes and beaches. Cape Kaliakra is the southern limit
of this geographic area. The sea cliff there towers up to 70 m. Here are the last
remnants of the Great Steppe, formerly occupying the bigger part of the region.
This day is dedicated to the region of Cape Kaliakra with its huge cliffs,
dominating the emerald waters of the Black Sea, where we will watch Mediterranean
Shags and migrating seabirds. On the dry, open steppe-land we will find Calandra
Lark, Stone Curlew and a range of migrants, including Isabeline Wheatears,
Bee-eaters, various larks, pipits (like the Tawny Pipit and Red-throated Pipit),
shrikes and buntings. The shrubs will produce a great diversity of warblers
(like the Olivaceous, Icterine, Barred, Garden Warblers), Red-breasted
Flycatchers, etc. In late August and early September there will still be
Pied Wheatears and Alpine Swifts around the cliffs. Various migrating raptors
pass overhead all the time such as the Lessser Spotted and Spotted Eagles,
Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Levant-Sparrow Hawk, Saker and Red-footed Falcons,
Montagu’s Harrier being some of the specialties. Some residents like the
Long-legged Buzzard and Eagle Owl will also be around. We will have a packed
lunch at the Cape.
- Day 10
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Shabla and Durankulak Lake
Large number of birds are likely to be present here, including Pygmy Cormorant,
Great and Little Bitterns, Ferruginous Duck, Glossy Ibis, Caspian Tern, etc.
Waders should be around too, as well as some special small birds in the reedbeds,
such as Savi‘s, Marsh, Sedge and Moustashed Warblers, etc.. We will spend the morning
watching the coast for seabirds, waterfowl and other migrants. In the afternoon
we explore the nearby Shabla Lake to find more water birds and migrants.
- Day 11
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Depature
Transfer to Varna Airport. Depending on the time of departure we can visit
Yatata marshland or the fishponds to the south of Varna.
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