MAY 19TH 2013 - BULGARIA DAY 7 – TOUR 1

DURANKULAC LAKE - SHABLA LAKE - CAPE KALIAKRA

An early start saw most of the group outside the hotel complex at 6:30am, it was a clear blue sky with no wind and a

some of the group at Durankulac Lagoon

nice temperature of about 15C. The hotel is more or less on the beach so we walked along a track into an area of scrub. The first bird we saw was a Marsh Warbler, it was singing from the top of a bush some 10 meters away, what a lovely find. We then heard a Barred Warbler singing, this bird stayed elusive showing occasionally, a Whitethroat did the opposite it sang from everywhere, from the bushes, on wires and on poles. Golden Orioles called from the taller trees and we saw a couple of Rooks, the first for the trip in the same trees. Red-backed Shrikes, Black-headed Bunting and many Spanish Sparrows showed well in the bushes and hedges nearby.

the enigmatic Bearded Tit

The track led us back to the beach but we now quite high up so we had a grand view of the bay all in that was in it. Many Cormorants flew back and forth as did Common Tern, Little Tern and lots of Yellow-legged Gulls. We found a Black-throated Diver in the distance and a couple of Yelkouan Shearwaters flew passed. Other birds seen whilst we were sea-watching were: Dalmatian Pelican, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck and a small flock of unidentified waders.

a bad picture of a Paddyfield Warbler

After our lovely breakfast we set off further northward towards the border with Romania, we stopped just a few kilometers from the border at a large brackish lagoon surrounded by a huge reed-bed. As we got out of the bus Golden Orioles called and showed well as did lots of Tree Sparrows. As we approached the reed-bed we heard several Great Reed Warblers singing also a few Reed Warblers and the quiet song of our target species the Paddyfield Warbler also could be heard. Standing on a sandy bank we spent a lovely hour watching all three of the above with a special emphasis on the Paddyfield Warbler, great stuff and much easier than I had expected. During our time there we had super views of Bearded Tit, Ferruginous Duck, Garganey, Squacco Heron, Purple Heron and a lucky few saw a Little Bittern in flight.

The Eastern Bath White

Then we hit a purple patch as a flock of 20 Rose Coloured Starlings flew over us, another great find and a most wanted species. This was quickly followed by two Pygmy Cormorants, a Golden Oriole, 3 Common Cuckoos and a Marsh Harrier was being chased by Lapwings.

We walked a little further along the beach to watch over a different part of the reed-bed in order to try to find a Savi's Warbler but all we got was brief burst of its reeling song. We did find more Reed Warblers and a Reed Bunting, then another flock of 5 Rosy Starlings flew over followed by White Storks and 11 Little Egrets. Out on the sea we saw plenty of Shags, Great Cormorants, gulls terns and a flock of Mute Swans.

Female Pied Wheatear

After a cold drink on the terrace of a beach bar we walked into the car area to look for an Icterine Warbler that one of the group had photographed earlier but what we found was another Marsh Warbler instead. A Lesser Grey Shrike sat on a wire and a Spotted flycatcher hunted from a bare twig above us.

Next we drove to Shabla village to pick up supplies for our picnic lunch before driving down to the beach to eat it, it was quite hot but there was a lovely cooling breeze coming in off the sea. Our walk to the lake after lunch produced several good sightings but nothing new for the trip list, a nice Barred Warbler showed well with yet another Spotted flycatcher and many Common Whitethroats sang from various perches. The Shabla lagoon is a circular pool surrounded by deep, thick reeds, there is a raised viewing platform near the car park. From the platform we heard another Savi's Warbler but it did not show. Garganey, Ferruginous Duck, Common Shelduck, Avocet, black-winged Stilt, Common Terns and a lot of Mallards were all present.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the very popular Kaliakra Cape which is a headland jutting a mile or so into the Black Sea, it has a lot of history and a ruined castle to walk around.. It was a Sunny Sunday afternoon so it was crowded with tourists.when we arrived. In the car we located out target species within seconds! A pair of Pied Wheatears were performing well around the edge of the car park, job done. For the next couple of hours we searched the scrub for warblers and walked to the Cape's point where we done a little sea-watching, much to the amusement of the tourists! Several Harbour Porpoise were fishing offshore and they were joined by a few Bottle-nosed Dolphins and many yellow-legged Gulls.

Sea watching didn't produce much: Shag, Great Cormorant, Mediterranean Gulls and not much else, the castle grounds held Northern Wheatear, Greenfinch, Whitethroat, Alpine Swifts, Bee-eaters, Turtle Doves and lots of Barn Swallows.

It was now getting into early evening and with the group getting tired we decided to call it a day and set off back to the hotel. We arrived a 6pm in good time for our 7pm dinner on the terrace, how nice.