MAY 16TH 2013 - BULGARIA DAY 4 – TOUR 1

MADZAROVO - BOURGAS STOPPING AT: THE RESERVOIR AT IVAYLOVGRAD DARN - SAKAR MOUNTAINS - TOPOLOVGRAD - BOZURA RESORT - BOURGAS SALT PANS

An amazing total of species was seen today despite us traveling more than 200km on very slow roads. We saw over 100 species including some very nice migrant breeding birds.

Our day started at 6:30am when we took an early morning excursion to the high cliff face near the village, we were hoping to see Chukar and Rock Nuthatch but neither showed up - dipped as they say in the trade! We did mange to see a good number of other species but nothing new for our list.

After breakfast we loaded up the bus with our luggage and set off heading eastward for the Black Sea Coast at Bourgas. We planned many stops, the first of which was not far from Madzarovo at the huge reservoir just over the mountains to the east. We quickly found Olive Tree Warbler which was a pleasant surprise as was a Whinchat and a couple of Black Kites. The air was full of bird song, we tracked down, Cirl Bunt5ing, Red-backed Shrike, Black-headed Bunting and Turtle Dove, we could also hear Common Cuckoo, Hoopoe and Golden Oriole.

A second stop much nearer to the shore of the huge reservoir produced our first Little Egrets, Squacco herons and Mallards. A couple of Black Kites were coupling whilst Grey heron, Great Cormorant and Common Buzzard all showed up.

Our next stop was on the side of a wooded hill where young oak and hawthorn were spaced out over a grassy bank. The bird song was terrific, there must have been 50 birds all singing at the same time, incredible. Our target species were the Olive Tree Warbler and the Masked Shrike. Both of these showed up in good numbers and both gave excellent views. It is great to the Olive Tree Warbler out in the open, much better than the skulking birds on Lesvos. We all got good views of Golden Oriole too.

After stopping to buy lunch in Seredets we drove a little further to eat it. We sat on the crest of a gently sloping hill with great views all around us. The hillside was covered in sparse scrub and many birds sang from there. We heard Olive Tree Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler as well as Common Whitethroat and several buntings. Our main target was the Imperial Eagle and it did not disappoint. Our the couple of hours we were there we saw two of them, they both stayed in view for about 10 minutes as they drifted over the area, fantastic.

We drove ever nearer to Bourgas and made a couple of impromtu stops to watch various species. A male Montagu's Harrier was one such bird and whilst we were watching it we also found Stonechat and a very showy Olivaceous Warbler. A female Marsh Harrier drifted over the bus a little later and we logged about 5 European Rollers sitting on wires as we shot passed.

Our final stop before we reached Bourgas was at a country resort called Bozura, the hotel complex is set deep in oak woodlands and again we came up trumps with plenty of sightings. A couple of nest boxes were in full use as a pair of Semi-collared Flycatchers fed young as did a pair of Common Redstarts next to them. We also found the active nest hole of the Middle-spotted Woodpecker, they gave superb views. A Spotted Flycatcher was new for us too and a second pair of Semi-collared Flycatchers had taken up residence in a tree-hole in the car park! 

Finally we arrived at Bourgas and quickly drove through the town to the north-east section. A large expanse of the Black Sea coastline is used for the production of salt just north of Bourgas and form part of the Bourgas Wetlands natural park which have great significant for migrating waders, ducks, geese, gulls and terns.

We soon had a wealth of new species on our list as we scanned some of th pans: Curlew Sandpipers looked superb in their summer outfits, as did Little Stints. A few Little and Common Terns joined a host of Mediterranean Gulls on the salt pans dykes where we also found Shelduck, a very late Pintail, Gadwall, Mallard, Little Egret, Avocets, Black-winged Stilts and Common Ringed plovers. Other birds seen were Eurasian Spoonbill, Ruddy Shelduck, Kentish Plover, Northern Lapwing, Slender-billed Gull and a Penduline Tit was a nice find as it called from a tree just behind us.

We arrived at our hotel at 7pm with plenty of time to get ready for dinner at 8, we were all tired after the traveling but we enjoyed a lovely dinner and the bird log when we discovered that we had seen 104 species!!