BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 9 - MAY 23RD 2014

TRANSFER - CENTRAL BALKAN MOUNTAINS TO SOFIA

Some of the group took a walk before our early breakfast, the weather was just perfect, a clear blue sky and no wind. It was a pity we never had more time because I am sure some good things would have turned up.

We had to be content with Eurasian Bullfinch, Goldcrest, Blackcap and Chiffchaff. We took breakfast at 6:30am and were on our way by 7:15am.

Our journey to the airport was uneventful, just a few sightings but we couldn't stop because of the time. Common Buzzard, Lesser Grey Shrike, Hawfinch, White Stork were some of the species we left behind as we arrived at the airport.

I flew out at 11:50am whilst the group had a few hours to kill before their flight at 6pm so they organised a none birding tour into Sofia, I hope it went well for them.

It was the end of another excellent tour of Bulgaria, it was more a photographic trip than pure birding, only two of the group kept a record of the birds seen and as a consequence there was never a bird count so I have just done one; We saw 185 species and heard a couple more, I think most of these were photographed at some stage during the trip.

A great tour in a great birding country, can't wait to return next year, why not come along with us, see details at the top of the blog.

BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 8 - MAY 22ND 2014

LONG TRANSFER FROM KRAPETS TO WESTERN CENTRAL BALKANS - WITH ONLY ONE MAJOR STOP ALONG THE WAY.

An early start saw us all loaded onto the bus by 6:30am carrying our breakfast with us in the shape of  a sandwich, we hoped to get as far as we could in 2 hours before stopping to eat our picnic. A short stop near Shabla was made for coffee before we drove around Varna and headed west for Sofia. By 8:30am we had reached our destination, it was a tiny village west of Varna where a quarry held a sizeable Bee-eater colony, it was to be a treat for the photographers as Dancho had brought three mobile hides with him.

For the rest of us we ambled around the lanes near the village and had a great time in the warm morning sunshine. Our first sighting was of a Rook, this was our first Rook of the trip too, we followed this with another first, an Icterine Warbler, this bird sang it's heart out the whole time we were there and it showed very well.

                             THREE PICTURES OF THE VERY OBLIGING ICTERINE WARBLER

The next species to show up was the Lesser Grey Shrike, a pair were chasing around and favoured the scrub by the side of the road, they sat perfectly for the camera too, how nice.

another obliging bird - the Lesser Grey Shrike

As we continued our walk so more birds appeared we saw; Crested Lark, Great Reed Warbler, Red-backed Shrike, White Stork, Common Cuckoo, Bee-eater, Eurasian Hoopoe, Turtle Dove, Spanish Sparrow, Golden Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle and a couple of Honey Buzzard. how's that for a lost just strolling down a country lane in the middle of nowhere? Pretty good eh!

I continued the walk alone as the rest of the group decided to return to the bus for shelter and water, we were still waiting for the photographers to return. I went on to see Eurasian Nuthatch, Stonechat, Black-headed and Corn Bunting, Red-rumped Swallow and I found a roadside Bee-eater colony, it was then that my camera battery expired and my are was uncharged from yesterday, as a consequence these are my last three pictures of today.

several Bee-eaters were sitting on the road near their nest holes



a very nice blue flower

a very nice blue butterfly - Common Blue

We set off again at 11am and put quite a few kilometres behind us before we stopped again, during our trip we noted very species as most of the group were fast asleep, including me!


After a lunch break we arrived at the next birding spot which was high up on the top ot he Central Balkans, it was quite cold and a little bit windy but it stayed dry. We had passed our hotel and from where we walked we had a magnificent panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. A few birds appeared but not many, we noted; Common Cuckoo, Ring Ouzel, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Whinchat, Common and Lesser Whitethroats, Tree Pipit and Grey Wagtail.

We left at 5:30pm and drove down to the hotel, some of the group went for a. walk around the hotel grounds, they brought back tales of seeing Bullfinch, Blackcap and Goldcrest.

Dinner was our last supper together and consequently went down with a lot of alcohol, the table was very loud with plenty of laughs as we recalled our holiday highlights, it was a great end to the tour and a nice meal too.

BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 7 - MAY 21ST 2014

KRAPETS HOTEL TRACK - DURANKULAK NATURE RESERVE - CAPE KALIAGRA

Only two places visited today yet we saw a tremendous variety of species including some very special birds for our trip list.

It was a clear blue sky for most of the day and very warm at times but we did have a nice cooling sea breeze. We took a short walk before breakfast along the track that leads to the cliffs near the hotel. It was very light at 6:30am but not too many ecies were singing. A family party of Black Redstarts were first on the list then we found Common Whitethroat, Common Cuckoo, Bee-eater and Red-backed Shrike. In the scrub a little further on we saw Barred Warbler, Greenfinch, Linnets, Goldfinch, Corn Bunting and Black-headed Bunting. We also saw a Chiffchaff showing plumage of a 'tristis'  type sub-species and one lucky person saw a flock of 5 Rose-coloured Starlings, he had pictures to prove it too!

the Black Sea from the cliffs near the hotel, it was like a mill pond this morning

The tall trees  near the cliffs held lots of Bee-eaters a few Golden Orioles and a Roller dropped in, Turtle Doves called and more Red-backed Shrikes appeared before we went off to breakfast.

Squacco Heron sitting on a rock on the beach

Our arrival at Durankulak was full of anticipation which was duly rewarded as soon as we got out of the bus when we found a very obliging Paddyfield Warbler. This terrific find was quickly followed by sightings of Bearded Tit and Savi's Warbler, there were also many Great Reed Warblers singing and the occasional Reed Warbler joined in.

A walk along the path adjacent to the reed bed produced Reed Bunting, Yellow Wagtail, Little Stint, Ruff, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover and lots of Great Cormorants. the pools in reed beds held Garganey, Ferruginous Duck and up to 14 Marsh Harriers were in the area. We had fly over Purple Herons every few minutes and the occasional Squacco Herons and Common Cuckoos. Near the restaurant buildings at the entrance car park we found Pied Wheatear another speciality of the area as well as White Wagtail and lots of Spanish Sparrows.



Bearded Tits

Paddyfield Warbler

Savi's Warbler

The afternoon was spent at two places near Kaliagra Cape, the first two hours were spent walking to the cape point watching many species in the scrub or on the ruins, cliffs and rocky cliffs. We saw Northern and Pied Wheatears, lots of Bee-eaters, some Shags (of the desmarestii race) a Peregrine flew around the cliffs and an Arctic Skua was seen from the Cape Point.

Black-headed Buntings

Out in the scrub there were Golden Orioles, Barred Warblers, Black-headed Buntings and Spotted Flycatchers. A Red-footed Falcon was nice to see as it flew over us which was followed by a fly-over Black Kite.

Common Cuckoo

Lastly we spent an hour on the heath just a few kilometres west of Kaliagra, the whole area was alive with Larks. We added, Skylark, Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Calandra Lark and Tawny Pipit to our day list, but the star sighting was of Stone Curlew, we saw three of them. Other species seen were Isabelline Wheatear, Hobby and for the lucky few a flock of about 30 Rose-coloured Starlings. We noted where the starlings landed but our search for them went unremarked.

Tawny Pipit

We drove back to the hotel making a few impromptu stops to look for the starlings without success so we called it a day and went back to the hotel for dinner.

 

BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 6 - MAY 20TH 2014

TRANSFER FROM BURGAS TO THE NORTH COAST WITH STOPS AT -  POMERIE SALT PANS - EASTERN BALKAN MOUNTAIN PASS - BALCHIK - KRAPETS

Another transfer day found us moving up the western coast of the Black Sea passing through Varna and up near to the border with Romania. It was another glorious sunny day with a nice temperature od around 25C.

Our first stop was just a few kilometres north of Burgas at a sea-side resort called Pomerie. It was very quiet with just a few species to look at. Common, Little and Sandwich Terns sat on posts with Great Cormorants and on the shoreline we found Black-winged Stilts, Pied Avocet, Little-ringed and Kentish Plover and a single Ruddy Turnstone. Apart from a few Great Crested Grebes we saw nothing out on the water.

Black Winged Stilt at Pomerie

The road northward passes through the eastern range of the Balkan Mountains but they are much lower here and are covered in oak and pine woodlands. We stopped by a stream where high banks hold a large Bee-eater colony and the open bush scrubland that surrounds the stream is good for a number of species.

The Bee-eaters performed well for the cameras as did a Hoopoe that was also nesting in the bank, we also found two species of Wheatear, the Northern and Isabelline both of which were breeding in the rocky banks. We stayed for a couple of hours and even ate our picnic lunch there, it was a very beautiful place with lots of wildlife. During our stay we listed several more species, Little Ringed Plover bred in the shingle along the river and in the woodland we found: Common Cuckoo, Golden Oriole, Hawfinch, Turtle Dove, Olivaceous Warbler, both Yellow and White Wagtails and the sky was always full of hirundines.

The beautiful Bee-eater showed well for us

The hills also offer migrating raptors a chance to catch some thermals, we saw Lesser Spotted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles and a couple of Homey Buzzards. The local population of Buzzards consist mainly of the sub-species vulpinus which is now called the Steppe Buzzard and is treated as a separate species in some texts, one drifted over us a few times whilst we were there.

two shots of the Hoopoe that was also nesting in the Bee-eater bank

Our journey took us over the mountains and down towards Varna but before we got there we stopped in a huge oak woodland to look for a couple of special species. The Semi-collared Flycatcher has a limited range in eastern Europe and Bulgaria forms the western edge of that range. A nest box scheme has proven successful in the area and provided an easy opportunity to observe this species, we saw 2 pairs both of which were feeding young. In the meantime we caught up with our second target species the Middle Spotted Wooecker which was very elusive until we were leaving when one individual showed well. Other species encountered were: Eurasian Nuthatch, Hawfinch, Yellowhammer, Red-backed Shrike, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers.

Isabelline Wheatear

Our last stop was made to the north of Varna near a town called Belchik, we stopped at the roadside to scan some high cliffs for an Eagle Owl. The nest site was visible and as we got there a chick appeared for a short while but only a few of the group saw it. When spent 30 minutes scanning the terrain looking for an adult bird roosting, it was Dancho who found one, the bird was partly obscured by the trunk of a tree but it could be seen.

 

We completed our journey north to Krapets where our hotel was located it was a beautiful site more or less on the beach. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the sea for dinner, it was magical the colours of the setting sun were extraordinary, the wine with dinner wasn't bad either.

 

 

 

 

BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 5 - MAY 19TH 2014

BURGAS AREA ALL DAY WITH VISITS TO BURGAS VAYA LAKE, PODA NATURE RESERVE, THE SALT PANS AND THE NORTHERN MARSHES

It was great not to have to pack and loaded  the bus with our luggage today and breakfast was a leisurely affair,  everyone seemed more relaxed having not gone out for an early morning birding session and stayed in bed for an extra hour or so.

Travel time in the bus was kept to a minimum so our birding time was at a maximum and this paid off with a great list of species today. Our first stop was in the far northern salt-pans some 2-3km inland, it was a site of grassland with small reed-fringed pools and lots of small willow bushes. We saw Common Cuckoo, Roller, Red-rumped Swallow and Golden Orioles as soon as we got out of the bus.

But our prized find was the nest of a Penduline Tit, the adult birds were feeding young and came back and forth with food to the nest, wonderful. We also saw large flocks of White Pelicans as they lifted from the hill side on the thermals, they were migrating north to their breeding grounds it was an awesome site.

Lake Vaya from the roadside

As we got back to bus a number of butterflies were on the wing with a huge number of Black-veined Whites, above us Collared Pratincoles whizzed around hawking insects. We drove back into Burgas  to view Lake Vaya which was like a mill pond, the light was extremely good too, however the number of species of birds was quite low, none of the 'marsh' terns were present whereas huge numbers of these birds were seen last week.

We did find good numbers of Dalmatian Pelicans, Great Crested Grebes, Common Coot, Common Pochard and a few Little Gulls, Common and Little Terns.



Large Copper

Brown Argus

Whilst we stood on the shore line a couple of Little Bittern dashed by as did Night Herons and Little Egrets. We had the same experience a little further south when we stopped to look at a smaller lake by the side of the busy main road. Very few ducks were present but none of the 'marsh terns', we found only one Garganey and only one Ferruginous Duck, we also added Great White Egret, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, Pygmy Cormorant, Marsh Harrier and Common Moorhen to the list.

For lunch we bought some picnic supplies and drove inland to another lake, we parked on a causeway with water on both sides of the road, the left hand side had much more reed cover and held more species, so that is where went walked to first. Many Great Reed Warblers sang from the tops of the reeds and a group of Pygmy Cormorants sat on a dead tree. A few Purple Herons were seen with Grey Herons fishing in the pools, overhead we saw a couple of Hobbys and as we crossed the causeway we found a superb White-tailed Eagle circling over the hillside. More migrating White Pelicans appeared and a small group of Honey Buzzards joined them. Whilst eating our picnic lunch we watched Squacco Herons and a few Passerines were found in the scrub, Common Nightingale, Penduline Tit, Blackcap, Golden Oriole and Hawfinch.

Dancho at the ready with some of the group at Lake Vaya

The afternoon was the highlight for me, especially the visit to Poda Nature Reserve which was excellent, the light was extremely good, we had beautiful sunshine with a lovely cool breeze. The downside was grass pollen and my battery-life ran out in my camera and guess where my spare was? Yes, some dipstick had left it at the hotel!I missed  a great opportunity to photograph a number of key species during the rest of the day.

At first we walked passed a few pools which on last week's tour held hundreds of terns, this week there were only the breeding Common Terns and no waders. However out in the bay  a rocky spit held hundreds of birds which included Sandwich, Common, Little and Caspian Terns, also Little and Mediterranean Gulls and Great and Pygmy Cormorants. Our walk along the shoreline took a couple of hours as everyone wanted 'action' pictures from the terns, we also found Oystercatcher, Little ringed Plovers, Ruddy Turnstone and Curlew Sandpiper all of which were photographed from close quarters.


record shot of Great Reed Warbler

Another open pool was found to have a lot more species of duck, we saw Common and Red-crested Pochard, Garganey, Ferruginous Duck, Mallard and Gadwall. A Little Bittern posed well, so did a Yellow Wagtail and both Night Heron and Pygmy Cormorants provided excellent flight views. We also found a group of Bearded Tits, these delightful little chaps came very close and posed perfectly for the cameras, except mine of course!

Our last visit was to the Salt Pans further north, near the airport, last week they were covered in waders, this week there just a few dotted about. We had to walk a fair distance to get reasonable views of them. There was;  Grey Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Ringed Plover and Kentish Plover. Also lots of Common Shelduck, Gadwall, a single Garganey, many Spoonbills and dozens of Dalmatian Pelicans.

Another Penduline Tit was photographed at close quarters before we finally called it a day, we had had a superb day in great weather and we finished it with a cold beer on the terrace before going off to get ready for dinner.

 

BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 4 - MAY 18TH 2014

TRANSFER FROM EASTERN RHODOPES TO BURGAS WITH STOPS IN THE SAKAR HILLS AND TWO PLACES NEAR TOPOLOVGRAD

When I got up at 6am the sky was clear, there wasn't a bit of movement in the air and temperature wasn't bad either, however, by the time I got ready and went out at 6:30am a thick mist had descended on the area and the temperature had fallen quite significantly. All this added up to a very much reduced bird list before breakfast.

As we walled from the hotel complex to the river nearby we could here Common Nightingale, Hoopoe, Golden Oriole and Turtle Dove. At the river we added Black Stork, Grey Heron and Common Kingfisher to the list as well as Olivaceous Warbler, Spanish Sparrows, Black-headed Bunting, Corn Bunting and lots of Red-rumped Swallows. Near the hotel wall we watched a Little Owl that settled on an electricity transformer and it let us approach quite close, hence the picture.



The resident Little Owl at the hotel Arda

After an early breakfast we were on the road heading for the Black Sea Coastline at Burgas, it was slow going as we drove through the thick mist but eventually we got higher and the sun shone through. by the time we got to our first stopping place the sky was clear and warm sunshine prevailed.

This first stop was near a village called Borislavtsi by the side of a huge reservoir, we walked from the village to a bridge near the shoreline. Several Stork's nest were holding one parent and 3-4 chicks, the nests themselves were filled with Spanish and House Sparrow nests with the occasional Common Starling nest too, a real menagerie. A couple of Black Kites flew over and the ubiquitous Red-backed Shrike were everywhere.

LITLE RING PLOVER

A scrubby area near the bridge held Barred Warbler, Blackcap, Common Nightingale and the water held only Grey Heron. All around the edges of the water we see masses of Carp splashing about, probably the reason why there were no ducks. A pair of Little Ringed Plover were nice to watch and just before we boarded the bus a Lesser Spotted Eagle circled above us.

From the reservoir we drove for an hour heading southwest towards a town called Topolovgrad, we were now clearly out of the mountains and passing through an area of heavily cultivated land with some gently rolling hills called The Saker Hills. We stopped at a wooded hillside for our next birding soirée. A woodland of young oak trees held a multitude of birds we could hear Hoopoe, Golden Oriole, Common Cuckoo and more importantly Olive Tree Warbler one of our target species.



RRECORD SHOT OF MASKED SHRIKE



RECORD OF OLIVE TREE WARBLER

As we walked up a steep sided bank we found a beautiful Masked Shrike sitting up high on a dead twig and then over the next hour we carefully stalked the Olive Tree Warbler until everyone had good views of it. In the meantime we found Spotted Flycatcher, Ortolan Bunting, Mistle Thrush, Golden Oriole, Hoopoe and a a pair of Common Buzzards.

After buying our picnic supplies in town we drove to a nearby hillside and sat near a radio mast on the grass in warm sunshine to eat. As soon as we arrived we located a Spanish Imperial Eagle drifting very high up, a great sighting but no good for the cameras. We spent an hour walking through open scrub looking for warblers, Shrikes, Larks and Wheatears. The best of our findings were Isabelline Wheatear, Tawny Pipit, Short-toed Lark, Orphean Warbler, Northern Wheatear with fledged chicks, Black-headed Bunting and lots of Red-backed Shrikes.

ORPHEAN WARBLER TAKEN BY DANCHO

ISABELLINE WHEATEAR

 

 

We now passed through lowland with wide agricultural landscapes and as we dropped down to an extensive plateau we saw several Lesser Spotted Eagles in the sky and a couple of flocks of White Storks high up. A huge mass of dark black clouds sat in front of us, it didn't look good for our last birding outing of the day. However by the time we arrived at the site the rain had been and gone and the sun continued to shine, how lovely. We entered an oak woodland near a country hotel, it was now 5pm so we never had much time.

LONG LEGGED BUZZARD -ANOTHER DANCHO SHOT

For the next hour we had a superb time watching a number of key target species for the trip, the Black Woodpecker being our top priority. We went straight to a nest hole that we knew of and sure enough after a few minutes one the adult birds flew in the tree and showed very well for a few minutes, fantastic and what a crowd pleaser.

BBLACK WOODPECKER TAKEN BY DANCHO

Next we tracked down a Common Redstart, this individual had very unusual plumage with the black on the face extended right down to the lower chest, a very bright white wing patch added more difference to the nominate race, we decided it must be an eastern race semirufus, usually found breeding in eastern Turkey and Iran.

Other species entertained us as we tried to get pictures and good views of them, Semi-collared Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Eurasian Nuthatch, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Red-rumped Swallows, Woodlark all kept us busy until 6:30pm when the light began to fade.

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW

EURASIAN NUTHATCH

We were now very late and still had an hour to go before we reached our hotel in Burgas, but as it was a Sunday the traffic was reduced and we arrived in 40 minutes, we still had time to wash and change before dinner. It was a lively evening with everyone in a good mood and spirits were high. We enjoyed a lovely meal with nice Bulgarian wine (yes I did say nice Bulgarian wine).

 

 

 

 

 

BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 3 - MAY 17TH 2014

VALLEY NEAR KRUMOVGRAD  - MADZHAROVO VULTURE CENTRE AND SURROUNDING AREA

For the photographers in the group today may have been a little disappointing but if you simply like watching birds it was terrific. The hidden valley just outside of Krumovgrad was excellent during our visit last week and today it was just as good. We left the hotel at 7am and drove the short distance to the valley, after a couple of kilometres we got off the bus and walked for an hour. Birds were everywhere and the air was filled with a wonderful cacophony of bird song, Common Cuckoo, Hoopoe, Golden Oriole, Black Headed Bunting, Common Whitethroat and lots of Nightingales filled the air with song and our telescopes with vibrant colour. Lesser Grey Shrikes were everywhere, they performed their flight display looking like miniature nightjars.

As the air warmed up so did the butterflies and they had a tremendous choice of wild flowers to visit, the verges and hedgerows were a mass of colour.

 

two pictures of Chequered Blue - a new species for my Bulgarian list

As we walked further down the track so more birds appeared, we saw a Rufous-morph Common Cuckoo as we did last week also Roller, Barred Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Bee-eater, both White and Black Storks, Grey Heron, Green Woodpecker and we heard a Wryneck calling.

On the hillside we saw this Chukar which called all the time we were there and higher up we found Hobby, Common Kestrel, Honey Buzzard and a few Griffon Vultures were perched on the ridge. more butterflies were on show, the lovely Eastern Festoon shown below was very common as was Black-veined White, Knapweed Fritillary and Queen of Spain Fritillary.

Eastern Festoon

 

two views of Knapweed Frtillary

 

 

The underside of Queen of Spain Fritillary

I think these are white poppies

 Towards the end of the valley we came to some rocky crags where we looked for Rock Nuthatch, the bird was very elusive but it did show for several of the group but unfortunately not for the photographers. From our high vantage point we had a panoramic view of the river and miles of farmland, we saw more Rollers, Hoopoe, Bee-eaters and a Levant Sparrowhawk, another Hobby and a pair of Little Ringed Plovers on the river bank.

 

 

our view of the river from the road along the valley

One bird that did show well was the Black-eared Wheatear we had several sightings of them and I managed a quick photo.

Black-eared Wheatear

After our superb visit to the wonderful valley we drove to Madzharovo which took about an hour, we stopped just before the town to look for birds on a high pinnacle of rock. it was a little windy and quite chilly, thick black clouds were amassing our the ridge. We saw a couple of Hawfinches, a Cirl Bunting and a Golden Eagle drifted over very high up.

At Madzharovo we ate a lovely lunch sitting out on the terrace at the Vulture centre, the rain had passed just before we arrived and the sun was now out for the rest of the day.

Next we drove through the town of Madzharovo onto a track which took us into a wooded valley overlooking the river. We searched for Bonelli's Warbler which was located within minutes, we also saw Cirl Bunting, Great Spotted Woodpecker and our first Booted Eagle.

For the last two hours of our birding day we visited the 'crater' area near the town, we were surrounded by high pinnacles and cliffs whilst we walked on a flat plain covered in scrub and open woodland. We found many species, Woodchat and Red-backed Shrike were numerous and in the woodland we found Long-tailed Tit, Hawfinch, Subalpine Warbler, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Common Whitethroat.
 

a profusion of colour on the hillside in the 'crater'

As we continued down the road the high peaks towered above us, both Griffon and Egyptian Vultures circled above us, as did Common Buzzard, Raven, Black Stork, Peregrine Falcon and Common Kestrel.

Soon are target species gave themselves up one by one, Blue Rock Thrush came first followed by Rock Bunting and then we saw a distant Ortolan Bunting, this bird was hard to see until it flew right down the cliff face and perched very close to us. You couldn't dream of such a sighting, just look at the pictures below to see how close the bird was.

the very obliging Ortolan Bunting

 

Well what a great bird to finish off the day with? We set off in buoyant mood for the journey to the hotel. We arrived at 6:30pm with plenty of time to get ready for our 8pm dinner.

BULGARIA (2) - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 2 - MAY 16TH 2014

WESTERN TO EASTERN RHODOPES WITH STOPS AT TRIGRAD GORGE,  KARZHALI AND THE PARK IN CENTRAL KRUMOVGRAD

What a fantastic day, great birds all day and despite four hours of travelling we saw a lot of species. The weather was kind to us we had only one light shower when we were in the Trigrad Gorge.

Our 7am walk took us along the track from the hotel, this was a different way than usual because I wanted to pass a telegraph pole where I saw Sombre Tit flying into and out of last night. Sure enough the birds were there and we all got great views of them, in the meantime we saw Black Redstart, Bullfinch, Jay, Common Cuckoo and many common garden birds. A Lesser Whitethroat was a good find and it showed very well for most of the group.

Sombre Tit

We left Yagodina at 7am and drove straight to the Trigrad Gorge hoping to see the Wallcreeper, along the way we saw several Dipper and Grey Wagtails along the river. The Gorge was very quiet, no Martins, no Ravens at their nest and no creeper. We were getting a little worried after 30 minutes of searching when Dancho spotted one down the valley towards the road tunnel, we quickly walked down there but the bird had gone, however it could be heard singing and Dancho led us through the tunnel to the nest site. To our utter amazement the bird was sitting on a ledge next to a crevice just 3 meters above the road, click, click went the cameras, what luck.

Wallcreeper - taken by Dancho (Iordan Hristov)

Back on the bus everyone passed around their cameras with superb images of the Wallcreeper, except for me, the bird was too close to digi-scope.

Our next stop was in the high pass just above Smoylen where open patches of grass lay between pine forests and tracks. As we pulled up we noticed two Ring Ouzels feeding on the grass and a Mistle Thrush joined them. After that excitement we had incredible experience with a Firecrest the bird was singing from a small pine tree and came really close to us, it even displayed its crest, it was truly an incredible performance.

Firecest - another Dancho picture

Fiercest taken by me

After taking lunch in Smoylen (we had to sit inside as it was too cold for the terrace) we drove directly to Kardzahli where we stopped at a petrol station for a quick coffee, whilst there we logged Black Stork, Great Cormorant, Pygmy Cormorant, Yellow-legged Gull and Jackdaws.

A stop in the hills just before Krumovgrad produced several good species, we spent 45 minutes searching open scrub and quiet tracks. Birds encountered included: Turtle Dove, Hawfinch, Orphean Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Cirl Bunting, Red-backed Shrike, Golden Oriole and we also heard Common Nightingale and Barred Warbler.

Red-backed Shrike

Orphean Warbler

We checked in at our hotel in Krumovgrad at 6pm and by 6:15pm we were out again taking a short walk to the local park. Last week had been quite productive so it was worth a shot. What a great decision too, we quickly found the nest hole of a pair of Lesser-spotted Woodpeckers which was well attended by both the birds, smashing. Then we did the same with a Syrian Woodpecker, the male was in attendance and drummed many times whilst we watched him perform. A Green Woodpecker also showed really well on the grass lawns and we noted a Hobby and two Honey Buzzards flying over.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - a male near the nest hole

Scops Owl

Syrian Woodpecker

It was now getting dark so we played the call of the Scops Owl and got an answer almost immediately, the call came from a side street next to the park some 100 meters away. We found the bird within minutes and again the cameras went clicking away.

the group at dinner last night at Yagodina

It was a superb ending to a long day, everyone was very happy with the sightings and the improving weather, at dinner the room buzzing!

 

MORE PICS FROM TODAY 

 

 

 

 

GREEN WOODPECKER

RING OUZEL

CHAOS AT THE SCOPS SITE

COMMON SPOTTED ORCHID AT YAGODINA