Birding in Ancient Bulgaria

Eurasian Griffon © Martin Prochazkaca/Shutterstock

After fifteen years away, VENT returns to a gem of eastern European birding—Bulgaria! This new tour seeks a plethora of European and eastern European species in a wide range of habitats, exploring from the Rhodope Mountains to the Danube River to the Black Sea coast. Our birding pursuits will be complemented with visits to ancient historical sites and two impressive museums.

Situated in eastern Europe between Romania, Greece, and Turkey, Bulgaria faces the Black Sea. The country straddles the migration route of numerous avian species that winter in Africa and breed in eastern and northeastern Europe, and our own journey in search of birds takes us across the country from the capital, Sofia, in the west, and the mountains of the south to the eastern coast and the Danube River in the northeast. In Sofia, parties of Common Swift and colonies of Common House-Martin breed under the eaves of attractive classical buildings, while in the city parks Eurasian Collared-Dove is common and Eurasian Blackbirds sing beautifully. In the nearby Vitosha Mountains, Pallid Swift, Willow Tit, Eurasian Crag-Martin, Eurasian Wren, Dunnock, European Robin, Black Redstart, Ring Ouzel, Common Chiffchaff, Firecrest, and Common Chaffinch will be among the many species with which we begin our Bulgarian birding journey. Traveling south to the Western Rhodope Mountains, our sights will be set on birds of the agricultural land along the way, then on the rivers, gorges, crags, and mountain forests. Birds of the area include European Turtle-Dove, Alpine Swift, Crested Tit, Red-rumped Swallow, White-throated Dipper, and Common Nightingale—Europe’s finest songster. If fortunate, the star will be the extraordinary, butterfly-like Wallcreeper. At lower elevations in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, we will target Black and White storks, Egyptian Vulture, Eurasian Griffon, Eurasian Scops-Owl, Red-backed Shrike, Eurasian Jackdaw, Eurasian Blackcap, Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Spanish Sparrow, European Goldfinch, European Serin, and Black-headed Bunting. Our journey then orients eastward through rolling hills and flower-filled countryside towards Sozopol on the Black Sea coast. We may see Booted and Imperial eagles and Lesser Kestrel with increasing numbers of European Bee-eater and European Roller. Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, and Lesser Gray and Woodchat shrikes are often seen near the roadside, while we will make a special effort to locate Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and the highly localized Masked Shrike and Olive-tree Warbler.

North of Sozopol, the wetlands of Burgas and Pomorie are a haven for waterfowl and aquatic birds, and we should see Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Pygmy Cormorant, Great White Pelican, and perhaps our first Dalmatian Pelicans, with various herons and egrets and large numbers of Greater Flamingo also present. Among numerous possible migratory shorebirds, Pied Avocet is a common breeding species. We will be on the watch for Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, and Spotted Redshank, while noisy Yellow-legged Gulls and Common, Sandwich, and Whiskered terns vie for our attention. Cetti’s Warbler and Great Reed Warbler fill the reed-beds with their noisy songs, and overhead we will very likely find Eurasian Marsh Harrier quartering the marshes in search of prey.

Moving up the Black Sea coast, we will explore mature oak woodlands to look for lowland woodland species including the lovely Semicollared Flycatcher, along with Middle Spotted Woodpecker and Short-toed Treecreeper. We will also visit dry coastal steppe habitat filled with wildflowers and wheatears including Isabelline, Northern, and Pied, with Crested Lark singing overhead, and at reed-fringed lakes our targets include Ferruginous Duck, Squacco Heron, Mediterranean Gull, and the extremely localized Paddyfield Warbler at the western limit of its range.

The final leg of our journey will see us just south of the Danube River, in the Srebarna Biosphere Reserve. Here, we will enjoy a wonderful mix of woodland and wetland birds including Graylag Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, Ferruginous Duck, Great Crested Grebe, and Purple Heron. Common Cuckoos are truly common in this area, and European Bee-eaters at their colony present a dazzling, colorful delight. Syrian and Lesser Spotted woodpeckers, along with Eurasian Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, and Corn Bunting are pleasantly common in the area too, and we will be serenaded night and day by the classical literary symbol of music lovers—the Common Nightingale.

Along the way we will have the opportunity to learn a little about Bulgaria’s more than 8,000-year-long history during a walking tour through old Sofia, visits to two ancient Thracian sites including Perperikon, and tours of the impressive museums of Sofia and Varna.

A birding and natural history tour with elements of history and culture; leisurely to moderately-paced; includes stays in a range of small, local hotels and family-run guesthouses with occasional fancier overnight stops; our welcome will be warm, and the fresh and mostly locally-grown food will be plentiful and very tasty; travel will be by comfortable, compact-size van suitable for frequent stops and roadside birding; walking will be easy to moderate; typically pleasant, warm spring weather expected, but could be much cooler in the mornings and at higher elevations.

Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari, Bulgaria © Takashi Images/Shutterstock