Nice Places in Bulgaria. Bulgaria Guide.

Birdwatching Trip Report from Black Sea Bulgaria


A feeding flock of 960-1100 south of Cape Shabla 16/2. A feeding flock of 1000+ near Tuzla Lake, Shabla 16/2. A few distant unidentified divers in flight. A total of 364 on Bourgas lakes 19/2, with 330 of them on Lake Vaya. Also spent some time, mostly in the fog, at Yatata, a BSPB managed wetland area at the inland end of Lake Varna. Birded around the cape until dark. Birded the largely frozen lake from near the observation tower. Coffee and our packed breakfast at the Dell campsite café next to the lake. Continuing on our way we stopped for a small flock of roadside White-fronts and Mitko got out, only to be back straightaway to put us on to a first-winter Lesser White-front amongst them. Drove a circuit to about 20 km inland searching without success searching for feeding flocks of geese. Enormous numbers of geese had roosted on the sea and were flighting inland all the time we were there. Finally a brief look at Atanassovsko Lake. Had a walk along roads skirting the adjacent Baltata Forest. Hundreds around Lake Vaya and Poda, Bourgas 19/2. Left Kavarna and drove to the resort of Albena, closed for the winter. Managed to get to within 50 metres of them. Most of the counts were made by either Tim Appleton or myself but those of the goose flights are down to Mitko and his assistant, both of whom are regularly involved in goose census work. Our guide was Dimeter (Mitko) Georgiev, who is the Neophron manager; he was excellent and the trip went without a hitch. Overnight rain and a rise in temperature had resulted in the lake having a little more open water. Similar numbers on Bourgas lakes 19/2. Small numbers (hundreds rather than thousands) of geese were flying around. Then after lunch we made a few roadside stops along the main coast road on the way to Pomorie saltpans, possibly the most disappointing site of the trip, and arrived in Bourgas at dusk. Then on to the Poda information centre and the nearby pools. Then we moved on to the inland end of Lake Mandra, where we found a remarkable number of raptors as well as a few thousand White-fronted Geese and a family of two adult and one first-winter Lesser White-fronts. Took an inland route, through a wooded pass through foothills of the Eastern Balkans range. We started with Lake Vaya, viewing from the unsavoury edge of an industrial area and the roof of a half-built (or half-demolished) factory. We travelled in a 15 seater coach, just about big enough for the eight of us and our gear.