BirdID trip in Bulgaria 2014: day 9, May 2nd

The last day before departure was fairly quiet. We didn’t have much more to see and hoped for some migrants. That’s why we had an earlier breakfast than previous days to be able to arrive as early as possible at a valley which usually holds some migrants. Some people from the group had awoken even earlier willing to see more. And yes they did. A guy from the group had seen an Orphean Warbler right in front of the hotel. That’s a pretty good addition to the local list. Some time ago I had a Crossbill which is another good bird for this coast habitat.

So we headed to the valley. Mist has overtaken the landscape. A lonely Roller was sitting on the wires along the road.

The valley was pretty quiet. We checked the usual place for Black-eared and Pied Wheatears which were important to compare. Shags and Squacco Herons were also around. A couple of Hoopoes were chasing each other with their butterfly like flashing wings. They were going up and down to prove their interest to each other ;)

Balkan Green Lizard, copyright Iordan Hristov

The valley also presented us with a Purple Heron, Barred Warbler, Savi’s Warbler and Alpine Swifts. Just before lunch we headed to cape Kaliakra. The best place to see the Pied Wheatear and see migrating birds. The group seems to have seen enough of the Wheatears and only photographers appreciated them. After enjoying the dramatic landscape and view we decided to go for lunch. One of the group participants had seen a Black-headed Bunting which is one of the first arriving for the year. We decided to search for it before lunch but had no luck.

Pied Wheatear, copyright Iordan Hristov

Lunch was in a small restaurant in Balgarevo we had fish and cream caramel. Although I meant to make a fairly light lunch it didn’t quite happen like this. After lunch all of us felt rather exhausted. Fatigue seems to have taken over after 9 days travelling and birdwatching around Bulgaria. We had a brief walk around the steppe habitat in the area to enjoy the Short-toed Lark, Spanish Sparrows, Calandra Lark and Tawny Pipit. We paid some attention on their ID features and we headed back to the hotel. It was already late in the afternoon so we decided to come back a bit earlier. It was time for some relaxing. Five minutes later most of the people were out again walking by themselves. This is the kind of relaxing people enjoy. What is important is that people have some personal time to themselves.

Spanish Sparrows copyright Iordan Hristov

After a brief walk everyone was expecting the checklist to count the pre-final number of bird species during the trip. We ended up with 92 species for the day and 227 species for the trip. Our way to Sofia might give us a few more birds so the final list will be done tomorrow evening.