BirdID trip in Bulgaria 2014: day 5, April 28th

We woke up in the middle of oak woodland with slight rain. Everybody in the group was keen to walk around the new type of habitat so the rain didn’t scare the participants. Even more, some of them had already walked before the time for our meeting and had already seen a Lesser spotted Woodpecker and a Cirl Bunting. After a bite of lovely chocolate we headed towards the woods.

It wasn’t even a 100 m from the hotel when a Middle spotted Woodpecker turned up right next to his Lesser brother. The first came pretty close and everyone enjoyed it. Another 100 m further away we heard a familiar call. Black Woodpecker’s head popped up from a nesting hole. In a couple of minutes the bird took off for everyone’s joy of seeing the whole bird. People in the group really wanted to see it. Another 50 m away a Woodlark called, then the highlight and main reason for selecting this place: a Semi-collared flycatcher! Lovely male was nicely singing.

The walk in the woodland continued with more rain, more Semi-collared Flycatcatchers, Hoopoe, Wood Warbler, Short-toed Treecreeper, an early family of Long-tailed Tits and a couple of Hawfinches. A Grey-headed, Great spotted and Green Woodpecker made it a total of 6 woodpecker species that we had for about an hour and a half before breakfast.

After breakfast it was time to change the habitat. It was time for some waterbirds and we drove to Bourgas. It seems that everyone enjoyed this change. We stopped by a wetland and everyone started shouting out different species names. Some of the highlights were Teminck’s Stint, Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron, White-tailed Eagle, more than 20 Red-footed Falcons, Marsh Sandpiper, Ferruginous Duck, Garganey, White Pelicans, Red-crested Pochard, at least 5 Broad-billed Sandpipers, etc. It was a day of about 120 species which takes us to nearly 190 species for the trip so far. Nor too bad is it?

BirdID trip in Bulgaria 2014: day 4, April 27th

The start of today feels like a very long time ago. All the memories of today’s morning somehow mix up with the birding events from previous days. We drove just about 200 km but because of the dramatic change in habitats and total change of atmosphere it feels like a very distant change. From the Mediterranean areas we now moved to an oak woodland about 40 km from the Southern Black Sea Coast.

The morning started at 7 a.m. with… Nightingales everywhere! Someone couldn’t sleep because of them. Other bird calls could hardly be heard because of the Nightingales’ songs. Before we had even had our eyes fully open we already had the first Black Storks for the day. Cirl Bunting called from the bushes nearby and a strange looking sparrow posed nicely for some time. Well this is a good candidate for an Italian Sparrow. It had brown nape with dots of grey which make it look like a young bird so it has to be confirmed by the authorities.

After a nice breakfast we took off. We had a long way to go. Driving along narrow countryside roads made us witness the wilderness of the area. Hares, and Turtle Doves were running and walking along the roads. The road took us to a high watchpoint surrounded by dry Mediterranean bushes. We were aiming at Sub-alpine Warbler and Olive-tree but the it proved to be a little bit early for the second one. The Sub-alpine played shy for some time but turned up sitting nicely on the top of a bush and everyone managed to see it.

Our next stop was accidental but not a surprise. We changed the hilly terrain with the open farmland and rolling hills. An area good for Lesser-spotted Eagles. Two of them were soaring just by the road for the luck of everyone who hadn’t seen them before. The birds came straight over nicely displaying all their ID features suitable for the group. Another stop this time for a break gave us another Lesser-spotted. Well it turned to be a migration and we had another 10 or so together with a few Black Storks.

We continued the journey to our next stop where Imperial Eagle was going to be our main target. We bought a few things for lunch from a local store and off we went to a hillside with a nice overview to the valley where the Imperial Eagle had to be. During lunch an Orphean Warbler was constantly singing. Isabelline and Northern Wheatear also distracted us from our lunch. Within an hour or so the Eagle didn’t appear so we had to go. We slowly started walking towards our van. For the luck of all photographers in the group, several Greater Short-toed Larks, Tawny Pipits, Linnets and Isabelline showed pretty well and close by.

During our stop we had an interesting conversation with a local guy who was rather concerned that the Imperial Eagle does a lot of damage to him. I wasn’t quite sure how and what, but the person was suggesting that an eagle with a white head regularly dives and picks up fish from his reservoirs. So the guy was saying that we don’t do anything about this he will kill the Eagles. I kindly explained that the Eagles don’t take fish and it would be rather unlikely but the person didn’t want to hear. It is really difficult communicating with a person like him. I suppose the only thing that he would expect from conservationists is to just get some money. This can be rather stressful and depressing situation if you start thinking about it.

Our way to the hotel was filled up by more emotional stops. A pair of Montagu’s Harriers displayed really nicely and close by the van. The elegant and buoyant flight of the birds was rather memorable. Just when we thought we had finished with the emotions, someone shouted out from the back of the van “Imperial Eagle”. A young second year bird was flying in the distance together with another Montagu’s Harrier. What a view. The bird was really pale with rather evident features on both upper and under wing.

Upon arrival at the hotel, a male Common Redstart welcomed us. Well this would be last bird for the day I think.

BirdID trip in Bulgaria 2014: day 3, April 24th

The day started with a Scops Owl. Just before breakfast we walked to the park in the town where we spotted the Owl. We went back to the hotel and quietly had breakfast. Then a proposal came to give it a try for Scops Owl in the local park. Some people looked a bit skeptical. It wasn’t long before my colleague Boris spotted the Owl. There it was. Sitting on a branch in a nice daylight view. It isn’t often to have that view. Pretty good start.

Then we headed to our place from last night. We still had to see the Rock Nuthatch. The morning was superb so we slowed down towards the place where we expected to see the Nuthatch. A gorgeous Chukar was proudly sitting on the top of an old building only a couple of meters away from the road and the van. What a view! Never been this close to a Chukar. Later on during the walk we saw at least five more birds. This was quite a place for them.

Rather than shouting out every minutes Stop, Stop, we decided to just walk along the road and enjoy the lovely landscape and birds around. Golden Oriole, Hobby, Rollers, Sombre Tit, Black-eared Wheatears were just a few of the birds we spotted along the road. A Black Stork nest was nicely hidden in the middle of the cliffs. Once we approached the Rock Nuthatch place someone shouted out. There it is! A proudly sitting birds was nicely positioned on the very top of a picturesque rock. It wasn’t a minute when a male Black-eared Wheatear landed next to it. Well this becomes some sort of a trademark of the trip to have two superb species in the frame. Soon we had to go. It was already about 10,30 but we had about 30 species or so. We headed to the North towards Madzarovo where the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of birds had a visitors Centre. We were aiming to lunch there so we had to go.

Woodchat Shrike copyright Iordan Hristov

Along the way we stopped at two more places to log more Rollers, Bee-eaters, pale Booted Eagle and other nice birds. After lunch we went to the oak woodland just next to the centre for the Eastern Bonneli’s Warbler. It took us some time to find it but there it was. Logged. There was still a lot to go so we headed to the cliffs around. Along the way we wanted to see a Barred Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Eastern Orphean Warbler and yes we did. They weren’t really obliging but we did see them. The walk further along produced some of the other highlights for the day: Egyptian Vulture, Rock Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, and Blue Rock Thrush.

Time flied past quickly and we really had to go if we wanted to go back to the hotel before it gets dark. On the way I just couldn’t stop myself. There were these large birds right above the cliff. The birds were pretty big, V-shaped wings with long tail. This must be Golden Eagle. Immediately the group was out of the van again. Although it was miles away, everyone agreed it was the Goldies. Well this has got to be the last bird for the day. We headed back to the hotel.

Our place for the night is situated in the middle of a small valley right at the foot of a cliff complex in the middle of nowhere. That’s what we like! After a nice meal with chicken stew we counted a total of 81 species for the day and about 120 for the trip so far. This was just day 3 so a lot more to come I hope :) 

Morning birding in Sofia

The end of autumn shows lovely colors not just in the mountains but also in city parks. The nice sunshine today made me walk to work rather than driving. So I got my bins and started a bit earlier than usual. It was great. Just walking and looking at the tree tops was really pleasant. The birds were pretty active. Although there weren't many species it was still rather pleasant. Great Tit, Nuthatch, and Great Spotted Woodpecker were the few species I registered.

Sofia city park

Hope I will continue doing this and perhaps get more work for my company www.NatureMonitoring.com

Coastal bird photography and migration in Bulgaria

In the past weekend I had to go to the coast and give a talk on the State of common birds in Bulgaria. I attended a conservation camp where a group of over 80 people gathered to hear and learn more about the conservation activities of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds. Since the presentation took me only about an hour I had enough time to do some birding and photography in the peak time of bird migration.

Early morning and late afternoon was the time for photography and the rest was for observing migration of soaring birds at the watchpoint. Regardless of the late arrival in the camp I managed to hear my alarm going on at 4.00 a.m. Grabbed my camera and gear and off I went to some saltpans nearby. It was steaming with birds but of course they were distance away. We did managed to get a few tamе ones nearby. Here is the first image from that morning:

Little Ringed Plover (juv.) and Lapwing in Bulgaria

Lots of Kentish Plovers, Sandwitch Terns, Meditterranean Gulls, Wood Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers, Pygmy Cormorants and many others. We left this place at about 9.00 when the light wasn't good for photography any more. After a brief breakfast we sat at the watchpoint. Lovely place right in the middle of a bottleneck corridor where soaring birds gather in good numbers. Short-toed Eagle, Lesser spotted Eagle, Osprey, Booted Eagle, 100+ Honey Buzzards, 40+ Black Kites, Montagu's Harriers, Levant Sparrowhawk and ... some 13 000 White Storks in a single flock. What a sight. and it is still the beginning of migration. I think I will be going there again the coming weekend. This time my work will be to travel around and teach Bulgarian students on Bird ID. Looking forward to it.

Stay tuned for more images and birding stories.

Birdwatching in Bulgaria trip reports May 2013

This spring was a rather busy season. I had a couple of birdwatching groups with guests from Norway, Britain, Poland and Germany. After some time here are the trip reports for two of the groups that I co-lead together with a colleague and a friend of mine.

Birdwatching in Bulgaria Trip report 1 (download the report here) - May 13-21st 2013 images from the trip

Birdwatching in Bulgaria Trip report 2 (download the report here) - May 22-30th 2013 images from the trip: post 1, post 2, post 3

If interested in birdwatching or bird photography opportunities in Bulgaria I am happy to help. Feel free to drop me a line at biomonitoring [.] ltd [@] gmail [.] com

Kayaking weekend: Yakoruda - Golyam Beglik

Fantastic weekend in one of the most beautiful area in the country: Western Rhodopes. The trip developed not quite as planned but never mind. The adventure was superb. As a start, we couldn't find a place to stay for the first night. We intended to camp but it was pouring rain so this wasn't very smart. Looked around and no opportunities existed in the area of Youndola where we first wanted to stay. Then my girlfriend realised that there is a splendid hotel about 25 km away next to the town Yakoruda. It was a bit aside of our way but the distance was not great and it was getting late so I decided that we try it.

We struggled a bit finding the hotel but then we saw a big sign on the main road saying HOTEL HELIER. The road to the place is a bit dodgy but once you are there, you realised what it is all about. I am quite confident putting the whole name of the hotel because I deeply recommend the place. It is at bottom of a lovely valley on one of the hill sides there. The owners are producing a great deal of the food themselves. Mmmm the food. Gosh! I really loved the food. As my girlfriend said, "I do not remember the last time when I last ate this delicious food" Superb home made blueberry jam, lovely mushrooms (Penny bun Boletus edulis), trout, eggy bread and what not. Everything was fantastic. It even has a small pool with mineral water and a sauna which we couldn't try but look great. The rooms were a bit old but the owners have started renovating the place. They have changed great deal of the furniture and do the rooms one by one. The owner is quite a warm hearted cheerful person. You will really like him. Here is a link to the hotel website: http://www.helierhotel.com/

After this lovely place we had to depart. Asking for local products, we had to stop at Yakoruda. It was THE market day. All the people not only from the town but also from the area have gathered to meet, chat and ... eat :) Traditions looked quite interesting. Mеn were sitting around a table with a board in the middle full with all kinds of meat and some spices on the side of it :) Women were nicely dressed. It was a bit of a travelling to the past. We struggled finding place in any of the local caffees especially the ones on the square.

We bought a few vegies and and off we go the our initially intended stop: Beglig reservoir. This diversion of the road was rather romantic and fully recommendable with no doubts.

We finally arrived to the reservoirs in a couple of hours joyable drive along the scenic roads of Western Rhodopes with stops here and there. The place was just as expected. Quite a few people have started their weekend quite early. Actually people do come here for fishing or canoeing for more than a weekend. A camper or a caravan would make your holiday quite comfortable. We didn't miss the comfort though. My girlfriend has thought about everything. A tent with a nice and soft duvet with sheets... :) don't what to say. it was quite comfy :)

We had a little drive by the time we find our place to put up a tent but we finally succeeded. A lovely location by water with a few flat spots to choose for the tent. The forest there was about 80 years old. One of my favourite type of habitats. Superb for Pygmy Owls. Couldn't find any though. Will have to come back again. Lots of dead wood which I hope the people camping here will not collect.

The evening fire was a must. After a brief chat it was was time to retreat and enjoy the cool mountain air from the soft duvet ;)

The morning was a bit difficult.. but an early morning wake up at about 5.00 am showed superb evaporation mist above the water. What a scene! The camera was somewhere away, so no photos. Sorry :))) We got up at 12.00 :) and then the water was ours. Finally kayaking time.

It was a long time ago when I last got on a kayak. The contact with the water is something that can make your day. The sun was a bit strong but we couldn't miss this experience. We only had a few hours. A slow and synchronous rowing took us along the bays and around the islands of the reservoir. It was really calm. You only hear the sounds from the waves. I had the feeling it was somewhere in a Scandinavian country with all these 'fjords' and bays. The time spent on the water raises some philosophical questions which everyone can have. Well, it was time to go back. Slowly though :)

We dried up the kayak and off we went. We made use of the whole day and left the place pretty much at the end of the day. It was really quiet. All the people were gone. We leave with the idea to come again for more than a weekend. Perhaps next time we shall also take our bikes. 

Bee-eater and Roller photography guided trip in Bulgaria

Bee-eater and Roller photography guided trip is just over. A group of of four Polish photographers managed to get a few lovely shots of both Rollers and Bee-eaters.

"We are happy to be here", "We are glad to meet the guide Iordan and hope to come back here" This what our guest Piotr Remesz and Dorota wrote in our guest book. Quite a busy schedule with early morning start and late afternoon photography sessions produced a few results that made our guests think about coming back to our lovely 'paradise'.

Our guests managed to fulfill one of their dreams to get a photo with bee-eater and a Roller in the frame.

Here are some of the preliminary images of the guide:

Bee-eater photography

Bee-eater photography

Bee-eater photography

Bee-eater photography

Bee-eater photography

Roller and Bee-eater photography

Roller photography

Roller photography

Roller photography

Starling photography

Woodcock photography

New guided photography trip commenced yesterday

A group of four keen Polish photographers visit Bulgaria on a guided trip to photograph Bee-eaters and Rollers. Whilst the breeding season makes it a bit difficult they already managed to get their first shots of the target species on the very first day.

"We can already go home" suggested one of them pleased by the results. We keep with our early morning and afternoon sessions to get the best of the light conditions in the 40 degrees Celsius temperatures. We start at 4,20 a.m. come back to the cottage at 11,00 and go back to the hides at 17,00 in the afternoon.

Roller photography

More results should come soon. In addition to the Roller and Bee-eater, our guests also managed to get a few shots of Tree Sparrow, Tawny Pipit and Common Starling without aiming to do so.

Lot of Marsh Warblers and Turtle Doves are feeding around the areas of the Rollers. On the preparation day before our guests have arrived we managed to get decent shots of about 15 bird species including Sombre Tit, Tawny Pipit, Long-legged Buzzard, Isabelling Wheatear, Spanish Sparrow, Stonechat, Lesser-grey Shrike and a few others.

Bee-eater photography

BirdID training in Bulgaria on mountainous birds

The second training on bird identification is just finished. After the general countryside and common farmland birds, we moved into the mountainous and woodland birds. A group of 11 students joined the activity in the Central Balkan mountains. We spent the last couple of days in the area of Dermenka chalet on the very edge of Steneto Biosphere Reserve. We conducted several morning, afternoon and evening sessions for song birds, woodpeckers and owls. In addition to the field training we also conducted several indoors training with the online training quiz of BirdID here.

Steneto biosphere reserve © Iordan Hristov 2013

Participants were rather positive about the results from the training. "The training is very helpful" suggested one of the participants.

BirdID training 

White backed Woodpecker © Svetoslav Mitkov www.birdslife.net

BirdID training 

owling during the BirdID training 

the group of students and myself behind the camera

© Iordan Hristov 2013

Central Balkan Mountain © Iordan Hristov 2013

Some of the highlights were White-backed Woodpecker, Rufous tailed Rock Thrush, Water Pipit, Honey Buzzard, Rock Bunting, Whinchats and Stonechats. In total we logged 50 bird species. Here is a full list of the species seen in no order:
1. White-backed Woodpecker
2. Rufous tailed Rock Thrush,
3. Water Pipit
4. Honey Buzzard
5. Whinchat
6. Stonechat
7. Whitethroat
8. Lesser Whitethroat
9. Tree Pipit
10. Yellowhammer
11. Kestrel
12. Raven
13. Blackcap
14. Short-toed Eagle
15. Green Sandpiper
16. House Martin
17. Red-Rumped Swallow
18. Common Buzzard
19. Grey Partidge
20. Wood Pigeon
21. Feral Pigeon
22. Common Cuckoo
23. Pallid Swift
24. Common Swift
25. Great Spotted Woodpecker
26. Skylark
27. Woodlark
28. White Wagtail
29. Grey Wagtail
30. Dunnock
31. Robin
32. Black Redstart
33. Northern Wheatear
34. Song Thrush
35. Mistle Thrush
36. Blue Rock Thrush
37. Blackbird
38. Ring Ouzel
39. Chiffchaff
40. Goldcrest
41. Great Tit
42. Blue Tit
43. Wood Nuthatch
44. Treecreeper
45. Red-backed Shrike
46. Jay
47. Chaffinch
48. Linnet
49. Goldfinch
50. Bullfinch
51. Crossbill
52. Corn Bunting
53. Rock Bunting

Birdwatching and bird photography in Bulgaria - Rupite

An observer reported that Red-footed Falcons has started breeding in an Important Bird Area to the south of Sofia some 3 hours driving. Since the species is a rare breeder now and colleagues put a lot of efforts in finding the species, I had to check this observation.

The place is called Rupite (bg, engl). Absolutely lovely place. Unique for its habitat, climate, birds, flowers, butterflies, culture, geology to name but a few.

So here we are. My girlfriend and I decided to spend some time in the area and have a check of this record. We spend about an hour each of the two days we were in the area. On the first day a flock of 26 Eleonora's Falcons met us upon arrival. Calls of Black-headed Buntings, Golden Orioles and Great Reed Warblers were all around the place. Rollers were dashing over the arable fields and Rock Nuthatch calls were thrilling from the cliffs. What a place.

No Red-foots though. On the first day we had these Eleonora's Falcons and on the second, we had a single Hobby which might have confused the observer who has reported the Red-foots. Well he did confess it might have been the Eleonora's. Every year at the end of may groups of them will spend some time in the area. In 2012 a group of 50 was here. Lovely birds.

Breeding Red-rumped Swallows were rather obliging allowing me to approach them so close that I could focus with my 400 mm lens. The birds were less than 3m from me. Here is one of them:

Red-rumped Swallow photography, copyright Iordan Hristov

Lesser grey Shrikes were also in the area:

Lesser grey Shrike photography, copyright Iordan Hristov

Here is brief checklist of some of the birds seen for both of the days in no order:
1. Common Buzzard
2. Golden Oriole
3. Roller
4. Bee-eater
5. Red-rumped Swallow
6. Spoonbills
7. Great Cormorant
8. White Stork
9. Eleonora's Falcon
10. Hobby
11. Scops Owl (h)
12. Great-reed Warbler
13. Little Egret
14. Lesser-grey Shrike
15. Cetti's Warbler

and many others.

Breeding birds survey in Bulgaria

I just realised that the deadline for conducting the breeding birds survey in my local patches approaches rather soon. I plan to be away in the coming days for more birding stories and the forecast for the coming days is not promising either, so I decided to just go and do the survey. 

Waking up was rather difficult. After a couple of days in a row getting up at 4.30 a.m. was a bit of a pain. Nevertheless I managed to start just on time and 6.20 I was already at the field. Lovely. Now I do not regretting getting up this early. Lovely meadows rich in birds and butterflies. All wet though :) My wellington boots couldn't cope with this. Water started coming in because the grass were pretty high. The rain from last night didn't help either but anyway. This is the only chance to do my survey. I kept on walking through the fields. 

copyright Iordan Hristov

Since today was the only time I had before the rain and my other duties, I had to count the birds in both of my survey plots. Never done that before and I probably shouldn't but never mind. I managed to do it before 10.30 a.m. which is a good time.

Birds were not as active as I expected. Do not know if it was from the rain last night or from the late season. Generally they should be pretty vocal although it is the beginning of June. A pair of Roe Deer showed right at the beginning of my first survey plot.

copyright Iordan Hristov

Some of the birds seen include:

1. Honey Buzzard - the highlight of the survey. Never seen it in either of the plot before. 

2. Golden Oriole

3. Skylark

4. Tree Pipit

5. Cuckoos - loads

6. Wryneck

7. Barred Warbler

8. Lesser spotted Woodpecker

9. Yellow Wagtail

10. Mistle Thrush

11. Hawfinch

12. Red-backed Shrike

13. Bee-eater
14. Ortolan Bunting
15. Hawfinch
16. Chaffinch
17. Nightingale
18. Chiffchaff
19. Wood Pigeon
20. Jay
21. Corn Bunting
22. Blackbird
23. Song Thrush
24. Great Tit
25. Blue Tit
26. Wood Nuthatch
27. Blackcap
28. Yellowhammer
29. Raven
30. Quail (heard only)
31. Common Buzzard
32. Barn Swallow
33. House Martin
34. Greenfinch
35. Kestrel
36. Common Starling
37. Great-spotted Woodpecker
38. Syrian Woodpecker
39. Alpine Swift
40. Common Swift
41. Robin
42. Tree Sparrow
43. House Sparrow
44. Woodlark
45. Long-tailed Tit
46. Common Whitethroat
47. Goldfinch

.. and a few more..

not too bad for a common birds survey. In just of the plots I had 40 species for about 1,5 hours. In total it would be about 50 species for a couple of hours birding from 6 to 10 a.m. That is what the general countryside of Bulgaria is like. I love it :)

Unfortunately, the trends of some bird species are negative and birds are rapidly decreasing. Some of them with over 60 % for the last 7 years...

New trip to Western Boarder areas: Radomir- Lobosh reservoir

After three exhausting birdwatching trips for the whole of May it was time to finally spend some time with friends. We decided to do a trip to the Western Boarder area of Bulgaria not far from Sofia. I have wanted to do this trip many times and here it is. We took the early morning train at 8.00 a.m. and in about an hour we were already enjoying the beauties of our lovely countryside.

© Iordan Hristov

I was tempted to take my DSLR camera but after the month of carrying the heavy staff, I decided to only take my pocket camera for documentary shots. I didn't quite know where exactly I was going so didn't want to carry too much staff since it was a hiking trip :)

So we started off from a town called Radomir, walked past Priboy, Potsyrnenci and reached a village called Kalishte. Gorgeous mountain meadows were full with butterflies. Birds were actively singing.

Black-veined White © Iordan Hristov

Around the train station in Radomir we found a few interesting birds including Marsh Warbler, Barred Warbler, a colony of Sand Martins, a pair of Black Redstart and many others. Other interesting birds during the trip were a single Short-toed Eagle, a couple of Bee-eaters and Great Reed Warbler. Although the trip wasn't planned as a purely birdwatching trip, the rich and diverse countryside resulted in nearly 60 bird species seen or heard.

Here is a full list of birds seen during the trip:
1. Mallard
2. Common Quail
3. White Stork
4. Short-toed Eagle
5. Common Buzzard
6. Kestrel
7. Yellow-legged Gull
8. Feral Pigeon
9. Collared Dove
10. Turtle Dove
11. Common Cuckoo
12. Little Owl
13. Common Swift
14. Alpine Swift
15. European Bee-eater
16. Great-spotted Woodpecker
17. Syrian Woodpecker
18. Wryneck
19. Skylark
20. Woodlark
21. Sand Martin
22. Barn Swallow
23. Red-rumped Swallow
24. House Martin
25. White Wagtail
26. Yellow Wagtail (black-headed)
27. Robin
28. Nightingale
29. Black Redstart
30. Whinchat
31. Stonechat
32. Song Thrush
33. Blackbird
34. Barred Warbler
35. Blackcap
36. Whitethroat
37. Lesser Whitethroat
38. Great Reed Warbler
39. Marsh Warbler
40. Great Tit
41. Sombre Tit
42. Long-tailed Tit
43. Wood Nuthatch
44. Red-backed Shrike
45. Woodchat Shrike
46. Magpie
47. Jay
48. Raven
49. Starling
50. Golden Oriole
51. House Sparrow
52. Tree Sparrow
53. Spanish Sparrow
54. Linnet
55. Goldfinch
56. Greenfinch
57. Ortolan Bunting
58. Black-headed Bunting
59. Corn Bunting

New birding trip around Bulgaria: 22-30.05.2013

A second trip around Bulgaria commenced a couple of days ago. Pretty busy in the early morning starts and late evenings. Will be adding a few images from the trip now and then.

In the mean time, have a look at my images from last week where I also want to add a few more images.

Here is the first and one of my most favourite for the moment.

Barn Swallow photography © Iordan Hristov 

© Iordan Hristov 

Masked Shrike photography © Iordan Hristov

Turtle Dove photography © Iordan Hristov 

Collared Pratincole © Iordan Hristov 

Night Heron © Iordan Hristov 

Squacco Heron photography © Iordan Hristov 

Cormorant photography © Iordan Hristov 

Dalmatian Pelican photography © Iordan Hristov 

Hunting Dalmatian Pelicans © Iordan Hristov 

House Sparrow © Iordan Hristov 

 Marsh Warbler photography © Iordan Hristov 

Roller photography © Iordan Hristov 

Rose-colored Starling photography © Iordan Hristov 

Bottle-nosed Dolphin © Iordan Hristov 

Bottle-nosed Dolphin © Iordan Hristov 

Ring Ouzel photography © Iordan Hristov 

Wren photography © Iordan Hristov 

More are coming soon...
In the meantime, have a look at the final list of birds we saw during the trip. A fantastic list of 189 bird species for 9 day period in May 2013:

	English name	Scientific name
1	Black-throated Diver	Gavia arctica
2	Little Grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis
3	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus
4	White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus
5	Dalmatian Pelican	Pelecanus crispus
6	Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo
7	Shag	Phalacrocorax aristotelis
8	Pygmy Cormorant	Phalacrocorax pygmeus
9	Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea
10	Purple Heron	Ardea purpurea
11	Great White Egret	Egretta alba
12	Little Egret	Egretta garzetta
13	Squacco Heron	Ardeola ralloides
14	Night Heron	Nycticorax nycticorax
15	Little Bittern	Ixobrychus minutus
16	Black Stork	Ciconia nigra
17	White Stork	Ciconia ciconia
18	Glossy Ibis	Plegadis falcinellus
19	Spoonbill	Platalea leucorodia
20	Mute Swan	Cygnus olor
21	Shelduck	Tadorna tadorna
22	Gadwall	Anas strepera
23	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
24	Garganey	Anas querquedula
25	Shoveler	Anas clypeata
26	Pochard	Aythya ferina
27	Ferruginous Duck	Aythya nyroca
28	Honey Buzzard	Pernis apivorus
29	White-tailed Eagle	Haliaeetus albicilla
30	Griffon Vulture	Gyps fulvus
31	Egyptian Vulture	Neophron percnopterus
32	Short-toed Eagle	Circaetus gallicus
33	Montagu's Harrier	Circus pygargus
34	Marsh Harrier	Circus aeruginosus
35	Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus
36	Buzzard	Buteo buteo
37	Steppe Buzzard	Buteo vulpinus
38	Long-legged Buzzard	Buteo rufinus
39	Lesser Spotted Eagle	Aquila pomarina
40	Imperial Eagle	Aquila heliaca
41	Golden Eagle	Aquila chrysaetos
42	Booted Eagle	Hieraaetus pennatus
43	Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus
44	Red-footed Falcon	Falco vespertinus
45	Hobby	Falco subbuteo
46	Eleonora's Falcon	Falco eleonorae
47	Peregrine	Falco peregrinus
48	Chukar	Alectoris chukar
49	Partridge	Perdix perdix
50	Quail	Coturnix coturnix
51	Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus
52	Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus
53	Coot	Fulica atra
54	Oystercatcher	Haematopus ostralegus
55	Black-winged Stilt	Himantopus himantopus
56	Avocet	Recurvirostra avosetta
57	Stone Curlew	Burhinus oedicnemus
58	Collared Pratincole	Glareola pratincola
59	Lapwing	Vanellus vanellus
60	Grey Plover	Pluvialis squatarola
61	Ringed Plover	Charadrius hiaticula
62	Little Ringed Plover	Charadrius dubius
63	Kentish Plover	Charadrius alexandrinus
64	Wood Sandpiper	Tringa glareola
65	Little Stint	Calidris minuta
66	Mediterranean Gull	Larus melanocephalus
67	Black-headed Gull	Larus ridibundus
68	Little Gull	Larus minutus
69	Whiskered Tern	Chlidonias hybridus
70	Gull-billed Tern	Gelochelidon nilotica
71	Caspian Tern	Sterna caspia
72	Common Tern	Sterna hirundo
73	Little Tern	Sterna albifrons
74	Sandwich Tern	Sterna sandvicensis
75	Yellow-legged Gull	Larus  michahellis
76	Feral Pigeon	Columba livia
77	Stock Dove	Columba oenas
78	Wood Pigeon	Columba palumbus
79	Turtle Dove	Streptopelia turtur
80	Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto
81	Cuckoo	Cuculus canorus
82	Scops Owl	Otus scops
83	Eagle Owl	Bubo bubo
84	Little Owl	Athene noctua
85	Alpine Swift	Tachymarptis melba
86	Pallid Swift	Apus pallidus
87	Common Swift	Apus apus
88	Bee-eater	Merops apiaster
89	Roller	Coracias garrulus
90	Hoopoe	Upupa epops
91	Wryneck	Jynx torquilla
92	Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos minor
93	Middle Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos medius
94	Syrian Woodpecker	Dendrocopos syriacus
95	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos major
96	Green Woodpecker	Picus viridis
97	Calandra Lark	Melanocorypha calandra
98	Short-toed Lark	Calandrella brachydactyla
99	Crested Lark	Galerida cristata
100	Woodlark	Lullula arborea
101	Skylark	Alauda arvensis
102	Sand Martin	Riparia riparia
103	Crag Martin	Hirundo rupestris
104	Swallow	Hirundo rustica
105	Red-rumped Swallow	Hirundo daurica
106	House Martin	Delichon urbica
107	Yellow Wagtail	Motacilla flava
108	Grey Wagtail	Motacilla cinerea
109	Tawny Pipit	Anthus campestris
110	Tree Pipit	Anthus trivialis
111	Water Pipit	Anthus spinoletta
112	Pied/White Wagtail	Motacilla alba
113	Red-backed Shrike	Lanius collurio
114	Lesser Grey Shrike	Lanius minor
115	Woodchat Shrike	Lanius senator
116	Masked Shrike	Lanius nubicus
117	Dipper	Cinclus cinclus
118	Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes
119	Dunnock	Prunella modularis
120	Robin	Erithacus rubecula
121	Nightingale	Luscinia megarhynchos
122	Black Redstart	Phoenicurus ochruros
123	Redstart	Phoenicurus phoenicurus
124	Whinchat	Saxicola rubetra
125	Stonechat	Saxicola torquata rubicola
126	Northern Wheatear	Oenanthe oenanthe
127	Black-eared Wheatear	Oenanthe hispanica
128	Isabelline Wheatear	Oenanthe isabellina
129	Pied Wheatear	Oenanthe pleschanka
130	Blue Rock Thrush	Monticola solitarius
131	Ring Ouzel	Turdus torquatus
132	Blackbird	Turdus merula
133	Song Thrush	Turdus philomelos
134	Mistle Thrush	Turdus viscivorus
135	Cetti's Warbler	Cettia cetti
136	Savi's Warbler	Locustella luscinioides
137	Paddyfield Warbler	Acrocephalus agricola
138	Marsh Warbler	Acrocephalus palustris
139	Great Reed Warbler	Acrocephalus arundinaceus
140	Eastern Olivaceous Warbler	Hippolais pallida
141	Olive-tree Warbler	Hippolais olivetorum
142	Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita
143	Eastern Bonelli's Warbler	Phylloscopus bonelli
144	Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla
145	Whitethroat	Sylvia communis
146	Lesser Whitethroat	Sylvia curruca
147	Barred Warbler	Sylvia nisoria
148	Eastern Orphean Warbler	Sylvia crassirostris
149	Subalpine Warbler	Sylvia cantillans
150	Goldcrest	Regulus regulus
151	Spotted Flycatcher	Muscicapa striata
152	Semi-collared Flycatcher	Ficedula semitorquata
153	Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus
154	Penduline Tit	Remiz pendulinus
155	Marsh Tit	Parus palustris
156	Sombre Tit	Parus lugubris
157	Coal Tit	Parus ater
158	Great Tit	Parus major
159	Blue Tit	Parus caeruleus
160	Nuthatch	Sitta europaea
161	Wallcreeper	Tichodroma muraria
162	Treecreeper	Certhia familiaris
163	Short-toed Treecreeper	Certhia brachydactyla
164	Corn Bunting	Miliaria calandra
165	Yellowhammer	Emberiza citrinella
166	Rock Bunting	Emberiza cia
167	Ortolan Bunting	Emberiza hortulana
168	Cirl Bunting	Emberiza cirlus
169	Black-headed Bunting	Emberiza melanocephala
170	Reed Bunting	Emberiza schoeniclus
171	Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs
172	Serin	Serinus serinus
173	Greenfinch	Carduelis chloris
174	Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis
175	Linnet	Carduelis cannabina
176	Crossbill	Loxia curvirostra
177	Bullfinch	Pyrrhula pyrrhula
178	Hawfinch	Coccothraustes coccothraustes
179	House Sparrow	Passer domesticus
180	Spanish Sparrow	Passer hispaniolensis
181	Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus
182	Rose-coloured Starling	Sturnus roseus
183	Starling	Sturnus vulgaris
184	Golden Oriole	Oriolus oriolus
185	Jay	Garrulus glandarius
186	Magpie	Pica pica
187	Jackdaw	Corvus monedula
188	Raven	Corvus corax
189	Hooded Crow	Corvus cornix