BirdID trip in Bulgaria 2014: day 6, April 29th

We spent the day around Bourgas wetlands. Out main target were Dalmatian and White Pelicans and we traveled a bit to see them. From the early morning we started ticking off quite a few species. The highlight before breakfast was a River Warbler. Right after the morning meal we had a huge flock of 500+ White Pelicans, and then a couple of Collared Pratincoles, Penduline Tits, quite a few Curlew Sandpipers, Ruff, Little Stint, Whimbrel, Ruddy Shelduck, Spoonbills, pretty much all the ducks, etc. The day was really good for Honey Buzzards which counted about 50 or so.

We thought we had already seen quite a few pelicans when we saw the next flock of about 2000 White Pecalins. At another spot we had another 2000, so pretty good day for them. We checked several sites for the Dalmatian ones but no luck. We drove around all the Bourgas wetlands and couldn’t see any. Anyway we had some other highlights like the Little Gull, White-tailed Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Collared Pratincole, etc.

At the very last place for the day we ticked off quite a few birds. Finally we managed to get the Dalmatian Pelicans. Three birds were calmly sitting in one of the pools. A few minutes later they just disappeared which was good luck for most of the people who really wanted to see them. Other top species were Gull-billed Tern, Slender-billed Gull, Whimbrel, another Broad-billed Sandpiper and a Kentish Plover.

This was a good end of the day. We now counted a total of 205 species for the trip and we are now at day 6. Hopefully we shall manage to add another 20 or so to beat the record from last year counting for 225 species. See what happens.

Stay tuned…

BBC Natural World 2009 A Highland Haven

Superb video about the lifetime story of a few species from the Scottish Highlands: White-tailed Eagle, Black-throated Diver, Red-deer, Pine Marten and breath-taking landscapes.

Enjoy

The last minutes of the video are about the film. As always these minutes reveal curious information about the film making including how a phone trap was set up :)

Weekend retreat

Sunday evening is the time when people get ready for the coming week. It is also the time, when people get home after a fantastic weekend out of town to their favourite places. It was the same for me. Initially, I wasn't going to travel at all and just stay at home and relax. However, some family appointments took me to my home town: Petritch, South West Bulgaria. It's one of my most favourite areas in the country. The area where I have grown up and have to a large extent built up my personality.

To make use of the trip I decided to go to lake Kerkini, not far from my grandparents place. So on Saturday morning I woke up, helped my grandparents with some domestic work and off I went. The weather was superb. Sunny. About 10 degrees. In the afternoon it reached 20 degrees so enjoying the worm weather I walked around with a t-shirt only.

Reaching the lake was a bit of a hassle. Although I've been there twice, I still wasn't sure how to get to some of the places. So driving around was a bit of a labyrinth job but I enjoyed it. When I reached the place I wanted to reach I felt like I have reached a target. However, the pleasant emotions were just starting. The fantastic weather, the snowy peaks of Belasitsa mountain and the water were rather promising. The good weather has triggered the bird migration and the lake was full with gulls and ducks. The majority of the gulls were Black-headed Gulls but there were also a few Caspian and quite interesting, there was also one Little Gull. It was a very nice surprise. This cute and elegant bird is always nice to see. It was a nice adult with black underwings. Walking along was pleasant and i was taking my time. Then, suddenly a familiar call attracted my attention. Common Cranes. I had never heard this call in live before but I have watched a good number of natural history programmes with the Cranes in subject. The birds took off from the shallows of the lake and gradually raised as high as the mountain peaks. This was the scene that again reminded me of the Siberian Cranes crossing the Himalayas. Fantastic moment. I wish I had a proper camera to capture this moment. The birds soared for a while and landed back in the shallows of the lake. There was a strong NW wind which prevailed them from crossing the mountains.

Further along the trail, a flock of Greater White-fronted Geese called and flied right above my head. I thought, "another fantastic moment".

Suddenly all the birds started flying around. Something has caused some panic. Looked up in the sky. An large raptor was approaching. From a distance I saw a huge bill and flashing white tail. The powerful talons of an adult White-tailed Eagle were suddenly hold out and the raptor grabbed a Coot. What a sighting!

After this spectacular moment of Nature's intimate moments I carried on further along the trail. In the distance another mass of birds was flushed. This time it was two Greater Spotted Eagles. However, several Hooded Crows started mobbing them and the raptors couldn't have their catch. This time though...

After a few hours at the spot I decided I should carry on to have a look at some other areas. I knew there is a spot where Dalmatian Pelicans often stay and wanted to have a closer look at them. Took my car and off I went round the lake. There they were. Some 50 Dalmatian Pelicans were struggling with the wind and the current on the lake but were faithfully waiting by the bank for a fish that local fishermen or photographers some time give them. I didn't have any with me so I was only making photos from a distance.

Luckily the birds were tame enough to allow me do some photos even with my small digital camera. The light wasn't too bad so I will leave you enjoy some of the photos.

Carried on further along and stopped at some more places. However it was nearly the end of the day and I decided to start heading home. I was a fantastic day indeed. My main purpose wasn't exactly piling up a number of species seen but I still had over 40 species for the day. Some of the ones I saw are here (not in any order):

White-tailed Eagle - 1
Greater Spotted Eagle - 2
Common Buzzard - 2
Long-legged Buzzard - 1
Marsh Harrier - 1
Hen Harrier - 1 m
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - 1 m
Common Kestrel - 1
Wigeon - plenty
Gadwall - 4
Teal - plenty
Shoveler - plenty
Great White Egret - 12
Greater White fronted geese - 100
Common Cranes - 18
Redshank - 5
Common Sandpiper - 1
Green Sandpiper - 2
Little Gull - 1
Caspian Gull - 2
Black-headed Gull - plenty 200+
Dalmatian Pelicans - 50 +
Grey Wagtail - 1
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Green Woodpecker - 1
Greater Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Middle spotted Woodpecker - 1
Hawfinch - 1
Chaffinch - plenty
Fieldfare - 20
Blackbird - 5
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Chiffchaff - 2

This trip was a part of a project planned and implemented by www.naturemonitoring.com and www.naturetravel.eu