The Southern Black sea coast of Bulgaria.
By Tom Gale (age 10).
May 23rd -29th 2009.
This was a family birding holiday with my father, brother, mother and uncle. We flew from Exeter airport to Burgas airport with Balkan airlines. We stayed in Hotel Selena in the new part of Sozopol. We hired a car from Burgas airport.
23rd May: Around the hotel we saw lots of Red-backed shrikes- which included a pair nesting in the hotel garden, a flock of about 300 White Pelicans flew over the bay, resident Hooded crows, European barn swallows and House martins were everywhere, 2 Caspian gulls were sitting on the beach with lots of Yellow-legged gulls, 10+ White wagtails. At Poda (a protected wetland nature reserve south of Burgas) we saw 9 Spoonbills, about 10 Marsh harriers, 1 Ruddy shelduck, stacks of Common terns, 1000+ Cormorants nested on the pylons, about 5 Little egrets, 1 Pochard flew over, 6 Bee-eaters, 2-3 Shelducks, 1 Spanish sparrows 1-2 Red-backed shrikes. Driving around Burgas we saw more flocks of White pelicans, 2 Woodchat shrikes were perched at the side of the road, resident Swifts, Swallows and House martins, 2 Golden orioles. At Lake Alepu (a lake south of Sozopol) we saw 3-4 Crested lark, a few Great reed warblers, more Spanish sparrows, 1 Olive-tree warbler that was only seen briefly in a bush then flew off, Marsh harriers were common, we saw about 70 Bee-eaters flying along the road, Nightingales were singing, resident Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Chaffinches, 3 Lesser Grey shrikes. Driving around inland from Sozopol there were a few Black-headed buntings. 2 Lesser Grey shrikes, a few Spanish sparrows. Driving south of Burgas we saw our first Lesser-spotted eagle, from then on we saw 3-4 on a daily basis.
White Pelicans at Sozopol. By Tom.
24th May: Daddy, Uncle Paul and I got up at 5:45 a.m. and went to Lake Alepu. We saw a Bee-eater on a nearby bush just 5 metres away. Then it flew off and Uncle Paul told us that there was a summer plumage Rose-coloured Starling on that same bush. It was great to see an adult, having previously seen juveniles on the Scilly Isles. After breakfast we returned to Lake Alepu on the way to the Strandja National park where we were lucky enough to see a White- tailed Eagle being harassed by Marsh harriers. There were lots of Olivaceous Warblers at Lake Alepu everyday. At the Strandja we saw a Short-toed treecreeper-which looked pretty much the same as a Common Treecreeper to me- apart from its slightly longer bill, 6 Scarce Swallowtails, we heard (but unfortunately didn't see) a Black Woodpecker. In the early evening before dinner we went to a small headland in the old part of Sozopol and did some seawatching. The highlights were 35 Gull-billed terns-some of which were very close plus one pale phase arctic skua and 2 Mediterranean gulls which were found by Uncle Paul again!
Rose-coloured Starling by Tom.
Bee-eater by Tom.
White-tailed Eagle and Marsh Harrier by Tom.
Bee-eaters by Tom.
25th May: We got up at 6:15 a.m. and decided to visit Lake Alepu again. The highlights were 2 Little Bitterns, 2 Pygmy Cormorants, 3 Garganey, 1 Mediterranean Tortoise and a Barred warbler. On the way back there were lots of Bee-eaters flying around. Then Daddy saw a flock of them breeding on the side of the road. Daddy managed to pull the car in on the side of the road so that we could have a look at them. The next thing we did was go to Poda. My favourite animal there was not a bird but a Cardinal Butterfly. After that, we had a look on the saltpans near Burgas. I have never seen so many Curlew Sandpipers in my entire life! There was at least 300! We also saw a Broad-billed Sandpiper (that Paul found AGAIN), a Black-headed Wagtail (that I found) and 2 Tree sparrows that flew past. On the way back, we stopped off at Lake Burgas. I spotted 3 Pelicans but didn't know what type. Daddy got the telescope out and saw the underwing. It was pale, which means that they were Dalmatian Pelicans. We saw a lot of different types of Herons. There was 1 Squacco Heron (I found it), 1 Little Bittern and 1 Night Heron. We also saw a variety of terns which were 2 Whiskered terns, 5+ Little Terns and around 5 Common terns.
Cardinal Butterfly by Daddy (John).
26th May: We got up early and went straight to the Ropotamo river. We discovered that if you want to go birdwatching in the woods it is best to go at about 9:00 a.m.-10:00a.m. when the wood has warmed up a bit. The centre of attention was a female Semi-collard Flycatcher. There was also a lot of Wild Boar tracks. After breakfast we went to Lake Alepu and saw 1 Red-rumped swallow, a Lesser-spotted Eagle and a Cuckoo. When we got back to the hotel we decided to try and get to the Sakar mountains. If you don't like like long drives don't try this. We drove up to Burgas and went down a road to Elhovo. The amount of wilderness once you get about 25-30 kilometres inland from Burgas is amazing. There is no big city for miles on end. Along the road all the excitement was caused by 5 European Rollers, 1 Calandra Lark, 3 Montagu's Harriers 2 males and 1 female, 100 White Storks, 1 Syrian Woodpecker, 5+ Red-rumped Swallows, 600 Turtle Doves (I've never seen so many before), 250 White Pelicans and 6 Isabelline Wheatears.
Mediterranean Tortoise by Tom.
27th May: We got up at 6:45 and went straight to Lake Alepu. The main highlights were a Praying Mantis, that same Mediterranean Tortoise, 2 Golden Orioles and a Gull-billed Tern on the beach on the other side of the road. After breakfast we went to a headland north of Sunny Beach called Nos Ermine. When we were almost at Nos Ermine a truck pulled in on the side of the road and the driver got out to look at something. We drove past until we were about 3 metres away from the truck, then Paul spotted a Wild Boar! That was what the other person was looking at. We carried on going to Nos Ermine. We parked next to a radar station but didn't get our cameras out until we were about 200 metres away. Other interesting and exciting wildlife was an Eastern Orphean Warbler, 1 Woodlark, 1 Sombre Tit, 2 Tawny pipits, 4 Hawfinches, 1 Olive tree Warbler, 6 Lesser Grey Shrikes and 5 Red-rumped Swallows.
Olive Tree Warbler by Tom.
Orphean Warbler by Paul.
28 May: In the morning we went to Lake Alepu. The highlights were 3 Golden Orioles, 2 Red-rumped Swallows, 1 Lesser spotted Eagle sitting in a tree and 2 Nightingales. After breakfast we decided to go to a monastery in the Strandja. We were sitting down having our lunch when Daddy suddenly shouted " EASTERN IMPERIAL EAGLE". We all rushed to see it and eventually we all saw it. Watching from that same place we saw 3 Red-rumped Swallows, 10-15 House Martins, 5+ Swallows, 3 Honey Buzzards, 5+ Corn Buntings and a continental Nuthatch. After lunch we went on a walk through the forest. We saw 2 Lesser spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Middle spotted Woodpeckers and 3 Semi-collared Flycatchers. We also found a possible Jackal footprint.
Tawny Pipit by Daddy. Red-rumped Swallow by Tom.
29th May: We woke up and 6:00 a.m. as it was our last day. We went to Lake Alepu. When we arrived we got out and saw a flock of about 7 Bee-eaters flying across the reeds. We also saw an Olive tree Warbler, an Olivaceous warbler, 3 Common terns, 3 Black-winged Stilts flew over the reedbeds, 6 Purple Herons and 2 Grey Herons. Another pleasant sight was 2 Hawfinches sitting in a tree really close. I also took my best photo of a Red-backed Shrike there. On the way back we saw 10 Bee-eaters at the Bee-eater colony.
Red-backed Shrike by Tom.
Hawfinch by Paul.
BIRD PHOTOS by PAUL GALE from BULGARIA, MAY 2009.