BBC - Bulgaria in Spring May 1 st May 8 th 2015 Route
Guides: Gosney - Finding Birds in Bulgaria Cloud Birders Reports - http://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport Nikolay Dilchev - http://www.birdwatchingholidays.com/ Summary A very enjoyable but short trip to Bulgaria to find Semi-collard Flycatcher and Paddy field Warbler, as well as to enjoy the Bulgarian Countryside, People and Cuisine. Covering some 1800 KMs with great habitats including Rhodope Mountains, Black Sea coast, Kaliakra Steppes, Salt Pans around Pomorie, as well as the Danube River side. Raptor watching at Potochnitsa village and studying the White tailed Eagles in Vetren were other highlights.
Checklist of Birds seen Number Common Name Scientific Name Days seen/comments 1. Grey Partridge Perdix perdix 1 2. Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus 2 3. Greylag Goose Anser anser 1 4. Mute Swan Cygnus olor 2 5. Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna 1 6. Gadwall Anas strepera 1 7. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 4 8. Garganey Anas querquedula 1 9. Common Pochard Aythya ferina 1 10. Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca 4 Common 11. Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus 2 12. Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 1 Seen by Guide 13. Black Stork Ciconia nigra 2 14. White Stork Ciconia ciconia 2 15. Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus 1 16. Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia 1 17. Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus 1 18. Black-crowned Night Nycticorax nycticorax 2 Heron 19. Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides 3 20. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 3 21. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea 2 22. Great Egret Egretta alba 2 23. Little Egret Egretta garzetta 2 24. Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus 1 25. Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus 2 26. Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus 2 27. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 3 28. White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla 1 1 pair fishing in the Danube at Vetren 29. Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus 1 20 seen at feeding site at Potochnitsa village 30. Short-toed Snake Eagle Circaetus gallicus 4 31. Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosu 2 32. Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes 1 33. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus 1 34. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo 2 35. Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus 2 36. Greater Spotted eagle Clanga clanga 1 2 seen at NovaCherna 37. Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus 2 38. Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 2 39. Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni 1
40. Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo 2 41. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus 3 42. Eurasian Coot Fulica atra 4 43. Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus 2 44. Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta 2 45. Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus 2 46. Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 2 47. Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius 1 48. Common Redshank Tringa totanus 1 49. Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia 1 50. Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 1 51. Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegu 1 52. Dunlin Calidris alpina 1 53. Ruff Philomachus pugnax 1 54. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago 1 55. Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus 1 56. Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis 3 57. Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans 1 58. Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis 1 59. Little Tern Sterna albifrons 1 60. Common Tern Sterna hirundo 1 61. Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus 2 62. White-winged Black Chlidonias leucopterus 2 Tern 63. Black Tern Chlidonias niger 2 64. Feral (Rock) Doves Columba livia 2 65. Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus 3 66. European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur 2 67. Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto 4 68. Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus 5 Very Common 69. Eurasian Scops Owl Otus scops 3 Common -3 seen and heard in the busy town of Veliko Tarnovo 70. Common Swift Apus apus 3 71. European Roller Coracias garrulus 3 72. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 2 73. European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster 3 74. Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops 3 75. Eurasian Wryneck Jinx torqilla 1 Heard 76. Middle Spotted Dendrocopos medius 1 Heard Woodpecker 77. Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus 3 Most common Woodpecker seen 78. Great Spotted Dendrocopos major 1 Heard Woodpecker 79. European Green Picus viridis 2
Woodpecker 80. Grey-headed Picus canus 1 Heard Woodpecker 81. Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius 1 82. Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio 4 83. Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor 3 84. Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator 3 85. Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus 4 Very Common 86. Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius 3 87. Eurasian Magpie Pica pica 3 88. Western Jackdaw Corvus monedula 2 89. Rook Corvus frugilegus 1 90. Hooded Crow Corvus cornix 5 91. Northern Raven Corvus corax 4 92. Great Tit Parus major 1 93. Eurasian Blue Tit Parus caeruleus 1 94. Eurasian Penduline Tit Remiz pendulinus 1 Seen at NovaCherna 95. Bearded Reedling Panurus biarmicus 1 96. Crested Lark Galerida cristata 2 97. Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis 2 98. Greater Short toed Calandrella brachydactyla 1 Lark 99. Sand Martin Riparia riparia 3 100. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 3 101. Eurasian Crag Martin Hirundo rupestris 3 102. Common House Delichon urbica 4 Martin 103. Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica 2 104. Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita 5 105. Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus 4 Common 106. Paddyfield Warbler Acrocephalus agricola 1 Seen at Duranculak lake on a windy day 107. Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus 2 108. Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris 1 Heard and seen very briefly at NovaCherna 109. Olive-tree Warbler Hippolais olivetorum 1 110. Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides 1 Seen at Malak Preslavets Lake 111. River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis 1 Heard 112. Eurasian Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla 3 113. Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria 1 114. Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis 1 115. Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala 1 116. Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea 1 117. Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla 1
118. Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris 1 119. Common Blackbird Turdus merula 1 120. Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos 5 Very Common 121. Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros 2 122. Common Stonechat Saxicola torquata rubicola 1 123. Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe 2 124. Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka 1 Seen at Duranculak lake on a windy day 125. Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica 1 Seen at the wonderful Krumovitsa river valley 126. Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata 1 127. Semicollared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata 1 Great Male singing at Goritsa forest 128. House Sparrow Passer domesticus 2 129. Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis 5 Common 130. Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus 2 131. Black-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava feldegg 2 (Feldegg) 132. White Wagtail Motacilla alba 2 133. Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris 1 134. Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs 2 135. European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris 1 136. European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis 2 137. Common Linnet Carduelis cannabina 1 138. Hawfinch Coccothraustes 2 coccothrauste 139. Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra 4 Common 140. Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus 2 141. Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala 1 Mammals Red Squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris Brown Hare, Lepus europaeus Roe Deer, Capreolus capreolus Suslik, Spermophilus citellus Stoat, Mustela erminea Golden Jackal, Canis aureus Reptiles Balkan Green Lizard, Lacerta trilineata Wall Lizard, Podarcis tauricus Marsh Frog, Pelophylax ridibunda European Pond Terrapin
Butterflies Southern Festoon Small White Small Bath White Eastern Wood White Eastern Dappled White Brimstone Orange Tip Clouded Yellow Red Admiral Small Tortoiseshell Painted Lady Peacock Common Glider Small Copper Sooty Copper Green Hairstreak Blue Argus Brown Argus Short Tailed Blue Common Blue Eastern Baton Blue Green Underwing Blue Glanville Fritillary Knapweed Fritillary Duke of Burgundy Fritillary Small Heath Speckled Wood Wall Brown Grizzled Skipper Dingy Skipper
Mike Neale 2015 http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/bbc/