Bulgaria in Autumn
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The price is per person, and is fully inclusive of return scheduled flights London Gatwick-Varna, all accommodation, meals, coach transport (minibus with small group), tips, airport taxes, map, bird checklist and services of the leader/s.
The price excludes travel insurance, drinks and other personal expenses. These trips will be operated in conjunction with Limosa Holidays. |
An exciting, great value 8-day birdwatching tour during the peak season for birds of prey, pelicans and passerines migrating along Bulgaria's busy 'Black Sea corridor'. Join us for some really terrific autumn birding - without the crowds! |
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Corncrake on the hotel balcony... Lesser Spotted Eagles all but brushing our noses with their wing-tips right outside the bedrooms... a party of Black Storks passing by at eye level as we breakfast in the restaurant... a male Pallid Harrier ghosting in from the sea at extremely close range... 'falls' of Golden Orioles, Red-breasted Flycatchers and Icterine Warblers... a flock of 1200 roosting White Pelicans... up to twenty different species of birds of prey. These are just some of the highlights from our previous autumn tours to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
The annual migration of tens of thousands of birds of prey and storks across the Bosphorus in neighbouring Turkey has long been famous as one of the great European bird spectaculars. But the fact that the majority of these birds - plus countless thousands of storks, pelicans, herons and other migrants - must first travel south through coastal Bulgaria was inexplicably overlooked by travelling birdwatchers until as recently as the late-1990s. As with migration anywhere, the make up and number of birds moving can vary enormously from day to day. But our tour is timed to run during the period when the spectacle of autumn migration along this 'secret flyway' is typically around its peak. And with direct flights now available to Varna on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, we should arrive right in the thick of the action. By happy coincidence, some of Europe's most important wetlands are also to be found nearby. The coastal saltpans, freshwater lakes and reedbeds hold an impressive array of specialities, with White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorant, Little Crake, Broad-billed and Marsh Sandpipers, Bluethroat and Penduline Tit among those we've seen before. To the north, the limestone steppe of Cape Kaliakra is attractive to migrant wheatears, warblers, flycatchers and shrikes. Being so little visited we have good chances here of finding something really special ourselves. Eagle Owls and Pied Wheatears have stolen the show in the past, and the forests just inland of the coast can be outstanding for woodpeckers. Why not join us for an exciting week, revelling in the annual movement of birds of prey, pelicans, storks and innumerable passerine migrants that stream south along Bulgaria's Black Sea coast every autumn? The prospect is irresistible! Daily Itinerary Please note: Due to flight schedule changes since our brochure went to press, the dates for our 2011 autumn tour to Bulgaria:_The Secret Flyway have changed. The new dates are Fri 16-Fri 23 September 2011, as correctly shown above (and not Tue 20-Tue 27 September, as appears in our 2011 brochure). For convenience and ease of travel, our tour is based around the (very limited!) direct flights between London Gatwick and Varna. Schedules subject to possible change by the airline. If outbound and/or return flight times change, it may be necessary to swap the above itinerary around, visiting Pomorie (Bourgas) first and then Kavarna - but the places visited and birds to be seen will be the same. Itinerary Day 1 We catch the late afternoon flight from London direct to Varna, where our local guide will be waiting to welcome us. Transfer north along Bulgaria's Black Sea coast to our first hotel near Kavarna, a journey of just over an hour. Our hotel for the first four nights is one of a new genre of Bulgarian family-run hotels, small but comfortable, newly-built and only recently opened. Overnght Kavarna Days 2 - 4 Set on a hillside overlooking the coast, Kavarna is perfectly situated for an autumn birding tour. Migrants follow the valley here and, if conditions are right, the daylight hours can see birds of prey and storks passing right by us at eye-level! At night, the town's lights act as a beacon to nocturnal avian travellers. As with migration anywhere, the results are at their most dramatic during spells of mixed weather, when anything from Black-crowned Night Heron to Nightjar, plus waves of night-flying passerines, may descend upon the hillsides and hotel grounds. We once found a Corncrake on a hotel balcony here! Having made a thorough check to see what's new first thing, we will head to Lake Durankulak, a mainly brackish lake that lies just six kilometres from the border with Romania. Glossy Ibis, Pygmy Cormorant and Ferruginous Duck lend a distinctly eastern flavour here as we sift through the gatherings of waterfowl and shorebirds. Not far away, the sheer scrub-topped limestone cliffs of Cape Kaliakra are equally attractive to passerine migrants and act as bottle-necks to southbound raptors and other large soaring birds. We will spend some time exploring the headland, which stretches out into the Black Sea as if beckoning Asiatic birds to make the crossing. In September, Lesser Spotted and Booted Eagles, Honey Buzzard, Osprey and other birds of prey can become grounded on the Cape during periods of inclement weather, which can also result in falls of... well, just about anything! We've enjoyed some excellent birding here over the years and our previous 'finds' have included Pallid Harrier, Spoonbill, Corncrake, Tawny Pipit, and Short-toed and Calandra Larks. Sea-watching from the cliffs might reward us with some scuttling Yelkouan Shearwaters and, as dusk approaches, we have also been lucky to see the impressive Eagle Owl here. Three nights Kavarna Day 5 Tearing ourselves away from the fascinating wildlife of the Dobruja region, we head south along the coast to our second hotel, near Bourgas. The journey will take us through an ever-changing landscape, past sprawling seaside resorts with extensive beaches, along rockier stretches with cliffs and through well-wooded valleys that are a haven for birds. Despite the rather dreary sound of its name, in fine weather we'll find that the "Black Sea" is actually a bright azure blue, its shores etched with bays of brilliant white sand. Although migration could bring us to a halt more or less anywhere today, we plan to stop to explore some fine deciduous woodland near Goritza. Short-toed Treecreeper, Hawfinch and a variety of woodpeckers are possible. Overnight Pomorie Days 6 - 7 Bourgas is a large port on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast - but there just happens to be a major bird of prey migration route right overhead! The second half of September generally sees peak passage as columns of birds stream southward. We should see plenty of Common Buzzards (some showing characters of the eastern form vulpinus, or 'Steppe Buzzard'), along with good numbers of Lesser Spotted and Short-toed Eagles, Marsh Harriers and Sparrowhawks. A sprinkling of other species - including Black Stork, Honey and Long-legged Buzzards, Red-footed Falcon and Levant Sparrowhawk - adds to the excitement. The make up and number of birds moving will, of course, vary from day to day (and year to year), but that such a prospect should have been largely overlooked by travelling birdwatchers until relatively recently is surprising; even more so when one realises that some of Europe's major wetland sites also lie nearby! In fact, Bulgaria's most celebrated migration watch-point - Lake Atanassovo - lies within an easy drive of our hotel. Despite being so close to town, the lake boasts a wealth of bird life. Kentish Plovers, Black-winged Stilts and Avocets frequent the shallows and, amidst the thousands of Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls that gather at the lake each autumn, we should find the rarer Slender-billed Gull. In autumn, Lake Bourgas can hold thousands of roosting White Pelicans as well as a few rarer Dalmatians, while nearby Lake Mandra is a frequent haunt of the immense White-tailed Eagle. During our stay in the Bourgas area we shall search through flocks of waders in hopes of such goodies as Red-necked Phalarope, and Marsh and Broad-billed Sandpipers - as well as frequently turning our eyes skyward to check for birds of prey sneaking by overhead! The passage of warblers through the area shows terrific potential for eastern vagrants to appear, while regular migrants at this time include Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Red-breasted and Spotted Flycatchers, and Red-backed Shrike. The latter can sometimes be abundant, with hundreds being present throughout our two September 2010 tours. Over the open water, graceful Black and Whiskered Terns work to and fro above parties of resting wildfowl. It's the perfect opportunity to study their trickier autumn plumages, while the reedbeds provide shelter for Great White and Little Egrets, Squacco and Purple Herons and Spoonbill. Two nights Pomorie Day 8 If flight times permit, we'll enjoy some final birding as we make our way north from Bourgas to Varna today. Afternoon flight back to London, where our tour concludes. Accommodation : Two-centre tour based at typically modest but comfortable Bulgarian tourist hotels, well-situated for the best autumn birding. All rooms en suite. Meals: All included in the price. Breakfasts and dinners at the hotels. Lunches will be usually picnics. Walking: Easy. Short walks (up to approx 2 miles), on mainly good trails over easy-moderate terrain. Sturdy walking shoes or lightweight boots recommended. Ground Transport: By coach with local driver (minibus with small group) Leaders: Robin Chittenden & local guides Numbers: Max. 14 clients |
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