Bulgaria Summer

 18 July to 8 August 2022

A summer vacation to Bulgaria......

Will get to the bird list in a bit.....including some lovely lifers....but first...a general round up of the country and birding....

If you are looking for a dedicated birdwatching trip then im sure Bulgaria can provide....but.....go in the Spring.....dont go in the summer hoping to see the 'interesting' list they shout about and im reasonably certain of several reasons for this.  So, in my opinion, most of the birds pass through to breeding grounds further north, they dont remain in Bulgaria.  So Spring migration sees when most of the organised trips take place.

I went for a family holiday but still hoping to see more species than i did, so yes, i was disappointed.  By the end of the holiday birding had taken a back seat and the scope rarely came out.

Bascially, having driven around most of the country for three weeks there is a dense forest covering many acres....millions of acres....it goes on and on and on....and on....and on....im sure you get the picture.

Im also pretty certain that millions of years ago large mammals crossed the country creating all sorts of variation in this forest, as they did in the UK back then, rather than having a continuous forest.  This of course gave way to species using all the forest areas.  Now they have gone the forest is one big area....so there is no edge, glades etc.  So birds will cearly not use it.  

Even up some of the mountains, if you find ones above the tree line, there is little happening.  Raptors are few...theres no reason for many of them to be there in numbers.

Interestingly we saw few reptiles as well....and the story is the same i suspect.  There just isnt the areas for them.  Bulgaria needs to manage its forests better...but thats only my opinion.  If they did im pretty sure the diverstiy would increase vastly.  

Possibly the other issue with animals that are living in the country is the swings in weather....summer its 80-100+ degrees and in winter its freezing yer nuts off snow time.  

You can drive along their version of a motorway and not see anything for miles....and miles....the same in towns....no birds flitting across the road, no birds in the hedgerows as you pass.....its pretty much devoid.

Sofia and Burgas, two larger cities, are modern with the kind of approach you would expect from a city here in the UK.....but.....dont expect to get anywhere fast.....its slow in the cities....and slow outside the cities....many speed limits are 70kph for endless miles for seemingly no reason.  So the Bulgarians are happy to do most things slowly....so if you are planning driving distances...or just to the local nature reserve...allow time because you wont be getting there fast.  They have on the spot fines which arre reasonable and you never know where the police will turn up.

In the countryside, the small villages, its still very much a mixed bag....not a huge amount of modern agricultural machinery....hay is taken to to the barn using a horse drawn cart....usually with the guy at the front smoking.....smoking is still pretty big all over the country.

The villages tend to appear a shambles...many houses are still lived in though look abandoned.  There are poor people everywhere and the older generations have the look of being opressed. They probably remember the Russians being their taskmasters.  Older people speak Bulgarian and Russian.  Tells you everything you need to know.  Younger people tend to speak English rather than Russian and look to the West not the East.

So, to the birds.....I will add photos later if any are reasonable.

First, the lifers....

Wallcreeper.......whaaaaaaaaat.....Trigrad Gorge....just drive to the cave, park in the free car park and check out the wall the opposite side of the road, viewing from the car park.  They recommend the best time May and June.  But i saw 2 reasonably close, one adult feeding a juvenile, they remained there for an hour or so.  (from a tourist persepctive, if you think about going in the advertised cave, dont bother, its pointless...though it is cool in the middle of summer!!)

White-winged Tern

Isabeline Wheatear

Dalmatian Pelican

Marsh Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Black Stork

Pygmy Cormorant

The rest.....

House Martin, Feral Pigeon, Great Tit, Alpine Swift, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Magpie, Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, Jay, Green Woodpecker, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Black Redstart, Swift, Spotted Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Pied Wagtail, Collared Dove, Goldfinch, Red-back Shrike, Coal Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Song Thursh, Raven, Bee Eater, Red-rumped Swallow, Grey Heron, Golden Oriole, Skylark, Grey Wagtail, Turtle Dove, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Sand Martin, Crested Lark, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Greater short-toed Lark, Northern Wheatear, Mediterranean Gull, Spotless Starling, Avocet, Little Gull, Sandwich Tern, Common Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, Wren, Crag Martin, Robin, Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Tern, Spotted Redshank (in superb summer plummage), Greenshank, Montagues Harrier, Honey Buzzard, Blackcap, Spanish Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Rock Pigeon....

Several of the waders were in summer plummage on their return journeys.....

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