Day tours birding around Bourgas

Day tours birding around Bourgas are offered at one of the largest towns on the Bulgarian Black sea coast with a huge concentrations of birds. This is arguably the best area in the country for birdwatching. The diversity of habitats here is just superb: lakes and lagoons, salinas, Mediterranean scrub, forest, farmland, pseudo steppe and grassland. In addition to this diversity of habitats, Bourgas is situated on one of the major flyways in the country called Via Pontica. This is a major reason for concentration of huge number of species pretty much anytime of the year.

Different time of year produce different species. I will try to list some of the highlights for every season. If you have specific interest, i am happy to discuss it.

Winter

Winter is great if you are not afraid of the cold weather. You may be lucky to witness a mild winter but in that case you will not see as many geese as you would want. Thus to see a good number of Red-breasted Geese you want the weather to be as cold as possible 🙂 Dalmatian Pelicans and Pallas’s Gull gather in large roosts. White-headed Duck, Bewick Swan and Whooper Swan congregate around some of the lakes and woods around hold Sombre Tit, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker and many more

Spring

In March starts the spring migration when all flooded farmland steams with waders. No kidding and no exaggeration. There are thousands of birds around in March and April when spring migration is in its peak. Breeding birds arrive towards the end of April beginning of May. That is the absolutely prime time when you should be around to have a good 100+ species. Some of them are Levant Sparrowhawk, Rose-coloured Starling, Lesser spotted Eagle, Semi-coloured Flycatcher, Stone Curlew, Collared Pratincole, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Black headed Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, Eastern Bonneli’s Warbler, Olive-tree Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Marsh Sandpiper, Wryneck, Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker and a lot, lot more.

Summer

Summer is generally fairly quiet. However waders start their migration and build in numbers from the beginning of July. In August starts the more visible migration of soaring birds. White Storks and Honey Buzzards peak towards the end of August beginning of September. Some of the migrating birds to expect are Marsh Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Thrush Nightingale, Red-breasted Flycatcher and many more.

Autumn

Autumn migration is just stunning. First half of September is great for waders and the second half of September and the whole of October are great for birds of prey. The sky is just full with birds especially towards the end of September (after 17th). Mixed flocks of Lesser spotted Eagles, Black Kites, Short-toed Eagle, .. Oh my… I love migration!

Some of the species to expect are Marsh Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red-footed Falcon, Levant Sparrowhawk, thousands of Lesser-spotted Eagles,

Aims of tours

Depending on the season, a day at Bourgas can produce 100+ species. Usually a day is not enough to cover everything but we will do what we can according to your interests. The trips are usually organised around seeing the greatest diversity possible with a few local specifics.

Typical day birding around the lakes:

8 a.m. picking up from your hotel with a 4WD;
visit to some of the hotspots around the city according to season and available information;
picnic lunch in nature (be ready to prepare it yourself in advance);
afternoon birding;
18.00 end of the day and drop off at your hotel.