Romania
2006 Tour Report 29th July- 7th August ![]() |
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29th July The Sheffield contingent gathered VERY early in the morning to catch a mini-coach to Heathrow airport to rendezvous with the rest of our party, who were arriving fromthe USA. We eventually gathered after some messing about with British Airways, made our introductions & said our hellos and jetted off to Bucharest. Arriving at the main airport we were met by Diana & Andu, our guide and ground agent for the tour. Quickly boarding our coach we headed off east towards the town of Tulcea, on the banks on the Danube, and our floating hotel- this our home for the next 3 nights. After a couple of hours we stopped for a break, and of course took our binoculars. On the drive we picked-up dozens of Rollers by the roadside and a few Red-footed Falcons on wires. At our stop, a steep sandy cliff ridge, we saw Short-toed Lark, good views of Hoopoe, Red-backed Shrike and brief views of Golden Oriole. Our tour had began! We arrived in the dark at our luxurious floating hotel. After getting squared away we had a superb meal and went to bed, with eager anticipation of first full day on the Danube Delta.
Some of the party rose very early- 05:00 for our first Romanian birds. Almost straight away from the viewing platform on the hotel on the wide River Danube, on the east side of Tulcea, we saw lots of Caspian Gulls, and dozens of Common Tern. As the morning progressed we saw lots of White Pelicans and Pygmy Cormorant- albeit distantly,but more was to come. After breakfast we went to the bow of the hotel as we were towed deep into the Danube Delta, scanning as we went. We tied up in the delta and transferred to smaller boats, to take us through the smaller vegetated channels, allowing us to get close views. Birds were everywhere, hundreds of Glossy Ibis, Black-tailed Godwits, Egrets mainly Little & Great White, with Squacco Herons & Night Herons at every turn with plenty of Little Bittern, Purple Heron and not forgetting the masses of Pygmy Cormorant, perched on almost every bare branch on the more open stretches. The wealth of waders was never ending, Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper all stopping off to feed and rest before moving off further south. One of the highlights was single Dalmatian Pelican, this now an increasing rarity, even here. Another highlight was a day total of 60 Spoonbill. Terns were also common, with hundreds of Whiskered & Common, with a smattering of Black. At a stop, an old abandoned quartz factory, we disembarked to scan the ruins, and pools of water here we had more waders, including 2 Collared Pratincoles, plus an amazingly close Hobby, as well as Great Reed Warbler & Spotted Redshank. 31st July Again a few
hardy souls woke at dawn to view the sunrise from the observation deck,
or they would have if it wasn't raining extremely heavily. Undaunted,
and kept going by gallons of coffee, courtesy of the waitress, several
watched squadrons of White Pelicans fly over from their roost.
A buffet breakfast was welcome, following which our party jumped into
our smaller boats to explore the channels an open areas of the Danube
Delta. We explored many small reed fringed channels, producing Penduline Tit and Bearded Tit. The channels were alive with Night Heron, Little Egret, and loads of Green Sandpiper and Kingfisher, not to mention Squacco & Night Heron. We crossed several larger of bodies of water including Furtuna Lake & Lapana and witnessed high counts of Black-necked Grebe (day count of 60), Red-necked Grebe (day total 70)and flocks of Garganey (700). Amongst the myriad of wildfowl (circa 5000 Coot) & Pygmy Cormorant were colony's consisting of thousands of Black-headed Gulls, as well as terns, mostly Common, Whiskered, with some Black & Little, plus at least 4 White-winged Black Tern. Another Dalmatian Pelican was another high point, as were more Spoonbill & White Stork. Day total for Pygmy Cormorant was c2000! Over the delta were Raven, Red-footed Falcon, Hobby & Marsh Harrier. We returned to our floating hotel a little late, following an entanglement with reeds, which had to be cleared several times. We decided not to go out again, but stay on the pontoon and see what we could see from here and on our journey back to Tulcea. From the hotel we attracted a stunning Grey-headed Woodpecker, as well as 2 Black Woodpecker, gliding in above the pontoon. We returned
to Tulcea late in the evening for our overnight mooring, as it was an
early start the next day. Our journey back produced lots more wildfowl,
as we 1st August A day of change today, as we left behind the Danube Delta for the Black Sea. Those rising early, again saw squadrons of White Pelicans and loads of Common Tern & Caspian Gull from the moorings in Tulcea. An early start, following, as usual an excellent and welcome breakfast saw a brief stop at an exposed sandy quarry, not too far from Tulcea. Here we had Little Owl, White Stork & dozens of Bee-eater, plus Golden Oriole. At Murighiol, on our way to Constanta, we stopped by a small lake on the plains, here were 120+ Black-necked Grebe, with lots of wildfowl & waders, including Ferruginous Duck, Avocet, Spotted Redshank & Red-necked Phalarope,plus Whiskered Tern. Further down the lake, at Plopu was a haze of gulls- walking towards them revealed at least 8 Great Black-headed Gull, 60 Mediterranean Gull amid the hoards of Caspian Gulls. The outskirts of Plopu produced x2 Syrian Woodpecker & Golden Oriole. At Enisala we stopped at Bee-eater colony for a quick break, amongst the Bee-eaters we encountered, were Souslik, a small ground squirrel like mammal. The journey produced lots of Red-backed Shrike & Red-footed Falcons on the wires. Lunch was
taken in Babadag Forest, an area of excellent bro 2nd August For those who wished, we witnessed sun rise over the Black Sea, and a walk along the cliff base, checking the scrub for migrants, prior to breakfast, this produced little but worth getting up early just for the sunrise. After breakfast it was a short drive up the coast to Navodari Pools, these superb reed fringed pools amid a huge factory complex on the coast, not very pretty, but excellent for birds. Up to 8 Common Sandpiper, 10 Spotted Redshank, 56 Green Sandpiper, and our first Marsh Sandpiper of the tour (20), as well as Little Bittern and 50 Little Gull and 5 White-winged Black Tern through. We moved to Histria an inland marshy area, in search of Paddyfield Warbler, despite the very strong winds, we did hear, and have brief views of one or two, plus Bearded Tit. In the pools behind were Avocet, Purple Heron, 10 Spoonbill over with a good numbers of Marsh Harrier.
In the afternoon we moved inland to the Cheia Gorge, a high wide Limestone ridge. A hot spot for Pied Wheatear, which duly obliged, as did a pair of Black Redstart. Overhead were single Honey Buzzard and Levant's Sparrowhawk. Returning to Constanta, we found an Isabeline Wheatear, 2 Tawny Pipit and Short-toed Lark- all new for the trip. Driving back to Constanta, the arable Sunflower fields were darkened by 1000's of hirundines, most were Sand Martin, but with many Swallow, presumably gathering before roosting. We returned for another elegant meal in Constanta. 3rd August
We started at Atmagea, on the plains of central Romania, on the road from here we had an excellent Imperial Eagle by the road, which induced an impromptu halt. At Atmagea, we 4 Booted Eagle, several wing clapping Honey Buzzard, and 2 Levant's Sparrowhawk and 3 more Sombre Tit, plus an amazing variety of butterflies. Moving on and by early afternoon we were at Macin, here we spent a considerable amount of time. Macin, a massive limestone ridge, where we had lunch, not before spending a long time looking for, and eventually finding Saker Falcon- well worth the effort in the hot weather. Initially we had just Hobby, and loads of Isabeline Wheatear (c30), Lesser Grey Shrike & Stone Curlew. Highlights were Rock Thrush, as well as Saker Falcon and good numbers of both White Stork and White Pelican We arrived
on the opposite side of the Danube to Galat 4th August A day mainly
of driving, with several stops, as we left behind the Danube and drove
up into the mountains of Transylvania, and Brasov, our base for the next
3 days. After a couple of hours driving we came to Ianca Ponds and a break
for half an hour. A large flat area with several very large reed fringed
shallow pools, and plenty of birds. Nearby were 10 Black-tailed Godwits,
5 Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, 20 Black-winged Stilt,
5 Kentish Plover, 2 Marsh Sandpiper, 10 Ruff and
10 Wood Sandpiper with Hobby overhead. There were good numbers
of wildfowl, including Mallard, were 15 Shelduck, Little
Bittern and 15 Whiskered Tern. Although time was pressing slightly,
so we moved on for a couple of hours, with many Red-backed Shrike by the
roadside, before another excellent lunch stop. Lunch was taken overlooking
a steep mountain valley at Siriu almost Alpine, in appearance, with high
pasture. Over the hillside were Buzzard, plus Honey Buzzard,
Levant's Sparrowhawk and 3 Raven. Lower down were Tree
Sparrow and 2 Syrian Woodpecker. We eventually arrived in Brasov,
on the hotel was a Black Redstart, a good omen? Here we were met
by Szilard, our mountain guide- introducing ourselves with beer. A very
pleasant meal was had, the group really gelling. At about 9pm we gathered
to go to the edge of town in search of bears, which come down to the bins
to scavenge. After a short wait and an explanation to the the local police,
we were rewarded with a Brown Bear in full view from the comfort
& safety of our co 5th August A pleasant pre breakfast stroll around the woods and parkland near our hotel produced lots of Blackbird and several Blackcap. Black Redstart topped 7, with excellent numbers of Hawfinch in the parkland (50), plus Jay and Robin (timid woodland birds here!) Following
breakfast we had a couple of hours to explore the pretty city of Brasov
in the warm sunshine, and post all those postcards etc... Most folk explored
the famous 'Black Church', steeped in history. We departed Brasov for
the mountains and the area of Zarnesti Gorge, a high sided, very narrow
limestone gorge. We slowly made ourway up the narrow gorge, scanning any
flat face for Wallcreeper, which breed here. We had a brief view
of Alpine Swift as it shot down the gorge, and several Crag
Martin overhead, although we noted the clouds were building, and what
had been a glorious warm morning, quickly developed into a grey, cool
and very, very wet afternoon, sheltering under the face of the valley
sides we did our best in the trying conditions, picking out Grey Wagtail,
and what may have been a brief glimpse of Wallcreeper- the one
that got away. We pressed on in the dry int We returned to the coach, most completely drenched by the torrential rain, and attempted to have a late lunch, diving out of the coach and under temporary shelter to grab a quick bite. We returned to the hotel for hot showers, a well deserved beer/ wine and a hot meal. Some of the party went looking for Brown Bears again, this time it appeared the whole town had turned out, as crowds of people gathered. One bear did put in a brief appearance, but promptly disappeared, as did the crowds, who approached too closely and the bear let out a growl! 6th August Another stroll around the parkland before breakfast, on this our final full day in Romania, produced more Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Black Redstart & Tawny Owl. After breakfast it was a longish journey to the high point of the mountains, stopping off several times to explore the diverse habitats. Our first stop was on the huge plain at Sambata de Sus, at the foot of the Fagaras Mountains. Our group spread out checking out fields and tracks. There were lots of Red-backed Shrike by the roadside (60 day total), of more interest were Lesser Grey Shrike, several huge Lesser Spotted Eagle (day total of 10), single Quail singing from the meadow, Turtle Dove, quite a few Tree Pipit flying over, and 3 Whinchat by the road, plus Whitethroat and Yellow Wagtail. We began
climbing up in to the mountains, around the twisty mountain roads, stopping
half way for a roadside market, those not in need of retail therapy continued
on foot We returned to Brasov, for an evening a meal, this our last of the tour. We had a 4 course meal, with toasts to our guides and organisers, especially Diana Travel, our ground agent in Romania, who had worked tirelessly during the entire 10 day tour. Following our meal it was drinks all around, then an early night, for the long day and home tomorrow. 7th August Our final
day. It was an early breakfast, pack-up and away for our afternoon flight,
although not without stopping at Sinia and the royal palace for a break
and a good lookaround. We drove the hour or so to the palace and an amazing
estate it was, with a very grand palace, and associated buildings. The
birds were a little thin on the ground, but the architecture more than
made up for it. The woodlands around the palace held typically Robin,
Chaffinch, Treecreeper, Jay & Nuthatch.
After perusing the small market in the car park, it was back on the coach
for the final time, for the 3 hour run to Bucharest, and the airport.
Arriving we unloaded, and bid our farewells to our driver, who did a superb
job all week, driving our coa
All photos © Geoff Facer & Philip Ridsdale 2007 |
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