Romania
2007 Tour Report 30th May- 10th June ![]() |
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30th May Our party of 8 gathered early in the morning in Sheffield for our minibus down to Luton airport- the group made their introductions and we headed off. Arriving in plenty of time we checked in and had a time for a coffee before our flight to Bucharest, the capital of Romania. An uneventful flight delivered the party in Bucharest on a pleasant spring evening. Meeting our local guide Andu, we boarded the comfortable & spacious tour bus for the 3 hour drive from Bucharest, to the Transylvania town of Bram- famous for it's castle. This our base for the first few days of the tour. We passed through the central plains of Romania, observing many Roller. Areas of water by the roadside produced Black Tern, 4 Night Heron & 6 Whiskered Tern, while White Stork were in evidence further north. Continuing north we passed through valleys and passes, arriving at our sumptuous hotel for a welcome evening meal and drink- eager for the next day, and our first full day in the field. 31st May The eager ones in the party rose before breakfast to explore the byways of Bram, from or hotel on the outskirts. This produced quite a few Black Redstart and Hawfinch, from the hotel, as well as Fieldfare- singing, most unusual to British ears. Following breakfast the group made it's way to the wooded grounds & parkland of nearby Bram Castle, an imposing building, with it's own birdlife- a Tawny Owl roosting in a recess. Here we had excellent views of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and more Black Redstart, with a Hobby over. We moved out of town to a steep wooded valley, where we explored the woodlands and valley sides- although heavy showers put a dampner on proceedings, but was an excellent spot for a typically hearty picnic. Thanks to our driver Georgei who helped prepare the picnic feast. Plaiol Gorge produced several Buzzard & Raven overhead, the woods alive with Chaffinch, with Crossbill over. The river had it's own attractions with Dipper and Whiskered Tern. Plus Spotted Flycatcher and many Red-backed Shrike. Although the highlights were regional specialities of Wallcreeper (heard only unfortunately) and Sombre Tit. After this excellent, albeit damp start we returned to Bram to our hotel and an excellent meal, with a few drinks to wash it all down. 1st June Again a few
hardy souls rose early to explore Bram, this produced more Black Redstarts,
Garden Warbler, Redstart, singing Serin and 2 more
Hawfinch. Although everyone was looking forward to 2nd June For those
with energy a pre-breakfast stroll around Bram again, which produced the
usual Black Redstart, Serin & Hawfinch and a chance
to chat to the locals- who looked on bemused at these Western Europeans
who travel all this way to look into their back gardens! 3rd June A day of change today, as we left the Transylvanian Mountains behind, and headed east across central Romania to the Black Sea coast and the resort of Mamaia. Some undertook the regular stroll around Bram, this produced 2 Restart. We stopped off several times, firstly at Cazanesti where we had lunch. a scrubby area by a river, the river-side trees held several Night Heron, whilst the scrub produced Thrush Nightingale, quite a few Golden Oriole, 3 Tawny Pipit and Yellow Wagtail, with a Marsh Harrier over. From here we stopped at a lake called Hasarlac, this a dry area, with a marshy area & open water, which produced some excellent birds. Calandra Lark were in evidence in the dry fields, The water was the major attraction, with 3 Ruddy Shelduck & Glossy Ibis. Our final stop before Mamaia was Sarafin, a Red-footed Falcon colony. Several were seen as they flew around and perched amid the Rook colony, there were also good numbers of Kestrel and a juv. Long-eared Owl, which looked somewhat lost at the base of a tree. There were also plenty of Roller and Lesser Grey Shrike by the roadside. We arrived at Mamaia, our complex was by an inlet from the Black Sea, so Little Bitterns on tap! The unique restaurant, in the shape of a galleon (novel). gave a good view of the surrounding area, and the many Black Redstarts on the buildings nearby. The inlet held Common Tern, Squacco Heron and noisy Great Reed Warbler, as well as Savi's Warbler and Whiskered Tern. A welcome shower and meal aboard the galleon were very welcome. 4th
June Our first
full day by the Black Sea started with a walk around the inlet within
the grounds of our complex, this produced more Black Redstart and
lots of Bee-eater. After a hearty breakfast aboard the landlocked
galleon, we drove up the coast to Vadu, a disused area on the shores of
the Black Sea- here was a mixture of reeds, water, wetlands and scrubs,
and of course the Black Sea. The shallow scrapes held lots of Wood
Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Garganey, with Little
Tern over, plus 5 Great White Egret, as well as Kentish
Plover and Marsh Harrier everywhere. The reedy fringe held
a very obliging Bluethroat. While the drier areas held approx.
50 Collared Pratincoles, which showed well as they hawked insects
overhead. These were eclipsed by 18 Dalmatian Pelicans that passed
over, with a Steppe Buzzard close by. We moved onto the coast itself,
where there were large groups of Avocet and Turnstone, and
literally 1000's of Cormorants on the fishing poles a few 100m
offshore. We also found a non- too pleased Dice Snake. Further
up the coast a copse of trees held 4 Icterine Warbler and Golden
Oriole- a nearby reedbed was our focus, this produced Bearded Tit,
a highlight were 12 Spoonbill that flew over, although our target
were Paddyfield Warbler. After much searching, and infuriating
brief views, we did see at least 3 individuals. Just off the coast were
a nice group of Ruddy Shelduck, although heat haze didn't help.
We also got to grips with the various races of Yellow Wagtail, which included
dombrowski & thumbergi races- all very edcational. After
a full day here, we returned to our complex, and a welcome drink &
great meal on the galleon- and an early night- too much sea air! 5th June Today we
left Mamaia behind and went west, taking in a quarry renowned for Rose-coloured
Starling- a noisy, gregarious flock of 200 showed well in the quarry,
as did Little Owl and 60+ Bee-eater. Another highlight were
several Ortolan Bunting here. Another well known & picturesque
site is Cheia Gorge, which didn't disappoint. Wheatears are well known
here, and we soon found the regional speciality Pied Wheatear (at
least 15), including a hybrid Black-eared Wheatear, which caused
some confusion, as well as single Isabelline Wheatear and 15 Northern
Wheatear. We had lunch here and fed the local dogs whilst observing
Tawny Pipit and the ever present Black Redstart. We continued
round the top side of the gorge in search of Eagle Owl, we found
the empty nest, but no birds although there were quite a few Calandra
Lark on the more arid areas. Much to our amusement we enjoyed the
antics of film crew filming for a Romanian TV ad! We m 6th June From Tulcea
we drove west to the Romanian Plains, which were alive with birds. Our
first stop and prominenent hill, straight away we saw Booted Eagle
and lots of Calandra Lark on the barren hill side plus several
Pied Wheatear and Tawny Pipit. Overhead were Long-legged
Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and 4 Short-toed Eagle that showed
very well. Continuing south we visited several sites in the Babadag Forest.
We had lots of Red-backed Shrike here and typically quite a few
Thrush Nightingale, Icterine Warbler, Wood Warbler Syrian
& Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Ortolan were in evidence,
and sang away every few hundred metres. We had lunch in a clearing after
which we had a stroll down the hill, where we saw Honey Buzzard and
a few Golden Oriole and Roller . We also saw some magnificent
creatures, including a large bronze coloured cricket the size of large
mouse. After which we returned to Tulcea and went aboard our floating
hotel, home for the next 3 nights. 7th June A big day
today as we drove further west towards the Macin area, for a couple of
special birds. Our first stop was the outskirts of Grecin where we hoped
to find Saker Falcon. In previous years we had found the nest,
but no birds. Straight away in the arid scrub we had Calandra Lark
and Isabelline Wheatear everywhere, at least 40. In the distance
were 4 Stone Curlew. Overhead we saw 4 Booted Eagle, these
were joined by up to 2 Levant's Sparrowhawk another regional speciality
and Long-legged Buzzard. Careful scanning of the cliff found the
Saker nest, we could make out a bird sat- then overhead we had
an adult Saker circling, a magnificent sight, this then interacted
with a Levant's Sparrowhawk. The trees were alive with Chaffinches,
we also had Sombre Tit & Syrian Woodpecker here. The
area was full of raptors, as we added Honey Buzzard to the days
list. We continued further west into Macin where we stopped several times
in woodland and rocky valleys. Common Buzzard were in evidence
as were literally 100's of Crested Lark. Overhead 11 Dalmatian
Pelican were noteworthy. Hoopoe were also common. Here we also
had Middle Spotted Woodpecker. A definite highlight were 3 male
Rock Thrush, which brightened up the day. Here we also had 2 Red-rumped
Swallow and 2 more Levant's Sparrowhawk. Our return journey
was long, but we took a slight detour to Murgiol, a la 8th June We awoke
aboard our hotel and to our first full day in the Danube Delta. Whist
consuming breakfast we steamed down the main channel of the delta leaving
Tulcea behind, birding as we went from the comfort of the decks. After
several hours we turned off the main channel to a narrower channel and
began to explore the Delta, but the bird for many was a magnificent adult
White-tailed Eagle perched by the main channel as we went past.
We tied up and hopped aboard smaller craft which took us into the shallower,
narrower channels. We had lunch at Crisan aboard the main hotel and watched
from our moorings. Here we had Black Woodpecker right by the hotel
as well as 2 Grey-headed Woodpecker and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker,
oh and 1000's of Cormorant, 2000+ Pygmy Cormorant, 250 Night
Heron, 60 Purple Heron, as well as 8 Dalmatian Pelican and
20 Ferruginous Duck. We managed to tape lure in 5 Icterine Warbler
& 4 Olivaceous Warbler. Afterwards we took a boat ride
to an abandoned village of Caronman. The banks and reed fringed channels
on the wa 9th June Many rose
at dawn to witness the sunrise over the Danube Delta and the movement
of 1000's of birds from roosting to feeding areas- an awesome sight. There
were literally squadrons of White Pelicans, which must have numbered
in there 1000's as they flew out in formation to feed. We also had Grey-headed
Woodpecker. From our moorings at Lopatna we had breakfast, before
disembarking onto the smaller boats for a day of exploration of the lakes,
channels and reedbeds of the massive Danube Delta. There were many varied
habitats within the delta from shallow small reed ar All photos © Philip Ridsdale, George & Irene Shentall & Andy Hirst 2008 |
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