Wildlife Tours to Romania ROMANIA
Photo: Red-breasted Flycatcher.
*Single room supplement.
Tour Destinations :
- Danube Delta and lakes
- Histria Wetlands
- Hagieni Reserve
Tour Summary
Romania (The Danube Delta and the Transylvania Alps)
This tour will operate at the very best time of year, when breeding birds are singing and a significant amount of passage is still taking place. We can expect a ‘trip list’ in excess of 170 species – but this is not the whole story.
Numbers of species aside, it will be an immensely rich birdwatching experience. Other aspects of the country’s rich wildlife will certainly not be ignored and we stand a good chance of seeing some unusual mammals, such as Brown Bear and European Suslik. Bird highlights should include both species of pelican, large numbers of Pygmy Cormorant, Levant Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard, Black-headed Yellow Wagtail, Sombre Tit and Paddyfield Warbler, to name a very few. We recommend this tour for its variety, good standards of accommodation and, above all, the guidance of expert leaders.
Itinerary
Day 1 : We depart from the UK for Bucharest, transferring on arrival to Tulcea with some bird watching stops en route. At Tulcea we will board the floating hotel which will provide our accommodation for the next four nights.
Days 2—4 : We will have three full days to explore the delta from our floating pontoon hotel, beginning by travelling down the main Sulina channel to the heart of the delta. Local weather and water conditions will determine the exact course to be followed over the next three days. The delta comprises a vast complex of reed beds, willow forest and wetlands crossed by and intricate network of channels and we will explore these by the pontoon boat, small motor boat and on foot. The delta is very rich in breeding birds and we will seek these out in the smaller, less disturbed channels where bird life is most abundant. Typical species will include Glossy Ibis, egrets, herons, cormorants, White Pelicans, kingfishers, Common and Green Sandpipers and Greenshank. Reeds fringing the water channels will have Penduline Tits and Little Bittern. We will also hope to see Marsh Harriers and Red-footed Falcons and we may be lucky enough to sight one of the ten pairs of White-tailed Eagles breeding here.
The short walks on land in the willow forest may yield bee-eaters, hoopoes, rollers and shrikes and five species of woodpecker are also found.
Day 5 : We depart after breakfast to travel south calling at Histria for lunch and a bird watching session. The large salt marsh with scattered pools holds ducks and herons in large numbers and other birds possible include Aquatic Warblers, Bluethroat, Balkan Yellow Wagtail, waders and pratincoles. It is also the main feeding area for the small population of Dalmatian Pelicans. We will stay overnight in a guesthouse in Tulcea.
Day 6 : We will concentrate on the woodlands and forest of Babadag, Niculitel and Celic today. Species we will hope to see include Levant Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Hawfinch, and Sombre Tit. We return to our guesthouse at Tulcea for overnight.
Day 7 : Our journey today will take us to Parches, Jijila Lake and the Macin Mountains National Park. At Parches, only 30 minutes from Tulcea, we will have an excellent view over the delta and hopefully the bird migration will be in evidence. Honey Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Rose-coloured Starling may be seen before we head for Jijila Lake where Ruddy Shelduck is possible. The Macin Mountians will hopefully yield Saker Falcon, Stone Curlew, Pied Wheatear, Rock Thrush, Ortolan Bunting, Woodchat Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, rollers and hoopoes. We return to our Tulcea guesthouse for our final night.
Day 8 : We transfer to Bucharest airport, taking a last opportunity for some bird watching en route, and depart for the UK.