A TRIP TO BULGARIA

In late May 2007 I went on a 14-day tour of Bulgaria with the British-Bulgarian

Friendship Society; at £l050 all in, including flights — good value. This tour, one

of several natural history/bird—watching tours run by the Society, concentrated

on east Bulgaria (the Black Sea coast) and the Rhodope Mountains. One is

accompanied at all times by an excellent Bulgarian guide/naturalist and an interpreter.

The party of 12 travelled in a small coach, changing venues (three or four star hotels)

every two or three days.

A wide range of habitats was visited and many different interesting species seen. 

The Black Sea coast, although quite squalid in places, largely due to mass fly-tipping,

and unsympathetic development, still offers many attractive sites and interesting

fauna. Large flocks of Dalmation and white pelicans were widespread and birds such

as ruddy shelduck and glossy ibis were easy to see in good numbers. Small flocks of

rose-coloured starlings were a beautiful sight.

A visit to Trigrad Gorge produced one of the highlights of the trip for me - wallcreeper.

I’d seen pictures, seen them on television and film but in real life they surpassed all my expectations. They are exquisite. I’d always wanted to see them, not just as a “tick’ 

that’s not my style of natural history, and to watch two, often quite close, for an hour 

or so was a wonderful experience. I could have watched them all day (and the next day,

ad infinitum).

When we arrived at Studen Kladenets, a vulture feeding station, run by the Bulgarian

Society for the Protection of Birds, at about 10.00am, we were treated to a mixed

flock of about 20 griffon and Egyptian vultures feeding on a cow carcass. The Bulgarian

leader said that black vultures usually arrived between 1 1.00 and 1 1.30am and, sure

enough, three flew in at 11.20am. The griffon and Egyptians all moved off as the blacks

just dominated; they are BIG.

Rock thrush was another bird I particularly wanted to see and again they are more

beautiful and charismatic than any film or pictures can ever portray. We had several

good views of them, often singing (the thrush not us!). Wonderful. Another memorable

event was standing on a large area of dry plain with calandra larks and tawny pipits all

around us (and the odd red-backed shrike on the occasional bush), with 12 lesser-spotted

eagles in view, also two long-legged buzzards.

We then drove a few miles to a wooded valley and watched two masked shrikes in full

view for some time, while a Levant sparrowhawk flew down the valley.

I could go on and on, but what’s the point? If none of the above whets your appetite

then nothing will!  Good value, good cheap food and drink, lots of wildlife, nice,

sometimes spectacular, scenery and only three hours away.

Trevor Hatton

British Bulgarian Friendship Society –

02072 37 7 616 — www.bbfs.org.uk.