Tour description:

This is a tour exploring the spectacular spring migration along the Bulgarian Black sea coast, with thousands of pelicans, birds of prey, water birds and passerines. This tour is extended to several inland sites - the Vitosha and Eastern Rhodopes mountains and Sakar Hills, allowing you to enjoy the song and displays of residents and early arriving breeders.

25 April
Arrival at Sofia Airport (preferably around noon). Check-in for one overnight in the Sofia area and then visit the conifer forests and alpine zone in the higher part of the Vitosha Mountains. There you could observe the Spotted Nutcracker, Ring Ouzel (the South-European subspecies alpestris), Firecrest, Willow Tit, possibly the first arrived Water Pipits, as well as the Black Woodpecker by a lucky chance.

26 April
In the morning you could visit the higher parts of the Vitosha Mnts once again, depending on how successful the birdwatching has been there in the previous day. Then transfer to the Eastern Rhodope Mountains (with stops for roadside birding), where stay for three nights in the town of Madzharovo.

27 April
Eastern Rhodope Mountains.
Madjarovo region - cliffs, shrubs, oak forests, incl. a visit to the BSPB`s Nature Conservation & Information Center "Eastern Rhodopes"

28 April
Eastern Rhodope Mountains.
Morning - until early afternoon: visit the Vulture Feeding Place near Studen Kladenetz, where we regularly bring carcass to attract vultures and other raptors. The people stays on a small hill ~ 250 m away from the feeding place.
Afternoon - visit to other bird areas around Studen Kladenetz.
Key species likely be seen at the Eastern Rhodope Mountains: Black Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Black Stork, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Chukar, Syrian Woodpecker, Scops Owl, Pallid Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Woodchat Shrike, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear, Western Rock Nuthatch, Sombre Tit, etc.

29 April
Transfer to the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast via the Sakar Hills, where look for the Eastern Imperial Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Sombre Tit.

Accommodation in the area of Bourgas for four nights

30 April
Visit the wetlands around Bourgas, incl. the Bourgas lake (Vaya), Atanasovsko lake, Mandra lake and Poda lagoon. One of the biggest attractions of the Bourgas wetlands are the two species of pelicans - the Dalmatian and White Pelicans, stopping for long time there during the migration. Here you will be able also to see and enjoy the spectacular raptor migration along the coast, incl migrating Honey Buzzards, Booted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, Lesser Spotted Eagles, Black Kites, Red-footed Falcons, Montagu's and Pallid Harriers, etc.

Other birds of interest at Bourgas wetlands could be:
All the species of European herons, Little Egret, Little Bittern, Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Black Stork, Pygmy Cormorant, Ruddy Shelduck, Ferruginous Duck, White-tailed Eagle, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Meditteranean Gull, Gull-billed Tern, White-winged Black Tern, Cetti`s Warbler, Penduline Tit, Bearded Reedling, other migrating & summering species of waders, gulls, terns and passerines.

01 and 02 May
In these two days you may visit either the Bourgas wetlands again or some of the raptor migration watch-points in this area, which depends very much on the weather conditions as well.

03 May
Drive to the northern Black Sea coast via the Eastern Balkan Range and the Kamchia forests and sand dunes. Main birds likely to be seen: Semi-collared Flycatcher, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Short-toed Treecreeper, Hawfinch, Sombre Tit, Cirl and Rock Buntings and other forest and shrub birds. The White-tailed Eagle and the Black Woodpecker are also possible here. Depending on the weather you could spend some time at some of the raptor migration watch-points here too.

Acommodation for three nights on the northern Bulgarian Black Sea coast, in the area of the Coastal Dobrudja.

04 May
This day is dedicated to the region of Cape Kaliakra with its huge cliffs, dominating the Black Sea waters, where you will be able to see the Mediterranean Shag, Alpine Swift, Pied Wheatear and migrating seabirds.
In the shrubs around the Cape and the open steppe areas inland you will find a lot of migrating and resident birds like the Stone Curlew, Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Thrush Nightingale, Wryneck and a lot of species of pipits, warblers, buntings, etc.
This is another good area for watching the migrating raptors as well as some residents like the Long-legged Buzzard and Eagle Owl.

05 May
The Lakes of Shabla and Durankulak.
Large number of birds are likely to be present here, including the Pygmy Cormorant, Little Bittern, Ferruginous Duck, Glossy Ibis, Caspian Tern, Marsh Harrier, etc. Waders should be around too, as well as some special small birds in the reedbeds, as Savi's, Sedge and Moustashed Warblers. The early May is the best time to see the Great Snipe along the northern Bulgarian coast. There will be also several subspecies and races of the Yellow Wagtail (incl. the locally breeding Black-headed YW, the Central European ssp flava, the Fenno-Scandian ssp. thunbergi, the Romaian 'dombrowskii', etc.), and by a lucky chance the Citrine Wagtail, which becomes more and more frequent spring migrant along the Bulgarian coast in the recent years.

06 May
Transfer to Varna area for departure

If the departure flight is later in the day - visit the Yatata marshlands and Pobiti kamani cliffs near Varna, or a culture trip in Varna