Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria 6th - 14th September 2007

• Nick the driver picked me up at 8am and we were on our way to Cape Kalikara.  Bee eaters and Kestrels were very common en route.  Stopping near Albina after seeing some raptors from the car window, 27 Lesser spotted eagles were circling south and also one Short toed eagle...Gareth Jones reports

North East Bulgaria 2 - 16 July 2007

• The wildlife highlight of the trip was a chance encounter with a local ornithologist at Durankulak, who took us on a trip in his four wheel drive vehicle into some remoter areas which we would not have found by ourselves...Allan Finlayson reports

Bulgaria 14th-19th February 2007

• This trip was planned in autumn 2006 with the aim of visiting Bulgaria at the peak time for Red-breasted Geese and other winter visitors....Bob Swann and Andrew Ramsay report.

Black Sea, Bulgaria 15-20 February 2006

• The main objective of the trip was to see the impressive flocks of Red-breasted Geese and so wildfowl in general were well recorded. Most of the counts were made by either Tim Appleton or myself but those of the goose flights are down to Mitko and his assistant, both of whom are regularly involved in goose census work...Steve Lister reports.

Bulgaria - Albena and a few other sites 3rd to 17th June 2005 This trip was basically an ordinary two-week family holiday with wife and kids. Albena is strategically well situated for trips to some famous bird sites further north, notably Srebarna, Durankulak, Shabla, and Cape Kaliakra as well as several others if you have a lot of time on your hand....Trond Haugskott reports.

Bulgaria 4th - 15th May 2005

• Bulgaria really is a great place to go birding. A list of the "common stuff", birds either seen on most days or else abundant in the right areas would include White Stork, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Hobby....Steve West reports

Birding around Melnik, SW Bulgaria 16-17th April 2005

• Since the beginning of 2005 the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) is working on a project that studies the habitats and birdlife of nine sites along the valleys of Struma and Mesta Rivers in Southwest Bulgaria. This is part of an effort to collect data for the inclusion of the sites into the NATURA 2000 network of protected areas.....Alexander Georgiev reports

Bulgaria September 2004 This year we visited the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria between 11th. & 25th. September. Although primarily a birdwatching trip, Ray also has a big interest in butterflies and dragonflies which all added to the interest....Chris Wormwell reports.

Bulgaria – The Black Sea Coast 25th to 31st May 2004

• The Black Sea coast of Bulgaria is an ideal, safe location for independent birds seeking to find the east European specialities. Being on the package holiday circuit it is easy to get to, prices are reasonable and the infrastructure makes easy access to major sites....Neil Money reports

Bulgaria (with extension to Evros delta) 25th February-1st March 2004

• This February 2004 trip followed a successful trip to Bulgaria for Red-breasted Geese ("RBGs" below) in early February 2003.  This report concentrates on providing up-to-date information relating to RBGs and for convenience also recaps the previous February 2003 trip.  A selective trip list is attached....Ed Keeble reports.

Bourgas lakes May 2003

• Species list from my last visit to Bourgas lakes, Black sea coast. We've visited Poda protected area and Atanasovsko lake biosphere reserve..Atanas Grozdanov

Bulgaria, winter birding 5th-9th February, 2003

• The morning lift-off of geese from Sabla Lake and Durankulak Lake is not to be missed You need to be in position by about 7AM. At Sabla we were able to get right underneath the geese as they headed inland from the north arm of the lake.  The Durankulak flock can be watched from the north side of the main body of the lake and is more impressive in terms of sheer numbers.....Ed Keeble reports.

Western Bulgaria  4-26 September 2001

• Saw c.15 Nutcracker  (again failed to locate any food caches despite several hours searching!) and 15-20 Large-billed Crossbill species feeding mainly on cones of Balkan endemic Bosnian Pine; bills stout, heavy, as Parrot Crossbill, with same depressed lower mandible base; heavy head; males strongly deep pink-red plumage (pinker, less orange, than male Parrot Crossbill); main call a very deep 'tyoop'....Michael Frankis reports. 

Where to Watch Birds in Bulgaria

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Collins Bird Guide Lars Svensson et al: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk Europe's best Field guide. If you only carry one field guide on a trip into Europe then this should be it. It provides all the information needed to identify any species at any time of the year, with detailed text on size, habitat, range, identification and voice. Accompanying every species entry is a distribution map and numerous illustrations to show the species in all the major plumages (male, female, immature, in flight, at rest, feeding, etc).

Where to Watch Birds in Bulgaria Petar Iankov, George Pchelarov (Illustrator): Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk This guide to birdwatching in Bulgaria contains 40 line drawings and 40 small scale topographic maps illustrating nesting places as well as a list of the Bulgarian ornithofauna - including Latin, English, and Bulgarian species' names. The book also contains a great deal of information for travelling in Bulgaria.

Recommended travel books for Bulgaria:

Lonely Planet: Bulgaria Paul Greenway: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk Exploring Bulgaria's relatively undiscovered delights, this guide gives tips for budget skiing destinations and offers more peaceful holiday ideas including beaches, mineral spas, monastries and hiking. There is also a handy language section to help with the communication side of things.