One-day Birding Along the Southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

The tour starts at 7 a.m. from Burgas or any of the nearby resorts.

On this tour we will explore the lakes around the city of Bourgas: it is a complex of extensive wetlands that form one of Europe’s richest bird areas. The greatest lure of the Bourgas wetlands are the huge flocks of resident White and Dalmatian Pelicans. At the shallow saline lagoons of Atanasovsko and Pomorie lakes traditional saltpans are still functioning. They are of major importance for a big number of birds, including the Black-winged Stilt, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpipers, Marsh Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Mediterranean Gulls, Little Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Sandwich Terns and Little Tern.

During migration the numbers of soaring birds following the Black Sea coastal flyway in autumn can rival those at the Bosphorus or the Gibraltar – endless flocks of thousands of White Storks, Lesser Spotted Eagles, Common Buzzards (both ssp. buteo and ssp. vulpinus) and European Honey Buzzards and incredible numbers of Black Storks, White Pelicans, Ospreys, Booted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, Black Kites, Red-footed Falcons, Western Marsh Harriers, Montagu’s Harriers, Pallid Harriers, Levant Sparrowhawks, etc. pass overhead.

For lunch we will stop at a traditional restaurant serving delicious Bulgarian dishes and good local wines.

Best time to take this tour: April - October