I didn't actually enter the "delta" itself, but rather the surrounding area east of the danube called dobrogea. Dobrogea is excellent for birds, but a boat trip into the delta would have been great but wasn't possible (time constraints). So doubtless I missed some species and spectacles because of this. We based oursleves for the 4 nights at Enisala Safari Village, a very nice lodge near Babadag. I did quite a lot of birding around Enisala, and the main other sites we visited were: Histria, Vadu, Salt lakes near Murighiol, lake razim, and areas around the Macin Mountains.
The tempreture was usually mid-20's, but was above 30 on the drive there and back. 20's isn't that warm compared to what we got when I lived there, and this was because of the constant NE wind from russia!
My list from the trip is as follows:
BOLD - lifer
ITALICS - new for romania
black-necked grebe
great crested grebe
white pelican
dalmatian pelican
cormorant
pygmy cormorant
bittern (booming)little bittern
night heron
squacco heron
little egret
great white egret
grey heron
purple heron
white stork
spoonbill
mute swan
greylag goose
shellduck
ruddy shelduck
mallard
gadwall
wigeon
garganey
pochard
red-crested pochard
feruginnous duck
booted eagle
marsh harrier
montagu's harrier
long-legged buzzard
common buzzard
honey buzzard
kestrel
red-footed falcon
hobby
pheasant
moorhen
coot
oystercatcher
avocet
black-winged stilt
stone curlew
collared pratincole
little ringed plover
ringed plover
kentish plover
grey plover
lapwing
turnstone
curlew sandpiper
little stint
redshank
ruff
black-headed gull
slender-billed gull
mediterranean gull
yellow legged gull
caspian gull
lesser black-backed gull
great black-headed gull
little gull
sandwich tern
common tern
black tern
white-winged black tern
whiskered tern
wood pigeon
collared dove
turtle dove
cuckoo
long-eared owl
little owl
swift
hoopoe
bee-eater
roller
green woodpecker
syrian woodpecker
middle spotted woodpecker
wryneck
skylark
crested lark
wood lark
calandra lark
sand martin
swallow
house martin
tawny pipit
white wagtail
yellow wagtail
nightingale
redstart
wheatear
isabelline wheatear
stonechat
blackbird
blackcap
lesser whitethroat
savis warbler (heard)
reed warbler
paddyfield warbler
great reed warbler
icterine warbler
olivaceous warbler
chiffchaff (heard)
spotted flycatcher
great tit
marsh tit
sombre tit
bearded tit
nuthatch
red-backed shrike
lesser grey shrike
magpie
jay
jackdaw
rook
hooded crow
starling
rose-coloured starling
golden oriole
house sparrow
spanish sparrow
tree sparrow
chaffinch
linnet
goldfinch
greenfinch
hawfinch
reed bunting
corn bunting
ortolan bunting
A list of 200 is reachable as I've heard about many who have achieved this. I saw 132 birds in total, which for me is LOADS, including 31 lifers and 15 new bird for Romania. The reason some may view this total as "a little on the low side" is because:
a) My dad was taking me I couldn't make him drive all the time and everywhere
b) I didn't have a guide or fellow birders for help
c) I did'nt go into the "heart" of the delta
d) I'm not that experienced (well reasonably
)photos and day by day highlights to come!
