I spent 10 days on holiday (not at all a birding hol...) in Romania from the 11th the to the 21st of April 2009. The first 7 days were spent in the capital Bucharest, and the last 3 in the Piatra Crailui national park near Brasov in the Carpathians. The weather was very pleasant with the temp averaging around 20C and mostly sunny. after living in Bucharest previously for 2 years, I saw a surprising number of new birds for my romanian list in this very short time, mainly thanks to spring migration (and no comitments like school!).
The following list includes all the species seen at each site, however there are many birds that I used to see commonly, but failed to see on this trip because my efforts were focussed on finding additions to my (not so amazing) romanian list:
(lists in no particular order - sorry!)
BUCHAREST
most of my efforts here were concentrated on one of the drained lakes that run through the city for waders and the like. But the city parks are also good for many other species:
peregrine falcon
kestrel
ruff
black-tailed godwit
wood sandpiper
spotted redshank
greenshank
little ringed plover
marsh sandpiper
green sandpiper
black-winged stilt
dunlin
nuthatch
collared dove
swallow
house martin
swift
magpie
jay
blackcap
wood warbler
garganey
shoveler
gadwall
mallard
cormorant
yellow-legged gull
black-headed gull
hooded crow
jackdaw
rook
greenfinch
chaffinch
house sparrow
tree sparrow
lesser whitethroat
chiffchaff
blackbird
starling
great tit
blue tit
syrian woodpecker
great spotted woodpecker
great crested grebe
white wagtail
grey heron
robin
song thrush
redstart
black redstart
nightingale
buzzard
whiskered tern
common tern
black tern
pied flycatcher
collared flycatcher
notable species missed included lesser and middle spotted woodpecker, green and grey-headed woddpecker, wryneck, hawfinch, brambling, hoopoe, tree-creeper, spotted flycatcher, etc.
PIATRA CRAILUI
this area is a national park and contains a much richer birdlife than my list shows. I stayed in a village caled magura, above the town of zarnesti, which is within walking distance of alpine meadows, pristine coniferous forest and the zarnesti gorge, and just a 30 minute drive from brasov. (the altitude of the village is a round 1000m):
white stork
goldfinch
crested lark (en route)
linnet
starling
tree sparrow
house sparrow
swallow
house martin
crag martin
hooded crow
raven
rook
jackdaw
jay
magpie
coal tit
great tit
blue tit
marsh tit
black redstart
redstart
white wagtail
sky lark (heard)
blackbird
chaffinch
chiffchaff
collared dove
cuckoo
buzzard
kestrel
sparrowhawk
grey wagtail
lapwing (en route)
mistle thrush
fieldfare
dunnock
robin
tree pipit
water pipit
wheatear
yellowhammer
alpine swift
notable species missed included wallcreeper (which nests in the gorge), woodpeckers, ring ouzel, dipper, eagle, tengmalms, ural, and scops owl (all found in the gorge, at night unfortunatly!).
DUMBRAVITA
these are an area of lakes about 20 minutes drive from zarnesti. the area is now a nature resereve and has it's own website - www.dumbravita-natura2000.ro/ this site was great but I only had about four hours to enjoy it, when it really needs at least 1 day:
lesser whitethroat
grey heron
white stork
whiskered tern
white-winged black tern
(probable black tern)
cormorant
pygmy cormorant
mallard
pochard
shoveler
garganey
great crested grebe
coot
moorhen
yellow-legged gull
black-headed gull
lesser black-backed gull
linnet
goldfinch
savi's warbler
sedge warbler
buzzard
raven
hooded crow
magpie
jackdaw
starling
house sparrow
tree sparrow
blue tit
chaffinch
black redstart
collared dove
house martin
swallow
cuckoo
skylark
common sandpiper
great white egret
osprey
reed bunting
lesser spotted eagle
yellow wagtail
white wagtail
serin
Bold = lifer
Italics = new species for romania