ROMANIA 2007

“It is not often that a tour can boast the first bird of the trip as Long-eared Owl but 11 staring back from within the confines of the monastery courtyard at Caldurasani provided the perfect start. This was quickly followed by a fascinating tour of Bucharest including many of its notorious locations brought into the public eye by Caucescu, and ending with a sumptuous al fresco dinner before boarding the sleeper train to Sucaeva.

Our first full day saw us admiring the remarkable Sucaevita Monastery complete with its immaculate frescoes that adorn both the interior and exterior walls whilst above us an obliging pair of juvenile Goshawks tussled over a nearby hill and Spotted Nutcrackers called from the conifers. The next morning Moldovitsa Monastery looked beautiful, set against a back-drop of high wooded hills and swirling mist, and later a visit to the incredibly hospitable Glicheria entertained us as she illustrated the process of egg decoration known as the ‘lost wax technique’. Outside Ring Ouzel, Grey-headed Woodpecker and Red Squirrels all put in appearances and a post lunch walk found us not only admiring beautiful rolling scenery but Crested Tits, Whinchats and Bullfinches along the Obcinele Bucovinei ridge. The final burst of activity came in the form of a hyperactive mixed flock of warblers, including Icterine and Wood, and beautiful snowy-headed Long-tailed Tits.

The next two days saw us absorb many beautiful sights including four stunning monasteries complete with icon and carpet workshops, inconceivably preserved external frescoes often displayed in crisp morning air and with the accompaniment of a suite of exciting avian events including; eight Lesser Spotted Eagles together, 17 Hawfinches, Black Woodpecker, Great Grey and Red-backed Shrikes, chuckling Fieldfares and Spotted Nutcrackers to name but a few. At the end of all this we had made it south east, across the Danube and to Tulcea ready to board the pontoon for our foray deep into the delta.

With sunrise over the Sulina Channel a barrage of spectacular ornithological experiences began. The elegantly undulating lines of White Pelicans as they streamed to their next feeding grounds, Pygmy and Great Cormorants, Little and Great Egrets and, once in the labyrinth of channels, lakes and swamps, an obliging clan of Bearded Tits, a particularly showy Little Bittern, White-winged Black and Whiskered Terns, acres of coots, ducks and Mute Swans and even our first Dalmatian Pelican. Lunch was a welcome break from the brain overload that the morning had become, and the afternoon was a far more leisurely affair involving cold draft beer in the shade of our houseboat. The next day the delta had more surprises up its sleeve with an impressive fly-by from an adult White-tailed Eagle bringing the day tally to seven of these monstrous birds, over 3000 Pygmy Cormorants, 1000 Great Egrets, Penduline Tits, a day-perched Tawny Owl, as well as a pick ‘n’ mix of Squacco, Night and Purple Herons, White-winged Black, Whiskered, Caspian and Common Terns, and White Pelicans.

The next day saw us back on dry land but still admiring the beauty of the delta as a flock of 2500 White Pelicans formed an imposing fishing fleet across Lake Somova. Just inland a Sombre Tit gave a first class performance supported by Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, Golden Oriole, Bee-eaters and Hoopoes, not to mention the continual stream of Honey Buzzards and Booted Eagles overhead. Two Levant Sparrowhawks proved very obliging nearby, as did an Imperial Eagle at our ice-cream stop, whilst down at Histria we managed not only Red-breasted Flycatcher and Paddyfield Warbler but also a juvenile Citrine Wagtail, a rare species in Romania. Our final full day was by no means disappointing, starting with 55 Broad-billed Sandpipers and finishing with 40 Collared and two Black-winged Pratincoles, not to mention Red-footed Falcon, 30 Rollers, Bluethroat, Thrush Nightingale, Isabelline Wheatear, and Lesser Grey Shrike in between.

The tour combined the very best of Romanian culture and ornithology and proved to be the most productive trip yet, recording 191 (plus two heard-only) species including no-less than nine write-ins.” Dan Brown

BIRD LIST

This is a list of all the species seen during the last seven tours to Romania in the autumn.

Column A = Number of tours on which this species has been recorded.

Column B = Number of days this species was seen on the last tour.

Column C = Maximum daily count for this species on the last tour

H = Heard only

A B C

7	Little Grebe	4	10	Tachybaptus ruficollis
7	Great Crested Grebe	5	15	Podiceps cristatus
6	Red-necked Grebe	1	4	Podiceps grisegena
6	Black-necked Grebe	1	350	Podiceps nigricollis
7	Continental Cormorant	5	300	Phalacracorax (carbo) sinensis
7	Pygmy Cormorant	3	3000	Phalacracorax pygmaeus
7	White Pelican	4	2500	Pelecanus onocratalus
7	Dalmatian Pelican	1	2	Pelecanus crispus
5	Little Bittern	2	2	Ixobrychus minutus
7	Night Heron	3	300	Nycticorax nycticorax
7	Squacco Heron	3	200	Ardeola ralloides
7	Little Egret	6	150	Egretta garzetta
7	Great Egret	5	1000	Egretta alba
7	Grey Heron	6	140	Ardea cinerea
7	Purple Heron	4	30	Ardea purpurea
6	Black Stork	6	6	Ciconia nigra
7	White Stork	4	2000	Ciconia ciconia
6	Glossy Ibis	2	50	Plegadis falcinellus
7	Spoonbill	3	40	Platalea leucorodia
7	Mute Swan	5	200	Cygnus olor
7	Greylag Goose	4	1000	Anser anser
7	Shelduck	1	20	Tadorna tadorna
2	Ruddy Shelduck	1	100	Tardorna ferruginea
6	Gadwall	4	50	Anas strepera
7	Teal	3	1	Anas crecca
7	Mallard	7	1000	Anas platyrhynchos
2	Pintail			Anus acuta
6	Garganey	5	100	Anas querquedula
6	Shoveler	1	50	Anas clypeata
7	Pochard	4	300	Aythya ferina
6	Ferruginous Duck	3	10	Aythya nyroca
1	Smew			Mergellus albellus
2	Red-crested Pochard	1	2	Netta rufina
1	Goosander			Mergus merganser
4	Honey Buzzard	4	180	Pernis apivorus
6	White-tailed Eagle	1	7	Haliaeetus albicilla
4	Short-toed Eagle			Circaetus gallicus
7	Marsh Harrier	8	25	Circus aeruginosus
3	Hen Harrier			Circus cyaneus
3	Pallid Harrier			Circus macrourus
6	Montagu’s Harrier	2	2	Circus pygargus
4	Goshawk	4	4	Accipiter gentilis
4	Sparrowhawk	3	1	Accipiter nisus
5	Levant Sparrowhawk	2	3	Accipiter brevipes
7	Common Buzzard	8	30	Buteo buteo
5	Long-legged Buzzard			Buteo rufinus
6	Lesser Spotted Eagle	2	18	Aquila pomarina
3	Imperial Eagle	1	1	Aquila heliaca
6	Booted Eagle	1	4	Hieraeetus pennatus
3	Osprey			Pandion haliaetus
1	Lesser Kestrel			Falco naumanni
7	Common Kestrel	5	10	Falco tinnunculus
5	Red-footed Falcon	2	1	Falco vespertinus
7	Hobby	6	10	Falco subbuteo
3	Peregrine	1	1	Falco peregrinus
1	Saker			Falco cherrug
4	Grey Partridge	1	2	Perdix perdix
1	Quail			Coturnix coturnix
5	Pheasant	2	10	Phasianus colchicus
5	Water Rail	3	3	Rallus aquaticus
1	Spotted Crake			Porzana porzana
3	Little Crake			Porzana parva
6	Moorhen	5	300	Gallinula chloropus
7	Coot	7	10000	Fulica atra
5	Eurasian Oystercatcher	1	10	Haematopus ostralegus
7	Black-winged Stilt	4	8	Himantopus himantopus
5	Avocet	2	1	Recurvirostra avosetta
3	Stone Curlew	1	4	Burhinus oedicnemus
6	Collared Pratincole	1	40	Glareola pratincola
1	Black-winged Pratincole	1	2	Glareola nordmanni
7	Little Ringed Plover	2	30	Charadrius dubius
6	Common Ringed Plover			Charadrius hiaticula
5	Kentish Plover	1	20	Charadrius alexandrinus
4	Grey Plover	2	1	Pluvialis squatarola
2	White-tailed Lapwing			Vanellus leucurus
7	Lapwing	4	40	Vanellus vanellus
7	Little Stint	1	25	Calidris minuta
4	Temminck's Stint	1	8	Calidris temminckii
4	Curlew Sandpiper	1	15	Calidris ferruginea
6	Dunlin	1	40	Calidris alpina
3	Broad-billed Sandpiper	1	55	Limicola falcinellus
7	Ruff	5	20	Philomachus pugnax
6	Common Snipe	4	20	Gallinago gallinago
7	Black-tailed Godwit	4	50