Bulgaria 2023 - 17th to 30th September (Part 2)

 Day 9:

   Day 9 was probably the windiest day of the trip, building on the strong northeasterlies which had been battering KB for a few days. The entire trip can almost be split into two halves - the first half being of migrant diversity and abundance, the second digging for scarcities and a transition towards a more wintery/autumnal feel. The 25th was the first day where migrant turnover was more limited, with the exception of 16 Red-breasted Flycatcher and more Spanish Sparrow passage. To make the most of my time there, and given I couldn't travel too far from home, I decided to wander the few km down to Yailata, an archaeological reserve situated right on the coast with some decent looking habitat (and interesting geology/history.) I failed to crunch a flock of large birds flying low over the water a few miles out, likely pelicans, but was kept company by Red-veined Darter dragonflies and Clouded Yellow butterflies, with a few Red-breasted Flycatcher dropping in later on. 

On the walk down I'd had a brief look at a chat sp, which I saw for half a second before it dropped down deep into cover not to reemerge. First glimpse pointed towards Whinchat, but I put a reminder to look harder later on. I'm glad I did, as it quickly revealed itself as a stonechat sp, and an extremely tricky one at that. It took a while but eventually I gathered enough to suggest it was likely to be a Siberian Stonechat, though I did need to check notes later before sharing news. The ID was eventually made by the hint of a stripe above the eye, its extremely washed colour, as well as a largely pale, unstreaked rump. The record shots were eventually enough to reveal white on the outer tail feathers, suggesting the bird to be a 1st winter 'Caspian' Stonechat, a bird surely brought in from the Caspian Sea by the persisting northeasterlies we'd somewhat been cursing until this point. It was my first rarity found since arriving, and was an especially early record for the area - what felt like just reward for a lot of hours in the field. 

Hoopoe and the Black Sea

Med Gull

Not sure how this is still plugging away

Hoopoe

1st winter Caspian Stonechat

Day 10:

   The period shortly after first light, 0710-0730, was once again the most fruitful - a single immature Spoonbill + 3 Great White Egret (site firsts) went through, as did two Osprey. The Calandra Lark flock was now at least 67 birds, with another smaller group present further out on the Steppe. Red-throated Pipits were moving in higher numbers, all while warblers and grounded migrants remained but at steadily reducing numbers. Pete returned mid morning, at which point we went seeking for the Caspian Stonechat again. To no avail, but an interesting shrike sp (very pale, sounded different too) kept us searching for a while longer than anticipated. A flyby Black-throated Diver, Sedge Warblers in the grass (trip tick for me,) a Tawny Pipit and another skulky River Warbler briefly on one of the plots in the evening was the best of the rest for Kamen Bryag that day.  

The afternoon was spent visiting Shabla Tuzla again, in the hope the strong winds had blown bits in. It had - Avocets (4) and Whiskered Tern were new, wader and duck numbers were much higher and most notably, Little Gull (up to 51) and Greater Flamingo (61) numbers had jumped enormously. We briefly dropped in to a seawatching point on the way back to KB, where it was made all the more obvious how many birds were being pushed towards the coastline - including 00s of small gulls, terns and a handful of Yelk Shear and Arctic Skuas. A few minutes of Crested Lark action was followed by a return home to freshen up and head back out for a proper dinner for the first time in a few days, deserved and needed!

1cy Spoonbill

Tawny Pipit

Redstart and Red-backed Shrike

Crested Lark

Day 11:

   It was a much quieter morning on the 27th - numbers continued to drop, so there were 3 clear highlights. Barred Warbler (at last) and Mistle Thrush were on Peter's plot, the latter being surprisingly scarce - a single Black Redstart then made it onto another plot, before disappearing into someones garden. Common Redstarts were interestingly starting to become more abundant along the tracks, whilst Red-breasted Flycatcher numbers remained steady. 

In the afternoon we drove to Durankulak, a lake and nature reserve area north of Kamen Bryag, for some birding change of scenery and to stay with Pavel, the owner of Branta Birding Lodge, a B&B for birders. There was more evidence here that the wind had pushed birds in, with 3000 Med Gulls just in one field. A few additions whilst stomping around a campsite with Pavel, then looking across the marsh, included lifer Pygmy Cormorant (30,) Ruddy Shelduck and a smattering of Redstart and RBF. The night was then spent at the Birding Lodge for dinner and a bit of actual work, helping Pavel prepare a few bits and bobs ahead of hosting the 'Eastern Birdfair' the year after. Be interesting to see how it goes, fingers crossed I may be able to go over to help/volunteer.

Red-throated Pipit

RBF

Caspian Gull

Pygmy Cormorants

Day 12:

   A slightly odd day was the 28th - initially, we were meant to be joining Durankulak's ringing camp for a morning which ended up not happening. Instead, after more outrageously good watermelon and a pair of White-tailed Eagles trying to pinch an Osprey's breakfast, we got to do some ringing in Pavel's garden. Spanish Sparrows dominated, with a mixture of beefy males, chirpy immatures and quiet females all ringed over a few hours, in addition to a dapper male Redstart, a Garden Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat and a few Willow Warblers. A few hours out in the field around Durankulak then produced a mixed warbler flock of predominantly Willow Warblers, as well as plenty of Stonechats etc, before we headed back to KB after lunch. [Huge thanks to Pavel and Tatiana for the food, hospitality, guiding etc.]

The only birds of real note when we stopped at Shabla Tuzla on the way back were 3 Caspian Terns, my first in Europe somehow. Little was sheltering back home when on evening surveys, so more time was spent watching Syrian Woodpeckers, RBFs etc etc. A Nightjar was the last bird of the day, seen on the way back from dinner. 

Cardinal

Pete + Redstart 

Spanish Sparrow

Wood Sandpiper

Day 13:

   Two days left! We were ever so slightly more optimistic now the winds had turned slightly to the north. We ventured to Kaliakra again for dawn, scoring 177 Alpine Swift, a Black-throated Diver on the sea, 4 migrant Woodlark, 13 Redstart and best of all: 14 Tree and 15 Red-throated Pipit, 1550 Spanish Sparrow heading out over the sea, and a kettle of raptors worth 20+ birds, which included 3 Black Kite and 16+ Sparrowhawks. A Pallid Swift on the way back was new for me too, with 3 more seen in the same town the next day.

Looking back, the penultimate day was actually really quite good. On top of the morning's birding at Kaliakra, the rest of the daylight was spent stomping round Kamen Bryag properly one last time. Migrant turnover was by now pretty limited, so we left some time to give the interesting shrike another bash, which helpfully resulted in the first Goldcrests and then Pete refinding the hemprichii Siberian Stonechat out on the steppe south of Kamen Bryag. Pavel joined us for about half an hour, as we got much better views of the bird with the sun behind us, as it flicked through the long grasses actively feeding next to a Whinchat. 

In the evening, driving for our last dinner at 'Seahorse' aka ('Mopcko Koncha,') we saw the final Nightjar of the trip, a very smart male, as well as a lifer, that being a Long-eared Owl which emerged from the trees in front. The full moon and clear night brought a bit more magic, as the sound of howling Golden Jackals filled Kamen Bryag for a second night, an unexpected, exciting and chilling wildlife experience. 

Alpine Swift

Spanish Sparrows

Wheatear

Spanish Sparrows

Alpine Swift

Alpine Swifts

Whinchat

Clouded Yellow

1st winter Caspian Stonechat - white outer tail on show

Unstreaked pale rump

Day 14:

   Myself and Pete by the last morning were pretty tired, and overall quite ready to go home. We devised a final plan for the day, to go to Kaliakra one more time at 08:30, after I finished my final surveys. It was quite quiet out, and bar a Greenfinch - a site tick for me - few birds were in the bushes. As I reached one of my last plots, the 177th/180th count of bird/butterfly/dragonfly for the 2 weeks, I heard a 'chuk' call I knew I hadn't heard whilst out in Bulgaria. The main 4 species which had been 'tacking,' 'ticking' or similar had been Red-breasted Flycatcher, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and Redstart, with the bird I was hearing being thicker and 'wetter,' making me instantly assume Dusky Warbler. I've been on the hunt for a UK Dusky Warbler for a while now, so hearing this bird I knew exactly what it was pretty much straight away. My recorder went on and as expected, a 2nd for Bulgaria was flitting in the dog roses just around the next corner, on the same 'plot 2b' the Caspian Stonechat had first been found on. The bird promptly disappeared by the time Pete arrived (within 2 minutes of me finding it,) but after some coordination, we tracked it down again an hour later, where a plan came together and Pete nailed the shots, as it briefly emerged in the undergrowth again. It'll be a shock to many including me, but I finally found a rare bird...

Later than anticipated, we eventually went to Kaliakra optimistic that more rare birds may be present. It turned into some morning, and with 4 Pintail through, a random immature Great White Pelican and a flyover Golden Plover, I brought up 140 species for the trip for me, with Pete stranded at 179. We also noticed an increase in a few 'winter' autumn migrants, with Robins, Song thrushes, Tree Sparrows, Linnets and Blackbirds all replacing chats, warblers and the like. Red-throated Pipit numbers were seemingly still steadily increasing. A single Purple Heron was one of the last birds seen before leaving the Cape, as we slowly dragged ourselves away. A few raptors were moving when we reached Kamen Bryag, including 2 Short-toed Eagle low over the steppe. A final attempt to see the Dusky Warbler again failed, but we left happy. 

Dusky Warbler - 2nd for Bulgaria

Calandra Larks

Hobby

Golden Plover

Great White Pelican

Short-toed Eagle

   The trip may have been for 'research,' but the birding whilst doing that and in general was exceptional. It was a bit of an eye opener, in both good and bad ways. The contrast between the UK and Bulgaria in terms of species abundance felt enormous - the number of everything, from Corn Buntings and larks to Red-breasted Flycatchers and Willow Warblers, was just so much higher than I've ever experienced in Europe. Totals of at least 519 Bee-Eater, 173 Red-backed Shrike, 141 Willow Warbler, 153 Lesser Whitethroat, 238 Red-breasted Flycatcher, and 0s/00s/000s of other species is not something I'm really used to at home, and so those are what made the trip so good for me. Really, the bird of the trip for me has to be the Red-breasted Flycatchers. They were seen on every day, and were often the only thing keeping me company when I was that bit more bored in the mid-day heat. Something about them, like with most chats and flycatchers - full of energy, character, with some very interesting vocalisations too. 

A final enormous thanks to Peter most of all for everything with the trip, which genuinely would've been impossible without his hosting/organisation/help/driving etc. Also a thanks to Roger, Pavel and Tatiana, Dylan and our accommodation hosts in Kamen Bryag for all the company and help. Will be back, eventually, hopefully...

Kaliakra

Dinner ft Shopska salad, Pete's favourite

Yailata