Author; David Lee, Southend RSPB Members Group

 Introduction

Having taken up birding two years ago this was my first attempt at an organised foreign trip to see birds. My choice of Romania was dictated simply by my wanting a European holiday and the fact that, as a teacher, I was limited to the dates I could go. A search of various companies on the Internet proved fairly fruitless but Avian Adventures came up trumps. In the main trip section I’ve listed birds in the order I noted them down at each site.

The Trip 

Saturday 27^th

An early start catching the first train of the day from Leigh-on-Sea, a taxi across London to Paddington and the Heathrow Express got me to Heathrow by 6:10 for an 8:30 flight to Bucharest. On the way out the cloud cleared in time to see Sizewell Power Station and Minsmere in the distance.

Arriving at Bucharest we were greeted by James, our guide, and his Romanian assistant Diana and taken to our LDV minibus where the luggage was loaded on the roof rack and then off to Bucharest to change our money into Lei. 50 US Dollars resulted in 1,620,00 Lei. It was then time to dive east to our resort of Neptun on the Black Sea.

Along the way James called out any birds seen and three stops for refreshment or comfort allowed us to see Little Egret. White Stork, Kestrel, Hobby, Collared Dove, Roller, Barn Swallow, House Martin, House Sparrow and Goldfinch before arriving at our destination at 20:50 local time. Neptun, being a popular seaside resort, and it being Saturday, meant that a thriving and noisy nightlife was in full swing.

Sunday 28^th 

A 7:15 pre-breakfast walk around the hotel grounds and on to the Black Sea brought early morning views of House Martin, Swift, Blue tit, Blackbird, Red-backed Shrike, Hooded Crow, Greenfinch, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Little Gull and Oystercatcher. 

After breakfast a trip to the Hagieni forest east of Mangalia, close to the Bulgarian border, gave us views of Lesser Grey Shrike, Turtle Dove, Wheatear and Roller along the way. The minibus was parked on a dirt track and we walked through scrub to a viewpoint overlooking a valley. Yellow Wagtail was seen in the bushes and distant views of circling Levant Sparrowhawk and Honey Buzzard were obtained through the telescopes. Walking back gave us Sand Martin and Golden Oriole flying over before we walked down a track to the valley bottom. On the way down the slope an obliging Turtle Dove was perched on a pylon, giving us clear views of its plumage. Bee-eater and Hawfinch flying over completed the morning’s viewing.

After lunch we walked up the other side of the valley which gave us exquisite views of Bee-eaters circling overhead as they fed and low views of  Honey Buzzard and  juvenile  Levant Sparrowhawk.

Returning to Mangalia one of our group spotted a Marsh Harrier so the minibus was reversed and taken off road for a better view. This also gave us Yellow Wagtail and Grey Heron, both on the ground.

After a refreshment stop in Mangalia we headed to a large pond, a bit to the north, at the edge of the resort of Saturn. Here we had great views of Coot, Mute Swan, Ferruginous Duck, Common Tern, Pochard, Purple Heron, Little Bittern and Great Reed Warbler.

For our final stop of the day we drove north, past Neptun, to Lake Techirghiol. Here we were greeted with views of Common Sandpiper, Black-necked Grebe, Rook, Mediterranean Gull, Kestrel, Sandwich Tern, Little Gull and Yellow-legged Gull. Our return was blocked by level crossing barriers but, while we waited, James spotted two Crested Lark amongst the rubbish by the side of the road together with a Great Reed Warbler in the bushes at the edge of the sewage works.

Monday 29^th 

An early morning walk brought a sight of a flock of 15 Cormorant over the Black Sea and Common Tern, Swallow, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Hooded Crow and Red-backed Shrike in the area around the hotel. An 8:00 departure from Neptun gave us some very good views of Cuckoo on the wires as we neared the main road as well as more fleeting glimpses of Lesser Grey Shrike, Whiskered Tern and Hoopoe. The main road then took us north, through the busy town of Constanta, up the coast road to Vadu. Here we departed along a bumpy track past a disused uranium ore-processing factory. We stopped about half a mile past the factory between two ponds dug to receive the waste from the factory. These proved to be an absolute haven for waders and provided the richest variety, in one site, of the whole trip. The species seen were: Lapwing, Common Tern, Little Tern, Shelduck, Ruff, Little Ringed Plover, Collared Pratincole, Little Bittern, Curlew Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Black-necked Grebe, Kentish Plover, White Stork, Marsh Harrier, Little Gull, Black-winged Stilt, White-winged Black Tern, Greylag Goose, Black Tern, Garganey, Kingfisher, Common Sandpiper, Dalmatian Pelican, Green Sandpiper, Little Stint, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Yellow Wagtail, Temminck’s Stint, Crested Lark, Great Reed Warbler, Bee-eater, Gadwall and Sand Martin.  As we were driving back along the track James stopped the minibus because he had spotted two Stone Curlew. How he did this from a moving minibus I don’t know. We all got out and viewed them with telescopes and noticed Avocet on a neighbouring pond.

A drive then took us for lunch to Histria, a site of a Roman settlement, off the main road. Here were a large number of  Barn Swallow on the wires and White Wagtail in the scrub. On our return we stopped to view some ponds that had almost dried up. James pushed his way through a thin bank of reeds and, once we were sure that the ground was firm enough, several of us followed him. We were rewarded with a clear view of a Paddyfield Warbler together with Yellow Wagtail and Curlew. Geoff, one of our party, also spotted a small, bright green Tree Frog on the reeds. Geoff proved to be quite good at spotting amphibians through the trip.

A short way on James pulled off the road to show us a flock of White Pelican flying over. We were greeted with an ominous hissing form the front, left tyre. While James replaced it with the spare we birded on the shores of the neighbouring lake. This gave me a view of a perched Kingfisher and a little later a Great White Egret flew over.

The repair finished we headed west, partly along a very bumpy dirt road, to Cheia Dobrogea. This is a gorge cut through a ridge of rock. We were hoping to get some good views of raptors but only managed Pied Wagtail and Kestrel together with several Suslik which are the European equivalent of the Prairie dog in North America.

The day ended with our reaching the Hotel Europolis in Tulcea and a very good meal, a short walk away, at the Restaurant Select. James at this time was getting the tyre repaired.

Tuesday 30^th

After breakfast we headed south to Denis Tepe, a large rocky hill, in search of more raptors. Along the route we saw Magpie, Roller, Barn Swallow, Jackdaw, Goldfinch and Starling. At first sight Denis Tepe looked completely barren but soon our other James, one of the group, spotted two more Stone Curlew. These obligingly sat in full view for a while, occasionally moving. As we walked across the scrub we also saw Yellow Wagtail, Corn Bunting, Northern Wheatear, a Long-legged Buzzard flying away, Tawny Pipit, Short-toed Lark and several Suslik.

A short drove back to the main road brought us to the site of a stork’s nest where James had previously seen a flock of Spanish Sparrow. Unfortunately the only birds we saw were House Sparrow, Lesser Whitethroat and Stork. 

A drive further south took us to Babadag where we branched off the main road along a rather pot-holed road to Enisala with views of Lesser-Grey Shrike and Collared Dove along the way. Here we stopped on a hill overlooking a wetland on the edge of the large Lake Razim. This gave us good views of a Bee-eater sitting on a wire and two Syrian Woodpecker in a nearby tree. Looking through the telescope at the ponds below gave us Ferruginous Duck and Mute Swan. A short drive on to a bank with a Bee-eater colony and a Hoopoe flying by and briefly landing while a Kestrel flew overhead. We then stopped a bit further on by three reservoirs where we saw Grey Heron, Cormorant, Shelduck and Great Crested Grebe with Sand Martin flying over.

Lunch was taken on the south side of Babadag forest. Here it proved impossible to hear any birdcalls due to the din set up by the Cicadas. The only birds seen were one adult and two juvenile Honey Buzzard flying overhead. Most of us were glad to leave due to the large number of mosquitoes in the area.

After lunch we returned north and stopped for a walk inside Babadag forest. Here it pleasantly shaded but there were only a few bird calls and, until we had almost returned, no sight of a bird. However we saw Great Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Hawfinch, Blackbird, Great spotted Woodpecker and Song Thrush as we came out of the large trees into more open ground.

As we then drove north and then west the sky clouded over and, as we stopped near the monastery of Cilic Delic, there were a few distant claps of thunder. Here we saw another Great Spotted Woodpecker, Booted Eagle, Chaffinch and Great Tit.

Our final stop was at Parches where we first stopped on a hill overlooking the Danube with Ukraine in the distance. Here we saw a Common Buzzard, first on the ground and then flying away. We then drove down the hill to view to wetlands below. At his stop there was light rain but we saw Whiskered Tern, repeatedly flying back and forth, Coot, Moorhen and a Night Heron. Driving uphill we saw a large flock of juvenile Rose-coloured Starling in a tree, Bee-eater and Lesser Grey Shrike on the wires and a nice close up view of a Crested Lark with its crest raised.

As we approached Tulcea James kept on peering out of his window at the errant “repaired” tyre which James had refitted to the front, left wheel. This proved to be going down again so once again we set off for our evening meal without James although he did manage to get to the restaurant late after a new inner tube had been fitted.

Wednesday 31^st 

I got up early to walk down to the Danube before breakfast. There I saw Collared Dove, Black-headed Gull, Jackdaw and Common Tern. On my return to the hotel I met some others in our party who had seen the minibus with a completely flat tyre. This led to our party, with Diana, walking to the Danube while James went, yet again, to get the tyre seen to. The fault proved to be a faulty valve, which was soon replaced, and we got off soon after 9:00. This proved to be the last time that we had trouble with the tyre.

Our journey out of Tulcea to the south east brought us views of Cuckoo, Common Tern, White Stork, Hooded Crow and Yellow Wagtail. Out first stop was on the northern shore of Lake Razim with a large number of birds on and flying over the water. The species seen were: Purple Heron, Little Egret, Kingfisher, a huge swimming flock of White Pelican, Red-footed Falcon, Spotted Redshank, Glossy Ibis, Curlew, Ruff, Great Reed Warbler, Grey Heron, Greenshank, Great White Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Greylag Goose, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit and Black-headed Gull. At one point many of the pelicans took off and circled around us gradually gaining height until some were quite high.

A short drive further brought us to Murighiol where we sought some welcome shade for drinks before retracing our step to Lake Saratura, just outside the village. Here we walked across the scrub to the edge and sought the shade of a bird hide in legs. The lake gave us views of: Mute Swan, Black-winged Stilt, a large number of Common Tern, Black-necked Grebe, Common Pochard, Shelduck, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, and two Caspian Tern.

We then drove back towards Mahmudia stopping for lunch in the shade of some trees at Lake Pietri. Here we saw two juvenile Bearded Reedling, Purple Heron and Squacco Heron. 

A short drive brought us to Mahmudia where we off-loaded the luggage. James then put the minibus in a secure compound and we waited for the ferry “Maramurei” to take us down the Danube to Sfantu Gheorghe. The ferry arrived, on time, at 15:00 and we settled down for a leisurely cruise. This took us through low wooded areas and then reed beds. Along the way we saw Little Egret, Grey Heron, Barn Swallow, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Tern, Squacco Heron, Roller, Cormorant, White-tailed Eagle and Little Bittern. At one point the ferry had to slow down because, ahead of us, a Wild Boar was swimming across the channel. At Sfantu Gheorghe we disembarked where a horse and cart was waiting to take our luggage up the dusty road to our lodgings. Sfantu Gheorghe is a fishing village, close to the mouth of the Danube. There are no hotels but people can stay in private houses. We were all agreed that our accommodation was the best we had all trip. Each room was clad on floor, walls and ceiling with pine. Some of us decided to walk with James along part of the dyke surrounding the village. Along our walk we saw White Wagtail, Red-footed Falcon, Hobby, Bee-eater, Grey Heron, Night Heron, Hooded Crow, Tree Sparrow and Olivaceous Warbler.

August 1^st

Any thought that we would be having a quiet time in this isolated spot were dispelled by the early wake up calls of Roosters soon after 3:00! At 6:30 we gathered for a pre-breakfast walk along the edge of the Danube. This gave us Hooded Crow, Barn Swallow, Collared Dove, Olivaceous Warbler, Tree Sparrow, Coot, Cormorant, Lesser Whitethroat and Mallard. At one point we saw a Little Bittern doing its classic splits with one foot on one reed and the other on an adjacent reed. Further on we saw Goldfinch, Starling, White Wagtail, Penduline Tit, Common Tern, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Caspian Gull, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Blue Tit, Purple Heron and Magpie.

After breakfast we boarded an open boat with a large and noisy car engine, just to the rear of amidships, and set off through a channel south of the Danube. Along the way we saw Little Bittern, Hobby, Squacco Heron and Pygmy Cormorant. Eventually emerging for the channel in to a large, shallow lagoon we had to tranship to a smaller boat, four at a time. To be poled to a point where it was so shallow that we had to paddle ashore on Sahalin Island, which separated the lagoon from the Black Sea. This was a very low island with only very low vegetation. This proved to be the hottest time of our whole trip in the direct sunlight with no shade. We wandered slowly along the shore of the island with a large number of species in view. These were: Black-winged Stilt, Mute Swan, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Dalmatian Pelican, White Pelican, Sandwich Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Black Tern, Glossy Ibis, White-winged Black Tern, Coot, Yellow Wagtail, Gill-billed Tern, Marsh Harrier, Oystercatcher, Common Redshank, Greylag Goose, Purple Heron, Caspian Tern and Cormorant. Out return trip gave us Roller and Lesser Grey Shrike as well.

We all decided that a time of shade was called for so we rested for a couple of hours before setting out a 16:00 to walk round the village dyke. This gave us Little Egret, Cuckoo, Roller, White Stork, Red-footed Falcon, Yellow Wagtail, Black-headed Gull, Purple Heron, Bee-eater with some in holes in the bank of a channel, White Wagtail, Hobby and Kingfisher.

Fish featured heavily on the menu while we were at Sfantu Gheoghe although some us wouldn’t have objected to roast cockerel.

August 2^nd 

A very early start was required to get the luggage down to the landing stage, again by horse and cart, to catch the ferry “Malnas” upstream. Breakfast was taken as a picnic as we went on our way. Along our route we saw Hobby, Kingfisher, Dalmatian Pelican, Pygmy Cormorant, Grey Heron, Hooded Crow, Moorhen (swimming across the Danube), Squacco Heron, Little Bittern, Magpie, Greylag Goose, Cormorant, Little Egret, Common Tern, Night Heron (juvenile and adult side by side), Red Fox (on the bank), Glossy Ibis, Green Sandpiper, White Wagtail, Black Stork (on a post by on the bank), White Pelican, Stock Dove, White Stork and Black-headed Gull.

Arriving at 9:00 at Mahmudia we quickly offloaded the luggage and James retrieved the minibus. Then it was back to Tulcea for some drinks and a loo stop. The loos on the boat were primitive, to say the least, and stank. On the way James and I spotted a Steppe Polecat running across the road ahead of us.

 After Tulcea we headed west with a brief stop when we spotted some circling raptors which turned out to be Booted Eagle. A stop at Lake Fundata, for lunch, gave us the chance to view more waders in what looked like a flooded quarry. These were: Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Spotted Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Little Ringed Plover, Black-necked Grebe, White Wagtail, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Lesser Grey Shrike, Little Gull and Common Sandpiper. Further on we passed a large number of Jackdaw and Rook before we began to lose the sunshine and head towards the Carpathian Mountains. After some rain and distant lightning we arrived at our destination, the mountain resort of Sinaia, in sunshine once more.

A walk through the adjacent woods, before the evening meal, gave us Coal Tit, Song Thrush, Robin, Hawfinch, Chaffinch, House Martin and Great Spotted Woodpecker. I was rather annoyed when, just as James had got his scope on the Hawfinch, a helicopter came over, not far above the trees, and scared it off.

Our final sortie of the day was a late drive up rough roads to the town rubbish tip at 22:00. Here we turned off all the lights and waited for our eyes to adjust to the dark. The sound of dogs barking was a good sign James said. This turned out to be true because, when we used a spotlight, there were two juvenile Brown Bears. These were soon joined by an adult female and her three cubs.

August 3^rd

I got up early and wandered around the hotel where I saw Lesser Whitethroat, Great Tit, Blue Tit, House Sparrow and Robin. We then met at 7:00 for out pre-breakfast walk, which took us through the grounds of Castle Peles. This was built in the late 1800’s as a summer palace. The grounds contain several buildings with plenty of trees and meadow with long grass. This gave us: Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Black Redstart, Dunnock, Nuthatch, Marsh Tit, Blackbird, Coal Tit, House Martin and White Wagtail.

After breakfast we headed south and then west climbing on a very bumpy, unpaved road up into the Transylvanian Alps. We were surprised how many other cars were making the same journey but found out later why. Most of the cars were Romanian Dachia, which looked as though they would never survive the rough track. Shortly before we reached the summit of the pass James pulled over and proceeded to inspect the same wheel that we had had trouble with before. This time it was a loose suspension bolt. He suggested that we walk on ahead and would catch us up when he had affected repairs. This gave us excellent views over an alpine valley where we saw Common Buzzard, Mistle Thrush and Kestrel. After half an hour James caught us up and we went over the summit and down the other side seeing Linnet and Siskin as we drove along.

Having passed the summit the clouds built up and having driven round a reservoir we entered a gorge. Here we stopped to examine the walls for Wallcreeper as it started to rain lightly. There was no sign however but in the running river we saw Grey Wagtail and Dipper. Emerging from the other side of the gorge the sun returned and we saw several more Dipper as we entered a large flat area and found out why the cars had been coming up into the mountains as we approached large camping area. Parking on the far side of the camping area we examined another rock face where several climbers were practising their skills. With no sign of Wallcreeper we then ascended a path to Pestera Ialomitei, a monastery set in a cave. Here June, one of our group, spotted the errant Wallcreeper on the rock face above the cave. It gave us good close views for about five minutes as it hopped over the rock face occasionally flashing its red and black and white banded wings as it maintained its balance. It then flew across the valley and disappeared. Soon after this Diana came out of the cave to announce “a little red bird”. Sure enough it was a second Wallcreeper which gave us even more time to enjoy its plumage.

We then returned, past the reservoir, for a stop for lunch at a café before heading up another bumpy road to a limestone plateau at Zanoaga. Here we were hoping for Alpine Accentor but the only birds seen were Black Redstart and a third Wallcreeper in the distance. Our next stop was in a flat-bottomed alpine valley where we were hoping for Alpine Swift. No sign of them but James caught a Yellow-bellied Toad in a shallow pool and several Kestrel were seen flying overhead. Our final scheduled stop was along a track by the summit. We had been hoping for Water Pipit but saw Northern Wheatear and Raven. A rapid flight of small birds was identified, by James, as Crossbill.

Just over the summit we made an unscheduled stop when James noticed Tree Pipit in the trees half way down the valley. I then noticed a Whinchat, on the other side of the road, sitting on top of a grass stem.

August 4^th 

I again got up early and had my own walk, at 6:00, around the place gardens as the sun rose. I saw Blackbird, Robin, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Marsh Tit and Coal Tit. Some of our group then met at 7:00 for a brief drive up the mountain, then a walk along a road through the woods. On the drive we saw a Red Squirrel. The walk gave little but we did see Raven, White Wagtail, Barn Swallow, a circling Goshawk, Goldfinch, Black Redstart and Bluetit. We heard what sounded like Goldcrest of Firecrest but got no sighting.

After breakfast we headed north and then west to stop in the woods at Belvedera. Here we walked along a woodland track seeing Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren and Nuthatch. We then drove out into a flat area north of the mountains seeing Hooded Crow and White Stork as we drove along. A planned stop in the woods near Cristian was abandoned when we saw a large number of people heading for the woods. Obviously something special was going on. On the way to Vulcan we stopped when Geoff spotted a Great Grey Shrike on the wires. On the far side of Vulcan James reversed off the road to park and unfortunately put the left, rear wheel in a ditch. While he tried to dig his way out we walked on to see Lesser Spotted Eagle that James had brought us to see. Also circling around were Common Buzzard. Eventually we returned to the road to see a tractor drive along, reverse, attach a tow rope and pull James out of trouble. We stopped there for lunch and before setting off again saw a Sparrowhawk flying across the fields.

Having driven on and stopped at a café for drinks, where we only saw Starling on the maize heads, we headed on to stop by a bridge on the River Olt at M²rerius. Here we saw a Tree Sparrow with its beak containing a grasshopper and a cricket, Purple Heron, Coot and a juvenile Common Redstart. We then returned to Sinaia via Braêov.

A walk on my own through the palace grounds, before the evening meal gave me White Wagtail, Wren, Marsh Tit, Chaffinch and House Sparrow.

A second attempt at a late evening bear watch produced a totally silent rubbish tip with no dogs or bears in sight.

August 5^th

A final early morning walk through the palace grounds at 7:00 brought us Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Robin, House Sparrow, White Wagtail, Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Great Tit, Black Redstart, Chiffchaff and Blackbird.

Our final outing was into the hills above Sinaia where we parked the minibus and continued on foot, along the woodland road and then up into an alpine meadow. Here we saw a Red-backed Shrike feeding a juvenile, Mistle Thrush, Jay, Collared Flycatcher, Common Whitethroat and Tree Pipit. Going back into another portion of woods we saw Marsh Tit feeding on seeds heads and then climbed to a viewpoint looking down into the valley with Sinaia on our right and Buêteni to our left. Here we saw Alpine Swift and Honey Buzzard flying. Walking back along another woodland path brought us to an area with coniferous forest on out left and open space on our right. Here we heard Willow Tit in the forest. Most of our party ventured into the trees but I stayed out, as I thought I’d get a better view if it came our way. I was rewarded with a brief glimpse as it came out of the tree to feed on a seed head before returning to the trees, never to be seen again.

Having returned to our hotel we loaded the bags and headed south for Bucharest Airport. Our final birding took place on a pond as we took a brief lunch stop. Here we saw Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Moorhen, Tree Sparrow and White Stork.

We arrived at the airport at 14:30 to find out flight had been delayed by one hour, due to a late arrival of our plane. Our return journey caught up some time and we arrived back at Heathrow only a half hour late. 

The Complete List of Species Seen

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