Two-day Birding Trip: Cape Kaliakra & Srebarna Lake

Two-day Birding Trip: Cape Kaliakra & Srebarna Lake

On this tour we will explore the birdlife in the spectacular steppes and cliffs of Cape Kaliakra and the Bulgarian El Dorado of waterbirds – Srebarna Nature Reserve. The tour starts from Varna or any of the resorts/ settlements to the north of Varna.

Best time: May - July

Day 1: Departure from your hotel: 8.30 h

Drive from Varna to the Srebarna Lake Nature Reserve via Cape Kaliakra;

Arrival at the Cape Kaliakra around 9.30 – 10.00;

Birding and lunch in a restaurant in the area;

Birds to be seen around Cape Kaliakra: European Shag (the Mediterranean ssp. desmarestii), Yelkouan Shearwater, Stone Curlew, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Alpine Swift, Greater Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, Tawny Pipit, Isabelline Wheatear, Pied Wheatear, Rose-coloured Starling; dolphins are possible in the sea.

Our first stop, Cape Kaliakra, is a picturesque nature and archaeological reserve on the Northern Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Here the plain flows more and more steeply towards the expanse of the sea and at the cape itself the sea cliff towers up to 70 m. Here are the last remnants of the Great Steppe, formerly occupying the bigger part of Dobrudzha. The kaleidoscopic hues of the wild peonies, irises and adonises in spring, the silver-greentints of the absinthe and thristles in summer and the light movements of the feather-grass in autumn, gracefully sweeping among the remnants of the ancient fortress of Kaliakra, create the special appeal of this area. Plants like the local endemics  Silene caliacrae & Centaurea caliacrae, as well as Paeonia tenuifolia, Paeonia peregrina, Adonis volgensis, Iris pumila, Bellevalia sarmatica, Ruta glaveolens, etc., are among the botanical specialties. Cape Kaliakra is one of the few places in Europe hosting the Rose-colored Starling, the Pied Wheatear and all five lark species, typical for the Balkan Peninsula.

The Stone Curlew, the Lesser Grey Shrike and the Isabelline Wheatear find refuge in  steppe vegetation, while the coastal cliffs are animated by the European Shags (ssp. desmarestii). The cape is a convenient point for watching the three dolphin species, occurring in the Black Sea – the Common Dolphin, the Bottle-nosed Dolphin and the Harbour Porpoise may be seen playing or chasing fish shoals in calm weather.

13.00 – 14.30 h – drive to Srebarna Lake and birding there;

Srebarna is the only Bulgarian nesting site for a colony of Dalmatian Pelicans. Here one can see the Pygmy Cormorant, all the European herons, bitterns and egrets, the Ferruginous Duck, the Spoonbill and the Glossy Ibis, the Whiskered Tern, the Black Turn and the White-winged Terns (May only), the White-tailed Eagle, Red-footed Falcon, Eurasian Penduline Tit and many other amazing birds.

Accommodation in a family-run hotel or licensed guest house in the region of Srebarna;

Day 2: Morning: birding at the Srebarna Lake Nature Reserve; Lunch in the village of Srebarna. Afternoon – drive back to the coast with stops for roadside birding. Arrival in Varna late in the afternoon.