An 8-day tour to Romania’s Danube Delta and Black Sea coast, with four nights aboard our private floating hotel and three nights in a land-based hotel, in conjunction with our friends from Oriole Birding.

Romania

Romania is a fabulous country for birding and the Danube Delta is one of those sites which everyone should visit. The best way to explore is from a floating hotel, and we spend four days out in the Delta, going out on excursions in a small boat each day and mooring the hotel in a new, stunning location each evening. It is a truly amazing experience to wake up each morning in the middle of the Delta surrounded by its wildlife. Flocks of White Pelicans and Dalmatian Pelican and Pygmy Cormorants fish in the shallow waters, the channels are full of herons of all the European species and we should also see breeding Red-necked Grebes and Ferruginous Ducks here. European Rollers and Red-footed Falcons adorn the trees beside the channels, which also support a variety of woodpeckers.

On the other two days, we will also explore the Dobrogea, the region along the Black Sea coast. The salt lagoons here may hold Pallas’s Gulls and breeding Paddyfield Warblers in the reeds, while there may be some late passage waders too. The nearby woodlands have breeding rookeries of Red-footed Falcons, as well as Sombre Tit, Red-breasted Flycatcher and a great variety of woodpeckers. Inland, we will look for Isabelline Wheatears on the steppes and Pied Wheatears and Rock Thrushes in the rocky gorges. Rollers and Lesser Grey Shrikes are a common sight on roadside wires here too.

Raptors are common here too, and we will look for species such as Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle and Levant Sparrowhawk, while Saker is also possible with a bit of good fortune.

This is one of the most bird-filled European destinations and you can expect to see around 150 species.