Activity level:

easy/moderate walks

Eastern Europe / Romania

Birds and Bears
Romania, 10 days

Romania should be high on the list of destinations for every birdwatcher. The Danube Delta is for those who enjoy spectacular birdwatching: huge flocks of pelicans, waders, cormorants, reedbeds full of warblers, lakes and marshes full of ducks, herons, egrets and ibises. Woodpeckers, Hoopoe, Roller, Bee-eater and Golden Oriole are plentiful. On the Black Sea Coast of Dobrogea sought after raptors fly overhead and in the forests, hills and plains nearby you find Levant Sparrowhawk, Booted Eagle, Pied Wheatear, Rock Thrush and Sombre Tit. The extensive wetlands along the sea provide habitat for rare resident species and thousands of migrating birds as well, including pelicans, Ruddy Shelduck and Paddyfield Warbler.
The Carpathian Mountains provide a contrast and a good opportunity to discover exciting mountain species including Ural and Tengmalm’s Owl, Wallcreeper, Alpine Swift, Ring Ouzel and Nutcracker. There is also a chance to see rare mammals such as Chamois and Brown Bear.

Fact File
- 10 days in Romania
- start and finish in Bucharest
- visiting the Black Sea Coast, Danube Delta and the Southern Carpathians
- using 3 accommodations

Highlights
- 2 full days in the Danube Delta
- 1 day in Histria and Vadu, one of the best birding areas in Europe
- visit to the famous Babadag Forest
- birding in the Macin Hills
- exploring Cheia Gorge, a beautiful place not far from the coast
- visiting the lakes along the Black Sea
- 3 days in the Southern Carpathians
- superb scenery, rare birds and mammals

Accommodation
2 nights in Mamaia, a resort at the Black Sea
3 nights in the Danube Delta
4 nights in Zarnesti, in the Southern Carpathians

Departure Dates
28 August - 6 September, 2010

Price
Ask for the actual price.

Our price includes:
- all travel as noted in the itinerary;
- all accommodation based on shared rooms (most rooms are twin bedded), at most locations there are single rooms as well for extra charge (Please ask for a single room at the time of booking!);
- 3 meals per day, generally breakfast at the accommodation, packed lunch, dinner (consists of at least two courses);
- services of the leader(s);
- trip materials.

Not included:
- flight to and from Bucharest;
- optional programmes to places of interest and entrance fees involved;
- airport and other departure taxes, tips;
- food beyond generally 3 meals/day mentioned in the itineraries;
- excess baggage charges;
- telephone calls;
- alcoholic beverages;
- compulsory personal insurance.
If you have questions about the inclusion of any cost item, please contact us.

Activity level
Generally easy to moderate walks
Some longer drives expected

Optional programmes
Optional Bear and Wolf watching in the Carpathians
Optionally you can spend 2 days/3 nights on a floating hotel in the Danube Delta for extra cost

Itinerary

1	We meet at our English speaking guide at Bucharest Airport and then travel to Mamaia on the Black Sea Coast birding en route.

2	We visit one of the best birding areas in Europe, the wetlands of Histria and Vadu. Muddy pools, ponds, extensive reedbeds, steppe and sandy scrub attract many resident and migrating bird species including White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Ruddy Shelduck, Ferruginous Duck and Paddyfield Warbler.

3

We visit Cheia Gorge in the morning to look for raptors, Calandra Lark and Pied Wheatear. Then we head north towards the Danube Delta crossing Babadag Forest. Levant Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard, Short-toed, Booted and Lesser-Spotted Eagles, Sombre Tit have all been sighted here. We also stop at the castle of Enisala. We arrive to our floating hotel in Tulcea in the afternoon.

4-5

We spend 2 full days birding along the rich waterways in the heart of the Danube Delta! We visit Mila 23, Fortuna Lake and Letea Forest among others to look for pelicans, herons and egrets, Black Stork, Glossy Ibis, White-tailed Eagle, Bee-eater, Roller, Grey-headed Woodpecker and Thrush Nightingale. Optionally we can stay aboard a floating hotel throughout the 2 days otherwise we stay in a hotel in Tulcea and take small motorboats in the Delta.

6	We leave the Delta and head for the Macin Hills and to look for raptors, Rock Thrush and Isabelline Wheatear. Later on we drive north to reach our hotel in the Southern Carpathians.

7-9

In the Southern Carpathians we might see Nutcracker, Crested Tit and Ring Ouzel. We can make a small detour to see "Dracula’s Castle" near Bran. In Zarnesti Gorge we search for Wallcreeper, Alpine Swift, Ural and Tengmalm’s Owl. In the evening we have an optional visit to the bear hides to watch Brown Bear.

10	Travel through Sinaia, birding en route, to arrive to Bucharest Airport.