Birds of Europe

Birdwatching in Bulgaria becomes incredibly popular in the last several years. The area "Suha reka" offers fantastic opportunities for birdwatching. There is an immense variety of habitats ranging from wetlands, dry steppe, cliffs and gorges, grassland, arable land, orchards, woodland, etc. The specific landscape features have defined large diversity of birds. At the moment are registered nearly 200 species and over 25 of them are birds of prey. Amongst the highlights are Ruddy Shellduck, Pallid Harrier, Lesser-spotted Eagle, Levant Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard, Stone Curlew, Common Crane, Syrian Woodpecker, Alpine Swift, Eagle Owl, Sombre Tit, Thrush Nightingale, Golden Oriole, Wryneck, Barred Warbler and many others. European Bee-eaters, Red-backed Shrikes and Rollers are very common birds in Spring and Summer.

The area of the cottage we provide for renting in Bulgaria is on the migratory path of many birds and birdwatching, even from the garden, can be extremely productive. Hundreds and thousands of birds fly over on migration time. Small birds like Red-breasted Flycatchers, Barred warblers and Thrush Nightingales hide in the gardens and you can enjoy them with your early morning coffee or tea. An hour in September birding in the backyard of the cottage produced about 20 species including local specialities described above.

Spring is probably the season that can offer the highest diversity of birds. From mid March to the end of April birders can expect the unexpected. Lesser-spotted and Syrian Woodpeckers start drumming and calling untired to mark their presence. The calls of Eagle and Little Owls echo in amongst the cliffs. Buzzards and Harriers soar in the sky as to enjoy the coming warmth of Summer. Every day can be very different. Migratory birds come and leave. An hour birding at certain locations can produce up to 40 species. This high number of bird species is identical to some of the richest in birds places in the country. For a day you can end up with about 70 species. Amongst the highlights at this time of the year that you might want to see are Ruddy Shellduck, Garganey, Ferruginous Duck, Egyptian Vulture, Citrine Wagtail (both subspecies werae and citreola), Demoiselle Crane, and many other birds that are typical to the region for most of the year. The highest number of records for migrating Pallid Harriers are from the area. Sometimes up to 10 birds are seen in the period March-April.

May and June are fantastic for all the coming breeding birds. The area gets alive. Red-backed Shrikes occupy the majority of the bushes. The calls of Bee-eaters and Golden Orioles fill up the air. Black Storks, Lesser-spotted Eagles, Short-Toed Eagles, Rollers, Levant Sparrowhawks, Wrynecks, Calandra Larks, Barred Warblers, these are only some of the birds you can expect to see at this time of the year. A week at this time of the year can result with about 150 species of birds.

July is fairly quiet for birds but fantastic for everyone who wants to enjoy butterflies, cycling, trekking or cultural heritage.

With the come of autumn in August, September and October, come the large flocks of White Storks and groups of birds of prey. At the end of August our guests can enjoy thousands of White Storks. In their peak time they can be over 20 000 for a day. Data for the area suggests that about 37 000 fly across the area. The birds of prey have been counted up to 5 000 individuals. The highest concentrations of migrating Common Buzzards and Lesser-spotted Eagles are at the end of September - beginning of October.

Passerines are also attractive. From the end of August to mid September, hundreds of Red-breasted Flycatchers and tens of Thrush Nightingales stop in the area to refuel on their migration. Some of these can even be seen in the rich vegetation in the backyard of the cottage.

Winter is fairly quiet in number of species but can be spectacular in number of individuals. Thousands of Geese fly over the cottage and feed in the fields in the area. Sombre Tit is much better visible and come to feed on the bird feeder in the backyard and drink water from the small pond. Lesser-spotted and Syrian Woodpeckers are also easy to find. Long-legged and Rough-legged Buzzards are also present in the area. If lucky you might even see overwintering Greater Spotted Eagle.

We have compiled a checklist of the birds seen from the garden and in the area. Every visitor is welcome to contribute to this list. To facilitate the process of information exchange amongst visitors, we have started a notebook where all the bird records are written for certain birdwatching routes. We have named the routes so visitors can find their way around and know what to expect.

We are happy to provide:

• maps of the area (Important Bird Area map, Prime butterfly area) and routes description: These are meant for self-catering birders but guiding is provided upon request at minor fee. The experience of our guides can be seen here.
• bird species list to be seen along the routes;
• blank species list for your personal use;
• binocular to be rented out.

We do not provide:

• spotting scopes. One will be available only if a guide is requested.

Facilities developed to attract birds to the backyard of the house:

• rich vegetation: bushes, vines, fruit trees, walnut-tree, etc.
• one bird feeder: mainly for seed eating birds;
• three nest boxes;
• small pond for birds to drink water;
• two photography hides suitable for birding as well: one underground hide right in front of the pond and one tower overlooking the branches of a walnut-tree. The hides are described below in the photography section.

We are happy to organise one-two day trips to the Black sea coast: about two-three hours drive from the cottage. The North East Bulgarian Black sea coast is one of the few places in the country where Paddyfield Warbler and Pied Wheatear breed. Other highlights of the area are Purple Herron, Squacco Heron, Little Bittern, Mediterranean Shag, Pygmy Cormorant, Ferruginous Duck, Stone Curlew, Red-footed Falcon, Marsh Warbler, Alpine Swift, Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, etc. This would be subject to additional agreements.