Bulgaria (May 2024) - Northeast coast (2 of 2)
May 11
It was back to Durankulak Lake this morning in search of
Paddyfield. I was greeted by a cold, stiff wind and bright sun. Parked near the
campsite and walked south entire length of lake, 2.5 miles each way. Southward
walk was focused almost entirely on finding Paddyfield Warbler, which was a
fail. Meanwhile a very nice northward diurnal migration was happening and
lasted til 8am when it slowed considerably. Swifts and swallows were dominant
but also included RED-FOOTED FALCONS, bee-eaters, rollers and the like. In
hindsight, I should have spent the whole morning watching the flight instead of
looking for another bag-of-shit Old World warbler. Luckily I broke
concentration briefly enough to glance over the dunes to see two huge gulls
flying north that could be only one thing. I was pretty shocked to see two
subadult PALLAS’S GULLS, a species I was hoping but not expecting to see. They
don’t breed very far north of here but there is a surprising paucity of May records.
Not a lifer, but my only previous was a distant first cycle in China, so this
was much better.
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Pallas's Gull |
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view looking north at Durankulak Lake beachfront: Black Sea to the right and marsh/lake to the left |
Given the strong early morning diurnal flight, I decided to drive southwest to try a raptor viewing area west of Balchick that I had marked, but not much was flying there.
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nice view but nothing moving |
From there I decided to spend the early afternoon scoping cliff faces for EURASIAN EAGLE-OWL, which I figured might take a while and would probably be low yield. So at my first stop near Topola I was surprised to find one sitting in the open on a sunlit crag after just a few minutes' scan! The owl then flew to a shaded section of cliff behind a small bush. It wasn’t supposed to be that easy!
eBird
Checklist - 11 May 2024 - Топола, Topola BG-Dobrich (43.4097,28.2465) - 1
species
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naked eye view of the cliff face |
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owl spotted in the area circled in yellow |
The bright sun and wind weren't very inviting for mid-afternoon birding, so I checked into a room for the next couple nights and went back into the field for the evening. First stop was the Pumping Station near Shabla Lake. It was pretty birdy with common stuff, and this would have been an enjoyable stop without anything unusual, but a female CITRINE WAGTAIL cooperated in fine evening light by one of the ponds.
eBird
Checklist - 11 May 2024 - Lake Shabla - Pumping Station area - 32 species
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Purple Heron |
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Citrine Wagtail |
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Red-rumped Swallow |
I would end the day at Shabla Lake itself, focusing on the marshy south end as accessed by several drivable dirt tracks. There had recently been Great Snipe here, so I walked some of the wet grass in search of that species, but did not find snipe of any flavor. The place was super birdy with expected species. The reedy marsh itself was particularly alive with birdsong. A LITTLE BITTERN sang a few times from one of the reed beds, but I did not get a visual.
eBird
Checklist - 11 May 2024 - Shabla Lakе - 32 species (+1 other taxa)
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European Bee-eater |
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Red-backed Shrike |
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Spotted Flycatcher |
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European Roller |
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Lesser Gray Shrike |
Driving out of the lake area I had several EURASIAN NIGHTJARS along the roads plus a couple of SCOPS OWLS that were actively calling when I stopped to view the nightjars.
May 12
I started at sunrise at Kaliakra Cape but did not have much moving compared to last visit, so I bailed early. Decided to return to the SE corner of Durankulak Lake in search of Paddyfield, again without luck. But I was greeted by another pair of PALLAS’S GULLS, these two full adults, northbound over the marsh! What a stunning gull. There was diurnal migration happening so headed to Shabla Cape Light for a seawatch where there was a trickle of northbound birds. Highlights included four gull species, four tern species, a YELKOUAN SHEARWATER, and hirundines.
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Northern Wheatear |
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Jackdaw |
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Eurasian Kestrel |
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Pied Wheatears in typical sea cliff habitat |
eBird
Checklist - 12 May 2024 - Shabla Cape - 26 species
Not much seemed to be happening, and the afternoon options
felt low-yield, so I took the opportunity to relax and prepare for the final
day of birding.
May 13
A glutton for punishment, I felt like I should give Paddyfield Warbler one last
shot! Back to Durankulak for a focused marsh edge walk about 2km south from the
camp. Conditions were decent so far as the wind was tolerable, though cool and
still out of the north. As you could have probably guessed, there was no sign
of the warbler. BUT this walk came through with one of the trip highlights: a
getting-late GREAT SNIPE that I flushed from the marsh edge. In addition to the
white tail corners and the striking covert pattern, its silent, low and steady
flight was quite different from that of Common Snipe.
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Bearded Reedling |
From here I boogied to Kaliakra for one last check on the migration there. As it turned out, today was “the day” for fallout here. I didn’t arrive until 10:30am, but the birding was still fantastic. It’s a good thing I connected with the lifer snipe earlier this morning, or I’d have been kicking myself for not being here at first light. At this point it was a combination of grounded birds and individuals tricking northward. THRUSH NIGHTINGALES were one of the dominant species, and there were easily double-digit numbers of those planted in the thickest veg and singing away. Phylloscs were still on the move. The dry trills of RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHERS were often within earshot. A female COMMON ROSEFINCH was a nice find, as they are scarce migrants here. Another birder had seen a male earlier.
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Red-breasted Flycatcher |
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Alpine Swifts |
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hybrid Pied x Eastern Black-eared Wheatears |
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more views from Kaliakra Cape |
Here were the weather conditions that led to the fallout: Early last night winds were light out of the north and skies to the south were clear. Around 3am a steady wall of rain hit from the NW and swung through the area, ending sometime between 6-730am depending on your location along that stretch of coast. Skies cleared soon thereafter and winds were light. Another line of squalls came through about when I was leaving around 1:30pm. Inclement weather really helps here, it seems, not surprisingly.
eBird
Checklist - 13 May 2024 - Kaliakra Cape - 48 species (+3 other taxa)
It was time to start working my way back towards Sofia for
tomorrow morning’s flight. My route took me through the Burgas area, so I
wanted to stop into the couple shorebird spots that actually had birds this
spring. One of these was the pumping station area at Pomorie Lake.
Specifically, a couple of young Colombian birders gave me the specific location
of a pool where they’d seen Broad-billed Sandpiper a few days prior. I found
the pool easily, though no BBSA were present. Still, I had enjoyed great scope views
of shorebirds including an alternate-plumaged MARSH SANDPIPER.
eBird
Checklist - 13 May 2024 - Pomorie Lake--Pumping Station Area - 23 species (+1
other taxa)
The Salt Museum area at Pomorie and the Atanasovsko bird
hide produced more birds, but nothing unexpected.
Sadly, it was time to put a stamp on the birding. The drive back to Sofia was uneventful. The next morning, the car was returned without issue and the flights went off smoothly!
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