ROMANIA'S BIRDS AND BEARS
CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS
& DANUBE DELTA
A 10-day springtime tour - by boat and on foot - in search of birds, plants and large mammals of the Carpathian Mountains, Black Sea Coast and Danube Delta is offered by natural history specialist Naturetrek, departing London 12th May.
Despite the revolution low-cost flights across Europe, Romania, with more than its fair share of wild and beautiful places remains little-explored by British naturalists. Naturetrek’s tour commences with exploration from Poiana Brasov, deep in the Transylvanian Carpathians where high rocky peaks and dense forests are home to Brown Bears and Wolves. This area continues to provide one of the best opportunities for viewing bears in Eastern Europe, indeed a previous Naturetrek group observed no fewer than 8 bears, including a family group with cubs!!! Birdlife includes alpine passerines such as Wallcreepers, Alpine Accentors, together with Nutcrackers and rare woodpecker species.
After two full days in the mountains travellers head east to Tulcea, the gateway to the Danube Delta. Here Naturetrekkers travel and sleep aboard a floating hotel, travelling through the Delta’s numerous channels and lakes, thereby gaining a unique perspective on the area and its wildlife. The Danube Delta is a wetland larger than the Camargue and Coto Doñana combined - Europe's single most valuable ornithological habitat. This area is home to 4,000 pairs of Cormorant, 6,000 pairs of Heron, 1,500 Glossy Ibis and a large percentage of the entire European population of Dalmatian and White Pelican and Great White Egrets. The latter part of the holiday is spent close to the Black Sea coast exploring the rich complex of lakes and marshes that lie immediately south of the Delta. Visits are made to the ancient Graeco-Roman port of Histria and the salt-marshes on the edge of Lake Sinoie where migrating waders feed alongside breeding Avocets, pratincoles and Kentish Plovers. Amongst large gull and tern colony, grebes, Black-winged Stilts and Mediterranean Gulls breed, whilst nearby woodlands host Booted Eagle, Ortolan Bunting and several woodpeckers together with an outstanding variety of butterflies and wild flowers. Over nearby plains occasional Imperial Eagles may sometimes seen patrolling high overhead.
The tour cost is £1,095 p/p including scheduled flights, accommodation, all meals and expert naturalist guiding.
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