Black-crowned Night-Heron is one of the many waterbirds to be found on the great delta of the Danube River. Photo: Dan Brown
The remote province of Bucovina in the north of Moldavia is a land in a time-warp. Far from the rush of the twenty-first century, White Storks follow black-clad nuns as they scythe hay, while Black Redstarts sing from nearby monastery roof-tops. These gasp-inducing monasteries, founded during the 16th century, are remarkable enough to distract the most ardent of birdwatchers from matters avian. The condition of their frescoes can be described only as miraculous. We’ll combine relaxed visits to these rural monasteries with birdwatching nearby among remarkably rich forest, hay meadows, and hill-village habitats.
The second part of the tour involves three nights afloat on a modern houseboat in the Danube Delta, the largest wetland reserve in Europe. This area is still not nearly as well-known as it deserves to be from the point of view of wildlife, especially birds.
This unique tour combines some of Europe’s more elusive birds with the medieval landscape of one of the most attractive areas of Eastern Europe, the Carpathians and their foothills. We have chosen our accommodation so that those who prefer to study the human history of the area rather than its wildlife can do so - right outside the door of where we stay.
Day 1: The tour starts in London with a flight to Bucharest. We’ll start birdwatching not far from the airport, at a small wetland site below Caldurasani monastary, to look for Little Bittern, Lesser Grey Shrike, and Roller. After a tour of Bucharest we’ll have dinner (maybe at the Dracula’s Club) and then board a comfortable overnight sleeper train for northern Moldavia. We’ll have separate two-berth compartments with starched sheets, ample room for baggage, and hot and cold water.
Day 2: Arriving in Suceava around 6:30 am, we’ll drive to breakfast at our hotel in the Sucevita Valley. We’ll base ourselves in a very comfortable family-run chalet by steep, flower-filled hay meadows on the edge of primary forest. Grey-headed Woodpecker, Red-backed Shrike, Fieldfare, and Serin breed adjacent to our accommodation. We might even see Nutcracker from our bedroom windows. Later in the day we’ll visit the fortified monastery in the village. As Sacheverell Sitwell, visiting in the twenties, wrote: “This first view of the painted church of Sucevita is among the most impressive revelations of the whole Byzantine world.” In the cool of the late afternoon we’ll search for Red-breasted Flycatcher and various woodpeckers and other woodland birds in the surrounding forest. Night in Sucevita.
Day 3: Birding around our hotel before breakfast could produce Long-tailed Tits, Hawfinch, and Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Later we’ll drive up to a wooded pass at 4,000 feet in search of Collared Flycatcher, Crossbill, and Crested Tit. A raptor viewpoint on the edge of the forest will give us a good chance at seeing Montagu’s Harrier, Honey Buzzard, Lesser Spotted and Booted Eagles, and Goshawk. We’ll continue to Moldovita Monastery, remarkable for its eyewitness battle scene based on the Turkish siege of Suceava Fortress. After a picnic lunch we’ll explore a second tributary valley leading from Sucevita. Night in Sucevita.
Day 4: More birding around the hotel could add Dipper and Grey Wagtail. Once we leave our rural accommodation, we have the option of visiting two more 16th-century painted monasteries - Veronet and Humor - but en route we’ll make many birding stops for a range of species from Red-footed Falcoln and Lesser Spotted Eagle to Whinchat and Great Grey Shrike. In the afternoon we’ll reach Neamt Monastery. Built in the 12th century, this is the oldest monastery in Moldavia and the largest monastery in Romania. Over the centuries it stood as the region’s chief center of Orthodox culture and houses a vast and ancient library. Outwardly the monastery resembles a fortress with high stone walls, and inside the gate tower a painted Eye of the Savior overlooks the monks’ cells. The orchard nearby is a good spot for woodpeckers (Black, Green, Great Spotted, and Syrian). Night in Tarqu, Neamt.
Day 5-7: After breakfast we’ll visit the nearby Agapia Monastery. Built in the 17th century, the plain white-washed outer walls belie the splendor to be found inside. Nicolae Grigorescu, the country’s foremost painter, stayed at Agapia for two years and painted the interior frescoes, a visual feast of rich and colorful images. Later in the day we continue our journey southeast towards the Danube Delta. This is a scenic journey through the rolling medieval strip fields of Moldavia, possibly with roadside Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Crested Lark, Roller, Bee-eater, or Golden Oriole. At Tulcea we’ll board our private houseboat in time for dinner, with an evening cruise towards the heart of the Delta. With luck we’ll see the first of the usual Delta species, with flocks of Glossy Ibis and Night Herons flying to and from their roosts.
Our next two days will be spent exploring the heart of the Delta. The exact locations visited will depend on the water levels at the time, but are likely to include large areas of freshwater surrounded by reed beds hosting thousands of Ferruginous Duck and (hopefully) White and the occasional Dalmatian Pelicans. Little Egrets and Whiskered Terns will be almost constant companions. Squacco, Night, and Purple Herons are abundant, and we’ll see the occasional Little Bittern. Marsh Harriers will be frequently sighted, while White-tailed Eagle, though less frequent, is likely. Red-necked and Black-necked Grebes should be seen, together with good numbers of waterfowl and Pygmy Cormorants. There are stands of willow and poplar above the reeds and along the banks, where we can expect to see Hobby, Roller, Hoopoe, and much more, while any muddy edge may hold Little or Spotted Crakes.
The pleasure of relaxing under the canopy of the observation deck, sipping endless tea or coffee (or even the occasional beer or soft drink) and gliding past a succession of exciting birds, cannot be over-emphasized. Nights on the houseboat.
Day 8: We’ll drive a short distance from Tulcea to Celic Dere monastery (a good site for Sombre Tit) and then south to Enisalu, where a large deciduous forest reaches the shore above a fine reed-bed, fish-farm, and sewage works. Here we’ll visit a colony of Bee-eaters below a ruined castle. Lesser Spotted Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Mediterranean Gull, Black-winged Stilt, and Crested and Calandra Larks could be seen here. Nearby Babadog forest is another site for Sombre Tit. The pools at Vadu could hold Red-necked Phalarope, Marsh Sandpiper, Temmnick’s Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Collared Pranticole, and even White-tailed Plover, which has bred here in recent years. We’ll then continue to our beach hotel Mamaia on the Black Sea.
Day 9: We’ll explore the coast around Histria and its reserve on Grindul Saele adjoining Lake Sinoie. Both species of pelican, Spoonbill, Collared Pratincole, Spotted Crake, Red-footed Falcon, and Paddyfield Warbler are all possible here - Histria is without doubt one of the best bird sites in Europe. Histria is also the oldest settlement in Romania, inhabited for 1,300 years, and we’ll spend some time at the ruins and excellent museum there. We’ll then drive across the Gura Dobregia plateau looking for larks, Tawny Pipit, and Isabelline Wheatear, and continue to the gorge at Cheia Dobrogea. This is a fine area of rocky steppe adjoining oak forest. Pied and Black-eared Wheatears breed here, and other species in the area could include Levant Sparrowhawk, Imperial Eagle, Little Owl, Long-legged Buzzard, and three harrier species (Hen, Pallid, and Montagu’s). Night in Mamaia.
Day 10: After some birdwatching along the beach and around the hotel grounds (where migrants could include Olivaceous Warbler) and maybe a visit to Navodari refinery pools (not a beauty spot, but an excellent location for waders such as Broad-billed and Curlew Sandpiper), we’ll return to Bucharest and our flight back to London.
Updated: 01 February 2008
Prices
- 2009 price about $3,510
- Single Occupancy Supplement $290
Notes
This tour is limited to 14 participants with two leaders. Both leaders will accompany the tour irrespective of group size.
Participants who prefer to meet the group in Bucharest should contact the WINGS office.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.