Birding/ Bird watching in Danube Delta, Romania - April 2022

OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

Thursday 28 ^th of April 2022 and my alarm went off quarter past 4. The owner bought a kettle for my room yesterday so I made a cup of tea. I kept my self busy with yesterday pictures and I got out to have breakfast outside my room at 7 o'clock.

Yet another gorgeous morning and I watched the birds in the garden while drinking my tea.

Breakfast

I started my eBird app at 08:14 just after leaving the marina and we are going towards Carorman and we take the Saint Georges Branch and we turned north in to a very narrow channel when we reached Mahmudia. We spotted a Rook, the first since I came to Rumania. We spotted 2 Ruffs and a Common Sandpiper.

We were soon running in to hundreds of White Pelicans and Cormorants, maybe thousands of birds. Never seen so many Pelicans before. According to my Guide the area is called the Gardens of the Netherland, old farming land that is turned in to wetland. We are passing a White-tailed Eagle sitting in a tree. The bird takes off before I get a picture.

I see two Squacco Herons, first time for me, but no pictures. We turn towards east but this channel is soon getting filled with old trees and stuff so we turn around as we don't want to risk getting stuck.

Caspian Gull at Tulcea Marina

We left the big river

Rook

Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Ruff

Ruff

Common Sandpiper

Purple Heron

Purple Heron

Purple Heron

Great Cormorants

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

Many Pelicans

Many Pelicans

Many Pelicans

Cormorants and Pelicans

Pelicans

White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle takes off/strong>

Eagle tree is empty

Common Sandpiper

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Narrow channel

Narrow channel

Narrow channel

Narrow channel

Narrow channel

Common Pheasants

Caspian Gull and Black-headed Gull

Black Tern

We are not alone in the delta

Caspian Gull

We have a little problem to find our way to Carorman as some of the channels have been over grown. But we manage to find our way to the Litcov channel that ends in the Carorman channel.

When we enter the Carorman channel I ask the Guide to stop to have a look at a few gulls. There is a Marsh Harrier flying over us. Suddenly my Guide points at a gull with a black head. It is the beautiful Pallas Gull.

I have reported the gulls as Herring Gulls because of the red dot on the bill. But both the Yellow-legged and the Caspian Gull have red dots on their bills. But it is easy to see the difference with the dark eyes on the Caspian Gull.

So I was quick to change from Herring Gull to Caspian Gull,hopefully before anyone discover the embarrassment.

Marsh Harrier

Poor picture, kept for ID purpose only

Caspian Gull

Caspian Gull

Pallas's Gull

Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill

Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill

Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill

We stop for a break

We reach Carorman and we go ashore and behind the marina is a small pond with birds. I spot Black-winged Stilts and some waders. Barn Swallows are collecting mud for their nests. My Guide came after me and asked if I wanted to join the safari tour. They have a jeep going up in the forest with tourists, but there was only one seat remaining so I said no.

He told me that there were birds behind the old ruin, former glass factory. We walked to the factory to have a look for birds. One Great Tit, a pair of Shelducks and a beautiful Caspian Tern.

Black-winged Stilts

Barn Swallow collecting nesting material

Common Greenshank

Listen to the Barn Swallow

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

Birds chasing each other, looking like flirt not a fight. Swallows was also collecting mud for building nest

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Pygmy Cormorant

Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Northern Lapwing

Northern Lapwing / Tofsvipa

Ruff

We left Carorman and I told the Guide to go full speed, only slow at the beginning as I want to have a look on the fields. I had seen a lot of waders there when we arrived. Then to go slow to see if we can see the spoonbill again.

We will take the Carorman channel up to the Danube - Sulna Branch and from there it is straight to Tulcea. We did not see any spoonbill, but we spotted a raven with many Hooded Cros eating on a dead cow together with unidentified eagle.

We have been to small channels in the delta, well, we even had to turn around at some places. But on the Saint George Branch we had big ships navigating the river. We made a stop to pick up mail and we were soon on our way again.

Danube splits in to 3 branches at Tulcea and thus forming the delta. Main river is the border between Romania and Ukraine in the north. 6 km south of the border is the Saint George Branch and a few kilometre after Tulcea the Sulna Branch goes north from the Saint George branch and then it goes between the main Danube and Saint George to the Black Sea.

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Ships on Danube River

Today's track in Danube Delta: Area between Tulcea and Carorman

I had my tea and cheese + avocado back at the hotel. I was very happy with my day and I am excited to get out tomorrow. We will go by car tomorrow to explore some sites at the coast of the Black Sea. The Danube Delta comes down pretty far south in the Black Sea.

So this promise to be exciting, click HERE to find out what I get to see.

Tweet

You are visitor no.

To www.aladdin.st since December 2005

Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011

Mobilize your Site

View Site in Mobile | Classic