We’re pleased to welcome you to our Branta-Tours professional birdwatching site.
Branta-Tours, based in Durankulak (northern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria), is a travel company specialised in developing and operating Professional Guided Trips and Wildlife Photo Tours to observe flora and fauna, in particular birdwatching to the major top birding locations of Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine, Central and Far-Eastern Russia, Scotland and Southern France (including Corsica).
We are delighted to bring to your attention the variety of birding programmes we can offer you. We now have new destinations, which should widen your wildlife experience as we go to the wilder side of Europe and beyond.
Most of our scheduled tours are tailored for serious birders and photographers but we also offer General Nature Trips and Wildlife Holidays that will include some birdwatching combined with flower, butterfly and other wildlife identification. We also focus on mammals (including marine species), dragonflies, reptiles, as well as other fascinating features on most of our trips.In terms of your birdwatching requirements we are a flexible company and can easily tailor our programmes to your particular needs. For example, we are able to match our Bulgarian programmes to your arrival and departure airport. In addition, we would be happy to offer you different Custom Tours that we are able to operate at any time, according to your special interest or request.
We can also adapt our itinerary to the species you would like to watch and/or to the tour length. Some of our clients are short of time and have particular target species to see and we are ready to oblige.
If you want to be certain to spot some of the particular Bulgarian highlights such as Red-breasted Goose or Paddyfield Warbler, for example, then please watch our website (www.branta-tours.com) for announcement of their exact arrival.
We are also very well positioned to offer guided trips in other exciting East-European countries and Russia. Many of these countries still possess huge areas of unspoiled nature. Only a few people are aware that such pristine reservoirs of wildlife actually exist in Europe. We are widely experienced in providing this specific type of holidays.
Apart from the great variety of birds and other wildlife identification you will also be able to enjoy the warmth of the Slavic hospitality and delicious traditional cuisine.
What follows in our site is an attempt to express some of what you will really experience if you join one of Branta-Tours birdwatching programmes. We are sure that the European “East”, so close yet so enigmatic, will soon become one of the most attractive nature destinations, and you have the special privilege of being among its first explorers!
Branta-Tours is equipped with Swarovski Optics to help ensure the best possible birding experience for your trip.
• Our team is composed of experienced naturalists.
• Our tours are escorted by knowledgeable local guides, who speak English,
French, German and Russian.
• Our programs are prepared in collaboration with the scientists of “Le
Balkan-Bulgaria” Foundation (www.lebalkan.org) and we have direct access to the advice and knowledge of the main avian ecologists and specialists on long-term monitoring of bird communities
• Our groups comprise 2 to 15 people based from 1 to 15 night stay.
• Our destinations are chosen for various themes: the observation of rare
and remarkable species, the wintering of geese and other notable waterfowl, the
autumn migration of soaring birds, endemic plants, large mammals and an introductory birdsong lesson.
Our advantages:
1. Small group size and 4WD vehicles will allow penetrating
into the best-concealed and isolated spots.
2. Locational content: visits to some very special environments, exceedingly comfortable hotels, well-located infocentres and cosy guesthouses, good food and good company.
3. Birding locations choice: our tours combine visits to the major top birding locations, but we also pay attention and look constantly to every possibility that can bring surprises. Thus we will increase to a maximum the number of seen species and exceed the most venturesome expectations on the bird scene.
4. Flexibility: On your request we can shift the dates of our programmes and operate at any time.
5. Quality of observations: Our approach is to produce high quality birdwatching in terms of duration, closeness and light conditions. We don’t hesitate to offer observations of already seen species if they happen in different environment, circumstances, behaviour, sex, age and plumage, or involved in some special actions.
6. A network of collaborators: We work together with local rangers and experts keeping us constantly informed on the current situation regarding bird species composition and movements, thus saving us valuable time in the search of rarities.
7. Exchange of information: During our trips we exchange information with other birdwatchers or groups on every interesting encounter.
8. Professional guide-ornithologist: Pavel Simeonov is leading most of the tours personally. He is also your driver, and you will not miss the least opportunity to stop at every sight of a birdie to enrich the already abundant in species Bird Checklist.
For more information about Branta-Tours please contact us or just request our free printed brochure:
About Bulgaria Tours
Spring Birdwatching: extremely high bird tally
One tour is in late April/early May, one in the middle of May and the other is in late May/early June. Bird list can be the longest for any European tour. In Spring you can see and admire: Dalmatian and White Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorant, Ruddy Shelduck, the desmaresti sub-species of Shag, Glossy Ibis, Purple and Squacco Herons, Little Bittern, Bee-eaters, Rollers, Masked and Lesser Grey Shrikes, Penduline and Bearded Tits, Wallcreeper, Rock Nuthatch, Balkan Wagtail, Tawny Pipit, Calandra and Short-toed Larks, birds of prey, including Red-footed Falcon, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Levant Sparrowhawk, booted and Short-toed Eagles and 3 species of Vulture (Neophron percnopterus, Aegypius monachus and Gyps fulvus), Paddyfield, Moustached, Olive-tree, Olivaceous, Icterine, Barred, Orphean, Sub-alpine and Eastern Bonelli’s Warblers and other unusual passerines like the Eastern Semi-collared Flycatcher, Rose-coloured Starling, Pied, Isabelline and Black-eared Wheatears, Ortolan, Black-headed and Rock Buntings, thousands of waders including Collared Pratincole, Kentish Plover, Marsh, Curlew and Broad-billed Sandpipers, Temminck's Stint, Gull-billed Tern, Slender-billed and Mediterranean Gulls, Yelkouan Shearwater, etc, etc… 200 + expected for 7-day tourAutumn Migration: 25 Raptors, Pelicans, Waders and passerines
September is the best time to see the maximum number of birds and species. On the autumn migration tour we focus on the huge numbers of raptors, storks and pelicans (over 250,000 White and 10,000 Black Storks, 20,000 White Pelicans, many Short-toed and Booted and over 10,000 Lesser-Spotted Eagles for example are recorded on the Via Pontica Flyway, plus many Red-footed Falcons, Levant Sparrowhawks, the rufous eastern race of Buzzard - vulpinus and if you are lucky a Saker Falcon, Eastern Imperial Eagle or Steppe Eagle can be spotted. Little Crake, Red-necked Grebe, Caspian Tern, Bittern and Little Bittern are also seen along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. We also spend time observing huge numbers of waders and passerines including many unusual and mythical species like Sombre Tit and Red-breasted Flycatcher.Winter Tour : Red-breasted Geese
This usually takes place in mid February, after the hunting season when the birds are easier to approach and before their return migration. On the winter tours there are hundreds of thousands of wintering geese, including almost all of the world population of Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) and often two or three Lesser White-fronted Geese are seen in the large mixed flocks of White-fronted and Greylag Geese. White-headed Duck, Bewick’s Swan, Red-crested Pochard, Smew, Great Black-headed Gull, Dalmatian Pelican and sometimes White Pelican can be seen. Winter raptors include Merlin, Spotted and White-tailed Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Long-legged and Rough-legged Buzzards.
Large Mammals and Birds: Brown Bear
This newly designed spring event contains one of the most attractive and
extensive wildlife packages we have ever offered. During this trip Branta-Tours
is according high importance to finding mammals, Brown Bear (viewed from
a hide at a private reserve), Balkan Chamois, Jackal, Steppe and Marbled
Polecats being top of this tour list, with European Souslik and three
species of Dolphins in support. Reptiles and amphibians also feature,
including Stripe-necked Terrapin, European Glass Lizard and Green Toads.
Bird list includes Dalmatian and White Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorant,
Ruddy Shelduck, Ferruginous Duck, Chukar, 20 raptor species, 5 Wheatear
species, Roller, Bee-eater, Citrine Wagtail, Wallcreeper, Rock Nuthatch,
Sombre Tit, Semi-collared Flycatcher and Nutcracker - by way of a small
sample (over 200 species expected).
Spring Botany and Birds:
The Bulgarian Black Sea coast is one of the most interesting areas from floristic and faunistic point of view. The vegetation is formed under different migrational flows. There are sands and dunes, which still are not so damaged by the human impact. The natural riches (biodiversity, ornithological important areas, wetlands etc.) are closely related with very rich historical and cultural heredity.
The coastal Dobrudja is one of the most attractive areas to be visited. The steppe ecosystems in Kaliakra reserve and the adjacent territories, covering in the past century a big part of the region, are rich in wildlife as well as plants and this is one of the best sites in Europe to see more than 600 plant species including Broad-leaved Peony.
Natural History Tour:
This tour is aimed at people with a general interest in wildlife and could be suitable for birdwatchers and their non-birding partners that can find beautiful mixture of activities like archaeology, history, shopping, but also learn some interesting birds and other wildlife identification. This is an absolutely fantastic time to visit this scenic and nature-rich country, when wonderful wild flowers (including an endemic species of orchids) dazzle at every turn, the fresh green foliage of springtime is unfurling, target rare dragonflies also feature and bird song fills the air. Temperatures are extremely warm and agreeable, stimulating activity among reptiles, amphibians and butterflies. Birdwatching events will be wonderfully diverse. Mediterranean-like locations present us with many South-Eastern specialities, of which Rock Partridge, Rock Nuthatch, Rock Sparrow, Olive-tree Warbler, Isabelline Wheatear, Black-headed Bunting and Sombre Tit are found in few other European destinations. Wallcreeper, Nutcracker and Alpine Accentor are other highlights to be seen at upper altitudes. Mammals feature significantly, with a Brown Bear watch, being the top attraction. We shall also see Balkan Chamois and other ungulates, European Souslik (marmot-like rodent), plus predators including Jackal, and very possibly Marbled and Steppe Polecats. By way of cultural diversion we shell visit one of the oldest Bulgarian monasteries. In short, there is something for everybody.
The above-mentioned species are not a full list by any means. Please ask for our detailed checklists.
We also offer two day overnight trips staying at the exclusive lakeside accomodation at Branta Birding Lodge or day-trips for people staying at neighboring Bulgarian or Romanian resorts.In addition to the ecological approach we also have many important sites of archaeological interest on both sides of the border. For example, on the Bulgarian side, the “Big Island”, situated on Durankulak Lake, is just 300 metres from Branta Birding Lodge. There are the first known stone buildings in Europe.
- In Bulgaria, our guests have witnessed the departure of the globally threatened and beautiful Red-breasted Geese for their Siberian breeding grounds, an ultimate event for birders (see article)
- In Bulgaria, our guests have witnessed the unforgettable massed gathering of Red-footed Falcons in readiness for their autumn migration, a once-in-a lifetime spectacle... (see trip report)
Wouldn't you like to have the chance to witness one of these or similar spectacles?