Thursday 1st February: Wild Goose Chase in Eastern Europe

 Our first full day in Bulgaria, and the first thing we did was to travel across the border to Romania! Due to the mild weather conditions, there were few geese in the area around our hotel, and our guide was aware of flocks over the border, not far from where we had visited last June. 

We set off in the dark, but by the time we arrived it was bright skies meaning very cold conditions! We stopped at a cafe for a comfort stop, and from here we enjoyed good scope views of our first Long-legged Buzzard sat on the ground, with gingery head and a rufous tail. 

Before too long we encountered a flock of around thirty Greater White-fronted Geese close to the road, giving excellent views. In a field opposite, a much larger flock were feeding at some distance, so we clambered out of the van, gathered our scopes, and slowly and cautiously set off down the track. The birds were pretty settled, and we spent some time scanning through in search of rarer species. A single immature Lesser White-fronted Goose was picked out by Bernie, lacking the distinctive yellow eye ring of the adult, but with the white blaze noticeably smaller than on the larger birds. A wonderful male Hen Harrier flew across the field in front of the flock, before landing on a furrow, where it looked more like a lowly pigeon than a stunning raptor. Behind us a Great  Egret gleamed white in the sun, and a Hooded Crow watched proceedings from a nearby tree. 

Eventually we retreated, having failed to find any Red-breasted Geese or further Lesser White-fronts. We scoured the fields in vain for further flocks, before stopping again near the castle, at Enisala overlooking vast lagoons and marshland. On a muddy margin, there were plenty of Rooks and Jackdaws feeding and in the distance a few probable Whooper Swans were just distinguishable through the heat haze. A Grey Heron crouched in the reeds, and there were plenty of Greylag Geese moving around the pools. Several harriers hawked across the reeds too, with a Long-legged Buzzard in flight above the road.

After lunch, we slowly headed back the way we had come, still looking for the elusive geese. Several flocks were seen moving across the skies, so we turned down a farm track and walked a short distance from where we had great views across the distant marshland, vast bands of swaying reeds intermingled with patches of muddy grassland. In the late afternoon light, we were treated to a magnificent spectacle, with row upon row of skeins of geese soaring overhead, straggly ribbons of moving birds dancing in the wind, their incessant, evocative calls echoing across the skies. Despite the cold, the sun offered some warmth and the blue sky provided a wonderful backdrop to the fly past. Of course it was Bernie again who spotted a Red-breasted Goose in the midst of one line of White-fronts, a smaller bird with shorter neck silhouetted against the sky.

White-fronted Geese

With this highlight, it was time to head towards home, continuing to search for birds along the way. At a small cemetery we came across a Little Owl, which although a little shy, perched on a gravestone long enough for the photographers to be happy.

Little Owl

Finally, our last stop of the day, was  at a school where Long-eared Owls were roosting just a few feet from the bus, posing very co-operatively for photos. A great end to a rewarding day, with the thousands of geese passing overhead giving a truly memorable wildlife.

Long-eared Owl