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BIRDWATCHING

The Danube Delta is the most important humid area in Central Europe, a true paradise for a great number of bird species. Eden Travel organizes birdwatching sessions for ornithologists and other nature-lovers in various areas of the Delta.

 

Among the 331 species of birds, 172 species nest and the rest are sedentary or partly migratory, 9 species being classified as endangered (red-breasted goose - Branta ruficollis). An average of 170 species brood. Out of them, 40 are sedentary and 130 migratory. The species who do not brood are winter guests and passers by in autumn and spring.

 

On a geographic order, the birds belong to the following categories:

• European type – the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus);
• Mongolian type – the lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina), the steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis), the saker falcon (Falco cherrug); the white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus);
• Chinese type – the swan (Cygnus olor), the common spoonbill (Platalea leocorodia);
• Arctic type – the red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis), the white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons);
• Siberian type – the common crane (Grus grus), black scoter (Oidemia nigra).

 

The snuggling colonies have always been a great attraction of the Delta. The thousands of nests built on the branches of the sallow parks or in the rush-beds, the deafening noise, the atmosphere of other geological eras, the thousands of birds flashing across to feed their little ones turn the colonies into a paradise, not only for the ornithologists, but also for any nature-lover.

 

In the Delta there are many types of colonies : grey heron, common spoonbills, glossy ibis and cormorants, pelicans and cormorants, seagulls, of avocets and woodpeckers and so on.

 

Species name	Period of stand in the Danube Delta	Number of individuals	Details
The white pelican (pelicanus onocrotalus)	April - October	5 000 - 6 000	They form colonies of hundreds of individuals
The Dalmatian pelican (pelecanus crispus)	April - October	500	Meet in small colonies
The pygmy cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus)	October - April	9 000- 10 000	Appear in small flocks
The red-breasted goose (branta ruficolis)	October - April	5 000- 10 000	80% of the world’s population
The ferruginous duck (aytya nyroca)	March - April	15 000- 20 000	Endangered species
The mandarin duck (aix galericulata)	April - October	1000 - 2000	Asian species
The whooper swan (sigmus olos)	September  - April	800-1000	Siberian species
The white-tailed eagle (haliaetus albicilla)	March - October		Mediterranean species
The little egret (egreta garzeta)	Nests between April and October.		Mediterranean species
The pied avocet (recurvirostra avosetta)	Nests between April and October		Mediterranean species

 

Few people know that many of the species that nest beyond the Arctic Circle or in Siberia spend their winter in the Danube Delta. Because in the area they live in the summer the temperatures drop dramatically starting with October and November, these birds choose to spend the winter in the Danube Delta, where they remain until mid-March. We’re referring to the winter swan, who replaces the summer swan, as well as various species of arctic gooses and ducks.

 

The most valuable species are the red-breasted goose, about 95% of the world’s population spending their winter in the reservation, especially in the area of the coast lakes.

Copyright GG Gociman 2007