Archived destinations
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Danube Delta
A week in Europe’s greatest wetland.
There is nowhere in Europe quite like the Danube Delta. Covering 2,200 square miles, the lion’s share in Romania, the rest in the Ukraine, no naturalist’s lifetime should be without the experience of visiting the delta.
Immense, important, breathtaking, threatened, beautiful; almost any superlative seems to fit some aspect of the Danube Delta.
For wetland birds, it is birdwatching made easy. Most famous are the pelicans, white and the globally threatened Dalmatian pelicans. Enjoy them as your boat drifts close to a flock on a lake; another day a flight of them catches you by surprise as they glide easily overhead.
The delta is as varied as it is spectacular. One hour you may be along riverine forest, with glossy ibises, egrets and sparkling blue kingfishers either side of you. Moving into an open area there may be lily-nesting whiskered terns alongside family parties of ferruginous ducks and red-necked grebes with youngsters clambering onto their backs. Then there are little bitterns disappearing into high reeds to the deep-throated sounds of great reed warblers or the distant buzz of a Savi’s warbler.
The visit is timed for a combination of good weather and wetland birds at their most abundant and obvious. As well as true wetland birds, the land and treed areas within the wetlands are rich with rollers, bee-eaters, golden orioles and woodpeckers, the last including black and grey-headed.
Dragonflies bring hobbies and red-footed falcons in pursuit, and occasionally the vast form of a white-tailed eagle drifts through.
Much of this needs to be done by boat, or rather boats. This holiday is run in collaboration with Ibis Tours who are based in Tulcea, gateway to the delta. A delightfully converted pontoon – floating hotel – is our holiday base, either all week or combined with a hotel in Tulcea. The food is very good.We will start in Tulcea, then be towed into the delta’s core.
Some of the best areas for birds are in Dobrogea – the area round the edge of the delta. Lagoons with wildfowl and migrant waders and are best visited from here, for example. Dry country birds include calandra and short-toed larks; raptors include long-legged buzzard. Scrub areas have barred warbler and ortolan bunting; the villages white storks and Syrian woodpeckers.
Our local guides know the area and its wildlife well. But equally important is their hospitality. As the Romanian Ministry of Tourism brochure rightly says ’Come as a tourist, leave as a friend’.
White pelicans (Daniel Petrescu)
'Pinching a pelican butt' (Daniel Petrescu): click on the picture to see it in full. To see more of Daniel's pictures, visit www.danielpetrescu.ro
This holiday is run in collaboration with Ibis Tours, based in Tulcea.
Red-necked grebe (Daniel Petrescu)
Roller (Daniel Petrescu)
A selection of photographs by Honeyguide leader Ivan Nethercoat
