2012 Nature holidays and wildlife photography tours Welcome to our new brochure showing a selection of 2012 tours. Those presented here are about half of the tours we have to offer – our full tour program can be found at our website www.spatiawildlife.com After another successful year we are now ready for some major changes, for better, positive steps forward. First of all we have added more tours, to destinations other than our home country of Bulgaria, gradually expanding the areas we cover. There are two new birdwatching tours to Jordan and Ethiopia. While the first one is a pretty much underlooked country, the second one is a well established birdwatching destination offering an amazing variety of species, and not only for birds! Together with these two we are offering again dates for Turkey where we have run two successful trips last May as well as tour to Azerbaijan, which is definitely the least visited country in the Western Palearctic. Our first tour there last June revealed the country’s big potential and we are looking forward to returning next year. On the butterfly front beside the successful Butterfly of the Balkans tour where this year’s group saw an amazing 143 species, we have also prepared two new itineraries. Indeed, both by request of our clients. First one is focused on the very early spring butterflies of Bulgaria and Greece which are always missed on the later tours in June and July. The second tour is in the prime butterfly time, but is focused on some rare species which are not easy to seen on the classical tours. These are Scarce and Freyer’s fritillaries and Large Chequered, Spinose and Tessellated skippers. Along with these highlights about 100 more species will be seen, together with good variety of birds, dragonflies and reptiles, so a true natural history tour. On the logistical side of our tours there is also some news. First of all we are now able to offer tours with flights, which we believe is a great advantage. Please see the details on page 24. We have also priced our tours in the brochure in pounds instead of euro, while our web payment facility will be ready very shortly and is another convenience to our clients. All said we are now looking forward very much to 2012 and the tours we will run and we are looking forward to see you on some of them. Best regards, Dobromir Domuschiev Spatia Wildlife Ltd. Pozitano street, bl. 76, entr. 2, ap. 44 Razsadnika, Sofia 1309, Bulgaria Phone/fax: +359 2 8223850 e-mail: [email protected] www.spatiawildlife.com 2 Tour calendar Content February Sun 29th – Sat 4th February Golden eagles and winter birds photography ........ 22 Sun 12th – Sun 19th February bulgaria in winter .......................................................2 Sat 18th – Sat 25th February Red-breasted geese photography Sun 19th – Sat 25th February Garden birds hide photography Wed 22nd – Sat 25th February Red-breasted geese weekend Sun 26th – Sat 3rd March Birds of Lake Kerkini photo tour MARCH Wed 21st – Sat 24th March rock Partridge special .............................................. 3 ApriL Sun 1st – Tue 10th April Jordan’s birds and culture ....................................... 4 Thu 5th – Sun 8th April Hazel Grouse chase Mon 9th – Fri 13th April Brown bears in the Balkan Sat 14th – Sun 22nd April Early spring birding tour Wed 25th April – Sat 5th May early butterflies tour ............................................... 16 Sat 28th April – Sun 6th May bulgaria and Greece ................................................. 6 May Sun 6th – Thu 17th May bulgaria in spring ...................................................... 7 Sun 6th – Thu 17th May reptiles and amphibians ....................................... 19 Mon 7th – Wed 16th May Bats and caves Thu 10th – Sat 19th May birding Turkey ........................................................... 8 Sun 13th – Sat 26th May Late spring botany tour Sun 20th – Thu 31st May birds of azerbaijan ................................................. 10 Sun 20th – Sun 27th May Lake Kerkini photo tour June Sat 2nd – Sun 10th June birds, butterflies and bears ................................... 12 Sun 10th – Sun 17th June bird and Wildlife Photography .............................. 20 Wed 13th – Sun 24th June Scarce butterflies .................................................... 17 Mon 18th – Fri 29th June Dragonflies of Bulgaria Sun 24th June – Sun 1st July butterflies and macro photography ...................... 21 JuLy Sun 1st – Sun 8th July Rollers and bee-eaters photo tour Sun 1st – Sun 15th July butterflies of the balkans – bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece .......................................... 18 SepteMber Sun 23th – Sun 30th September Via Pontica – autumn migration .............................13 OCTOBER Sat 20th October – Sat 3rd November birding ethiopia ...................................................... 14 Above are all our tours shown by month as a year calendar. Those in bold are included in the brochure, while the rest can be found at our website – www.spatiawildlife.com. Bulgaria in Winter Sun 12th – Sun 19th February 2012 Because of its mild winter, the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is a haunt for many birds, which winter here in their thou- sands. For several species Bulgaria is the best place to see them, especially during this time of the year. Foremost among them is the spectacular Red-breasted Goose. In January and February almost the whole world’s population is concentrated here. Other attractive species wintering in big numbers are the Pygmy Cormorant, the White-headed Duck and the Dalmatian Pelican. Additionally we have a good chance for real rarities, such as Lesser White-fronted Goose and Spotted Eagle. Even the Great Black-headed Gull is possible as we usually observe several birds every February around the Burgas wetlands. We expect well over 100 bird species in our checklist. This holiday will be on a relaxing pace, with only two hotels to be used. Itinerary rounding wheat fields where the geese feed. Calandra and Crested larks, Yellowhammer, Corn Beside our main goal – the Red-breasted Goose Bunting, Hawfinch and many more. We will also Day 1 Arrival at Burgas airport and short flocks, we will carefully check the White-fronted visit some rocky areas in order to find the majes- transfer to our hotel, where we stay the next geese flocks as it may reward us with Lesser tic Eagle Owl. three nights. White-fronted Goose. Other birds will be Bean and Greylag geese, Black-necked and Red- DAY 8 Three and a half hours transfer brings DAYS 2 and 3 We spend both days exploring necked grebes, Black-throated and Red-throat- us to Burgas airport for your flight back home. Burgas wetlands which are important Ramsar ed divers, Syrian Woodpecker, Rough-legged En-route, we shall have few more birding stops. sites and IBAs. We will also visit some wetlands and Long-legged buzzards, Hen Harrier, White- Departure. further south. Meanwhile we enjoy viewing spe- tailed Eagle, Goshawk, Merlin, Peregrine and the cies like Pygmy Cormorant, Dalmatian Peli- powerful Saker Falcon. We also stand a good Note: This tour is also possible to start/end at can, White-headed Duck, Smew, Red-crested chance for the Spotted Eagle. Passerines will Varna Airport! You may also consider our Red- Pochard, Pintail, Spoonbill, White-tailed Eagle, include Beerded Reedling, Moustached Warbler, breasted Geese weekend. Bittern etc. Great Black-headed Gull is also pos- sible. Some early waders such as Sanderling, Ground price: £ 595 Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank and Cur- Group size: 4-12 + leader lew will be already arrived. The deciduous forests around the lakes can provide several species of Single supplement: £ 90 woodpeckers – Grey-headed, Syrian, Middle and Deposit: £ 200 Lesser Spotted and other birds, such as Sombre Tit, Hawfinch, Cirl Bunting etc. The wetlands sup- Individuals: 2-3 + leader port a healthy population of Common Otters and Ground price: £ 695 the winter is the best time to see them out in the The price includes: open. ground transport, full board, accommodation, guide, entrance DAY 4 After breakfast we head north, with several stops and lunch on the way. Goritsa hills fees for all nature reserves. will provide opportunity for woodpeckers, includ- The price does not include: ing White-backed and Black plus other woodland airfare, travel insurance, birds. Late in the afternoon we reach Duralnkulak hard drinks and all items of village where we will stay the next four nights. purely personal nature. These days we will explore Du- DAYS 5 to 7 Dalmatian Pelican Estimated flight cost: £ 260 rankulak and Shabla lakes, as well as the sur- Red-breasted geese 2 Rock Partridge Special Wednesday 21st – Saturday 24th March 2012 One of the most elusive species for the European birdwatchers is the Rock Partridge. Their hidden nature, especially outside the beginning of the breeding season, well camouflaged plumage and often the inaccessible habitat mean that the Rock Partridge is amongst the least seen species on the continent. Bulgaria boasts a relatively good population of this secretive bird – about 800 pairs. Here they inhabit the rocky moun- tain slopes from 700 meters above the sea level in Western Bulgaria, while the eastern part of the country is occupied by their cousin – the Chukar. Best period to see Rock Partridge is in the beginning of the breeding season when the birds are very active in defending their territories by patrolling and singing their harsh, but still interesting song. This happens mainly in February and March, sometimes till early April. Our tour will bring us to Stara Planina (Old Mountain), the main mountain range in Bulgaria and one that holds con- siderable part of the Bulgarian species population. Here we have two sites where we stand nearly a 100% chance of seeing the birds. Our confidence comes from the fact that we have been feeding the local population (10 to 15 pairs) for over 5 years now, by providing the birds with supplementary food during the harsh winter months. By doing this we now know relatively well the birds’ favorite sites in the area, as well as their habits.