At our first stop, Mladen picked out an adult Eagle Owl roosting on the cliff, while a piece of roadside wood revealed a lovely Balkan Green Lizard.
Next up was an impromptu roadside stop for a wonderful display of Summer Snowflake Leucojum aestivum together with the tall buttercup Ranunculus velutinus in an area of wet woodland. The woods also turned out to be home to Semi-collared Flycatcher, with a couple of singing males showing very well. And finally, an adult Aesculapian Snake put on a good performance, being very confiding.
The day's herptile theme continued at our stop in the oak woods, where two Eastern Green Lizards and a very friendly Agile Frog posed for photos while yet more Semi-collared Flycatchers sang and checked out nest sites. The local woodpeckers were a little shyer, but we did hear four species (Green, Great Spotted, Middle Spotted and Grey-headed), although only the Green put in an appearance.
Our journey also coincided with brilliant migration conditions (winds coming from the south east, several periods of warm blue skies enabling the soaring things to get over the Balkan Range). Birds seemed to be on the move all day (the most impressive 'vis-mig' I've ever seen), with just some of the highlights: a flock of around 30 Squacco Herons dropped in on the bay below our hotel just after breakfast; a nice Lesser Spotted Eagle low over at our lunch stop, followed five minutes later by a Short-toed Eagle; Black Terns passing overhead quite regularly; a wonderful flock of 96 Red-footed Falcons low over roadside fields. Not bad for a travel day!
Aesculapian Snake, Baltata
Agile Frog, Goritsa
Eastern Green Lizard, Goritsa
Semi-collared Flycatcher. Alas, the 5+ singing males seen during the day were all too high and too active to get a photo, so you'll just have to make do with this little female, fresh from inspecting a nest box.
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