Whiskered Tern
This tour includes a voyage through Europe's largest delta with some very special birds. For the whole of the tour we are based on a private houseboat, which offers us total flexibility and super food and service. This is the only way to explore the real heart of this superb wetland wilderness. Romania's Danube Delta has the largest expanse of phragmites reedbeds in the world and is the key area in Europe for large numbers of White Pelicans, Glossy Ibis, Pygmy Cormorants and others. The numbers of birds involved are amazing and anyone who enjoys the pure spectacle of watching wildlife will be sure to enjoy this holiday. All these and many more can be seen and easily photographed from our floating base. Although called a "hotel boat" it is certainly as good as many Romanian hotels! We'll have our own crew and chef, a motorboat and rowing boats for excursions and twin and single cabins. Most of the Delta is shallow, there is no tide and the houseboat is very stable, so seasickness pills are not required, as we explore the maze of channels and lakes, reed beds and islands that constitute the Danube Delta. We’ll also explore the salt-lakes, dry steppes and farmlands, lagoons, marshes and woodlands of Dobrogea, the open country that borders the Black Sea. We visit in a period when most of the summer migrants are into breeding routines and there should also be late movement of passage shorebirds. Eastern Europe’s foremost birder Gerard Gorman or in some years Eugen Petrescu will lead this tour, along with Ashley Saunders. You can expect 150 species, though we managed 167 on our inaugural tour in 2005 – which all present agreed was a fantastic experience!
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Introduction
