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www.naturetrek.co.uk Natural history specialist Naturetrek has added an extra date of their 10-day springtime tour - by boat and on foot - in search of birds and mammals of the Carpathian Mountains, Black Sea Coast and Danube Delta, departing London 12th May 2007.
Romania’s Danube Delta is home to 4,000 pairs of Cormorant, 6,000 pairs of Heron, 1,500 Glossy Ibis and a large percentage of the entire European population of Dalmatian and White Pelican and Great White Egrets – earning it the title of Europe’s single most valuable habitat.
This tour sets out from Bucharest for Poiana Brasov, deep in the Transylvanian Carpathians to enjoy a 2-night stay at a hotel high up in the forests above Brasov.
From here, it is possible to explore the local pine and beech woods and rocky crags in search of woodpeckers, Nutcrackers and alpine passerines. By night, there are brown bears and occasional wolves that descend to the village in search of carrion.
Journeying on, the trek goes to Tulcea, the gateway to the Danube Delta where a floating hotel provides a comfortable base from which to explore the Delta. Travel through the Delta’s numerous channels and lakes gaining a unique perspective on the area and its wildlife and marvel at the sheer spectacle of hundreds of pelicans, herons and cormorants constantly flying to and from their vast breeding colonies.
The latter part of the trip is spent exploring the rich complex of lakes and marshes that lie immediately to the south of the Delta.
There is a visit to ancient Graeco-Roman port of Histria, and the salt marshes on the edge of Lake Sinoie where migrating waders feed alongside breeding Avocets, pratincoles and Kentish Plovers.
A nearby forest provides sightings of a range of woodland species — including several woodpeckers and Ortolan Bunting, together with an outstanding variety of butterflies and wild flowers. This is an excellent area for raptors with the possibility of spotting Booted Eagle over the forest or Imperial Eagles soaring over the plains to the south | 
