Bulgaria Birding Tours
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The Republic of Bulgaria (“Bulgaria” hereafter) is one of Europe’s premier bird watching destinations. Located in southeastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula, the country is made up of breathtaking geography, fascinating history, and sensational avifauna. Bulgaria is Europe’s sixteenth largest country at 42,855 square miles (110,993 square kilometers) which makes it around the size of Ohio, in the United States of America. Bulgaria’s population is falling due to migration and at 6.95 million people it is considered a relatively small population. The capital, Sofia, is a vibrant city and has become popular for its history, architecture (especially Orthodox churches), and nightlife. Sofia crams over 1.6 million people into its metropolitan area, around 23% of the country’s population.
Bulgaria is one of the longest inhabited countries in Europe with the earliest societies forming around 6,500 BC. Since then Bulgaria has been a battle ground for many rival factions to fight over. Thracians, Persians, Celts, Macedonians, Romans, Bulgars, Ottomans, and the Soviet Empire have all held Bulgaria. Some of the bloodiest fighting of the 20th century conflicts took place in the country. In 1989 Bulgaria broke away from communist Soviet rule, before transitioning into a democracy in 1991. Since then Bulgaria has joined the European Union but a shrinking population is beginning to cause issues for the economy of the country.
For a relatively small country, Bulgaria has a wide range of habitats and many neighbors. Starting to the north of the country and working clockwise Bulgaria shares borders with Romania, Turkey, Greece, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Its entire east coast borders the Black Sea and this area is one of the key migratory flyways in Europe, with hundreds of thousands of birds moving south along the coast before crossing the Bosporus Strait of northern Turkey. Bulgaria’s geography ranges from impressive mountain ranges to coastal plains and almost every habitat in between. Our Bulgaria tours will take in this range of habitats to see the widest range of species possible. Bulgaria’s climate is varied due to its positioning and topography, its mountain ranges have a great effect on temperature and precipitation, with the north of the country being cooler and wetter than the south. Despite its southerly position in Europe, high amounts of snowfall are common in winter, due to continental airmasses from the north.
