From the visitor centre, we watch spoonbills and ibises ferrying food to their nestlings, while the colony of terns goes berserk whenever a predatory harrier glides over. It’s a marvellous sight, full of energy and life; but there’s only a handful of others here to witness this avian spectacle.
“Bulgarians are pragmatic,” Petar says by way of explanation. “Birdwatching isn’t popular nationally as it has no specific purpose.”
But an appreciation of nature is essential to its conservation.
“Bulgaria’s biodiversity has been eroded since The Changes [post-communism],” he admits. “It’s important that locals see the value that nature-based tourism brings to our countryside; we just need more visitors coming to experience it.”
How to do it
Jet2 flies to Burgas from nine UK airports including Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and London Stansted. Seven nights’ B&B at Nessebar’s beachfront Hotel Mirage costs from £619pp in September, including flights and transfers.
A day’s guided birding with Petar Iankov costs around £85 (contact via poda@bspb.org). For birding and photography day tours, also from £85, try Nature Monitoring. April/May and August/September are the peak migration months.