Bulgaria Day 14: Pirin National Park

Our final day of this trip was spent at Pirin National Park. Anton, Kojak and I headed to the road summit lodge and spent the morning there and had lunch before descending and checking a few spots on the way down. A few new bird ticks HERE including a cracking Nutcracker, Ring Ouzels and Crossbills. 

We then headed back towards Sofia and stopped off in South Park for a few herps, dropped Anton off and then back to the hotel. 

Birding trip report HERE. We had 144 species which wasn't too bad considering this was a family and natural history trip. 

Nutcracker (above and below)

Male Ring Ouzel 

Male Red Crossbill

Red-rumped Swallow

Dunnock- everywhere in the mountains 

Adders, male (above) and female (below)

Viviparous Lizard

Aesculapian Snake in South Park, Sofia

Sand Lizard

White sp on Pirin 

Heart Moth- the highlight in the moth trap from Kresner

Balkan Chamois- common around the summit

Pirin (above and below)

Bulgaria day 13: Kresner Gorge

We met Anton this morning at our hotel and then in torrential rain we headed south to Kresna. Our orginal plan was to head to the mountains north of Sofia but the weather changed our strategy so we headed south instead.

Nikolay had given us a couple of locations to check for butterflies so Kevin and I did some lepping while Anton concentrated on herping. Between us all we had a nice haul.

Purple-shot Copper (above and below)

Sooty Copper

Chequered Blue

Great Banded Grayling

Nettle-tree Butterfly aka European Beak

European Swallowtail (above and below) 

Oriental Skipper (above and below) 

Southern White Admiral

Balkan Marbled White

Brown Argus

Common Blues

Velvet spider sp

Dice Snake

Horn-nosed Viper (above and below)

Kresna Gorge (above and below)

Bulgaria Day 12: Sakar Hills

Today (3rd June) was our second day with Nikolay. We over nighted at a forest lodge near the Sakar Hills and then spent the day in the area checking various spots. I kept Ebird running all day in the general area HERE with 60 species recorded including Olive-tree and Eastern Bonelli's Warbler and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear. 

Nikolay lead us to a nice selection of butterflies, dragonflies and orchids with the highlight being two Bavius Blues at a site they are unrecorded from- a lifer for our guide and only 3 previous observations on 1-Nat for Bulgaria HERE .

Also several other butterfly lifers today. Slowly 'collecting' more of the Bulgarian butterflies, now on 70 species for the country HERE 

Bavius Blue

Tiny Tiger Blue- such a good looking butterfly

Blue Argus

Osiris Blue

Mazarine Blue

Balkan Zephyr Blue

Silver-studded Blue

Orbed Red Underwing Skipper

Oberthur's Grizzled Skipper

Yellow banded Skipper

Lesser-spotted Fritillary

Southern White Admiral (with Nine-spotted Moth in background)

The Odalisque, male (above) and female (below)

Eastern Spectre

Turkish Goldenring 

Southern Darter

Scarce Merveille du Jour was the highlight of the moth trap at the forest lodge

Horned Orchid

Anacamptis palustris elegans

Juvenile Woodlark road casualty . We also had a dead Blotched Snake on the road.