john gardiner
Well-known member
I am going to Romania ( Piatra Crailui ) at the ened of July and I was wondering what birds I can expect to see ,anybody help?
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Anyone Been To Transylvania ? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter john gardiner
- Start date
Michael Frankis
conehead
Never been, but I gather they have an interesting endemic species of Desmodus to look out for
Michael
Michael
john gardiner
Well-known member
I'm going to seem rather ignorant here but what is Desmodus?
digi-birder
Well-known member
I think Michael is being a little facetious here. He's referring to the vampire bat, Transylvania being connected with Dracula.
Darrell Clegg
Well-known member
John,
Not been to Romania, but I have been to Slovakia - The Carpathian mountains are common to both, so the species are similar. If you can get into the forests you should get goodies such as Three-toed and Grey-headed Woodpecker.
Black Woodpecker, Nutcracker, Red-breasted flycatcher, CrestedTit, Hawfinch, Goshawk and Firecrest should all be dead easy. More difficult but still "gettable" are Tengmalms owl (nestboxes are put out for them) and possibly Ural Owl. Pygmy Owl is possible but you have to walk through the forest whistling to imitate them - imagine a Bullfinch call, a soft whistle - that's what they sound like. Hazel Grouse and Capercaillie are there but difficult. Other things you should look for are Collared Flycatcher, Golden Eagle, Corncrake, Wryneck and Ring Ouzel.
Non-avian goodies inclues Fire Salamander, the incredible Carpathian Blue Slug. Bear (yes really!!) Wolf (you won't see them but you'll find lots of wolf poo in the forest) and Wild Boar.
Have a great time.
Darrell
Not been to Romania, but I have been to Slovakia - The Carpathian mountains are common to both, so the species are similar. If you can get into the forests you should get goodies such as Three-toed and Grey-headed Woodpecker.
Black Woodpecker, Nutcracker, Red-breasted flycatcher, CrestedTit, Hawfinch, Goshawk and Firecrest should all be dead easy. More difficult but still "gettable" are Tengmalms owl (nestboxes are put out for them) and possibly Ural Owl. Pygmy Owl is possible but you have to walk through the forest whistling to imitate them - imagine a Bullfinch call, a soft whistle - that's what they sound like. Hazel Grouse and Capercaillie are there but difficult. Other things you should look for are Collared Flycatcher, Golden Eagle, Corncrake, Wryneck and Ring Ouzel.
Non-avian goodies inclues Fire Salamander, the incredible Carpathian Blue Slug. Bear (yes really!!) Wolf (you won't see them but you'll find lots of wolf poo in the forest) and Wild Boar.
Have a great time.
Darrell
P
peter hayes
Guest
^ Geographic Range
Nearctic, Neotropical: The common vampire bat is found from Mexico to Argentina and Chile.
(Turner, 1975)
^ Physical Characteristics
Mass: 15 to 50 g.
Desmodus rotundus has grayish-brown fur which is lighter on the ventral side. The muzzle is compact and looks swollen, and the ears are pointy. The wing span averages 350-400mm and the head and body length is usually 70-90mm. The common vampire bat has no tail and the membrane between the hind legs, called the uropatagium, is reduced. Females are usually larger than males.
The common vampire bat is highly adapted for its specialized feeding behavior. The braincase is large and the rostrum is reduced to accomodate large razor-sharp incisors and canines. There are two lateral grooves in the tongue that expand and contract as the bat feeds. Desmodus rotundus has an acute sense of smell and large eyes.
The limbs are also specialized. The thumb of the wing is long and well developed, and the hind legs are strong.
Nearctic, Neotropical: The common vampire bat is found from Mexico to Argentina and Chile.
(Turner, 1975)
^ Physical Characteristics
Mass: 15 to 50 g.
Desmodus rotundus has grayish-brown fur which is lighter on the ventral side. The muzzle is compact and looks swollen, and the ears are pointy. The wing span averages 350-400mm and the head and body length is usually 70-90mm. The common vampire bat has no tail and the membrane between the hind legs, called the uropatagium, is reduced. Females are usually larger than males.
The common vampire bat is highly adapted for its specialized feeding behavior. The braincase is large and the rostrum is reduced to accomodate large razor-sharp incisors and canines. There are two lateral grooves in the tongue that expand and contract as the bat feeds. Desmodus rotundus has an acute sense of smell and large eyes.
The limbs are also specialized. The thumb of the wing is long and well developed, and the hind legs are strong.
Michael Frankis
conehead
Yep, it was a joke reference to vampires. Actually, they're thought to be extinct in Romania now, the last one known individual was killed in 1989 (went under the name of Ceausescu). But there again, if they neglected to use a silver bullet . . .
Anyway, 'nuff of that. Darren's mentioned a good selection of species to look for; a few others in lower altitude sites:
Black Stork
Short-toed Eagle
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Bee-eater
Roller
Syrian Woodpecker
Middle Spot. Woodpecker
Rock Bunting
And in the high mountains:
Alpine Dunnock
Wallcreeper
and (if you're lucky) balcanica race Shore Lark (rare in Romania, but present)
And if you can get down to the Danube plains, and best of all Lake Bistrets in the SW of Romania:
Pygmy Cormorant
Dalmatian Pelican
Little Bittern
Night Heron
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Purple Heron
Spoonbill
Ferruginous Duck
Levant Sparrowhawk
Long-legged Buzzard
Little Crake
Marsh Sandpiper
Whiskered Tern
Sombre Tit
Spanish Sparrow
Michael
Anyway, 'nuff of that. Darren's mentioned a good selection of species to look for; a few others in lower altitude sites:
Black Stork
Short-toed Eagle
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Bee-eater
Roller
Syrian Woodpecker
Middle Spot. Woodpecker
Rock Bunting
And in the high mountains:
Alpine Dunnock
Wallcreeper
and (if you're lucky) balcanica race Shore Lark (rare in Romania, but present)
And if you can get down to the Danube plains, and best of all Lake Bistrets in the SW of Romania:
Pygmy Cormorant
Dalmatian Pelican
Little Bittern
Night Heron
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Purple Heron
Spoonbill
Ferruginous Duck
Levant Sparrowhawk
Long-legged Buzzard
Little Crake
Marsh Sandpiper
Whiskered Tern
Sombre Tit
Spanish Sparrow
Michael
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Michael Frankis
conehead
Come to think of it, look for Levant Sparrowhawk anywhere, not just in the far southwest.
They are grossly under-recorded in Bulgaria, where they are fairly common, far more than the 'official' breeding total of 150 pairs (in reality, probably more like ten times that), and the same almost certainly applies to Romania ('official' total 30 pairs, scattered across the country, no particular bias to the south).
Best habitat to look for them is small woods and hedgerow trees in farmland close to lowland streams and rivers. But check every small Accipiter carefully, whatever the habitat. Of the small Accipiters I saw in Bulgaria (Sept 2001), about half or more were Levants.
Michael
They are grossly under-recorded in Bulgaria, where they are fairly common, far more than the 'official' breeding total of 150 pairs (in reality, probably more like ten times that), and the same almost certainly applies to Romania ('official' total 30 pairs, scattered across the country, no particular bias to the south).
Best habitat to look for them is small woods and hedgerow trees in farmland close to lowland streams and rivers. But check every small Accipiter carefully, whatever the habitat. Of the small Accipiters I saw in Bulgaria (Sept 2001), about half or more were Levants.
Michael
urafoc
Alex
Piatra craiului it's a very beautiful place of romania with beautiful birds and mamals but the best is Danube Delta!
In August 1990, the Danube Delta was declared by UNESCO reservation of the biosphere. It is made up of the delta, the complex of lagoons Razim-Sinoe and Valea Dunarii upstream until it gets to Cotul Pisicii, measuring a surface of 591.200 ha. This represents 2.5% of Romania's territory. In this area, the vegetal associations comprise of over 1.150 species of plants grouped as it follows:
aquatic plants - hydrophilic submersibles or natante, nenuphars, yellow water lilies, club mosses, sword flags, etc.
the floating reed islet, 19.5 km2 - floating island, thick of 0.60-2 m, made up of roots and reed rhizomes.
the riverside coppices of willow trees, poplar trees, red and white sea buckthorns
exotic forests on Letea and Caraorman narrow reefs made up of autumnal and pedunculate thick oak trees, black and white poplar, alder trees, elm trees etc., shrubs like the hawthorn, the cornel tree, the privet, Mediterranean vegetation, ivy and Virginia creeper, and also lianas, clematis vitalba, humulus rupulus, periploca graeca
60% of the world's population of cormorants
the largest cormorant population in Europe
almost half of the world's population with red neck (they spend the winter here)
besides these ones, we can also notice the winter and summer swan, wild ducks and geese, white, gray, yellow and red herons, cranes, egrets, spoon bills, eastern flossy ibis, bald coots, white tailed eagle, Dobrudjan hawks, storks, flamingo birds.
Ichthyofauna comprises over 1.500 fish species, among which we can mention: the sturgeons- the beluga, the Black Sea sturgeon, the sterlet and the sevruga
the bearers of black roes: the mackerels, the anchovies, the carp, the sheat fish, the pike perch, the pike etc.
The Danube Delta also offers the favorable living environment for mammals - the wild boar, the fox, the otter, the mink, the ermine, the muskrat, etc. The reptiles are not missing, either: the sand snake, the small steppe viper and more rarely the land turtle.
On delta's narrow reefs we encounter sandy and golden sands, formed on loessoide sediments, and in the lower areas, soils with excessive humidity - lacoviste and alluvial soils.
In August 1990, the Danube Delta was declared by UNESCO reservation of the biosphere. It is made up of the delta, the complex of lagoons Razim-Sinoe and Valea Dunarii upstream until it gets to Cotul Pisicii, measuring a surface of 591.200 ha. This represents 2.5% of Romania's territory. In this area, the vegetal associations comprise of over 1.150 species of plants grouped as it follows:
aquatic plants - hydrophilic submersibles or natante, nenuphars, yellow water lilies, club mosses, sword flags, etc.
the floating reed islet, 19.5 km2 - floating island, thick of 0.60-2 m, made up of roots and reed rhizomes.
the riverside coppices of willow trees, poplar trees, red and white sea buckthorns
exotic forests on Letea and Caraorman narrow reefs made up of autumnal and pedunculate thick oak trees, black and white poplar, alder trees, elm trees etc., shrubs like the hawthorn, the cornel tree, the privet, Mediterranean vegetation, ivy and Virginia creeper, and also lianas, clematis vitalba, humulus rupulus, periploca graeca
60% of the world's population of cormorants
the largest cormorant population in Europe
almost half of the world's population with red neck (they spend the winter here)
besides these ones, we can also notice the winter and summer swan, wild ducks and geese, white, gray, yellow and red herons, cranes, egrets, spoon bills, eastern flossy ibis, bald coots, white tailed eagle, Dobrudjan hawks, storks, flamingo birds.
Ichthyofauna comprises over 1.500 fish species, among which we can mention: the sturgeons- the beluga, the Black Sea sturgeon, the sterlet and the sevruga
the bearers of black roes: the mackerels, the anchovies, the carp, the sheat fish, the pike perch, the pike etc.
The Danube Delta also offers the favorable living environment for mammals - the wild boar, the fox, the otter, the mink, the ermine, the muskrat, etc. The reptiles are not missing, either: the sand snake, the small steppe viper and more rarely the land turtle.
On delta's narrow reefs we encounter sandy and golden sands, formed on loessoide sediments, and in the lower areas, soils with excessive humidity - lacoviste and alluvial soils.
