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This site isn’t included in the new book Finding Birds in Eastern Bulgaria. These notes and map, reproduced from the original book, Finding Birds in Bulgaria, were provided by Martin Peers

Attraction

Another ski resort, this time in the Rhodope mountains close to the Greek border. The coniferous woodlands hold Black woodpecker, Hazelhen, Nutcracker and Goshawk and Pallid Swift, Scops Owl and Crag Martin all nest near the hotels. There are weekly excursions in summer to the natural stone bridges of Zabardo where Wallcreepers occur.

Getting there

Take the main highway (36) from Plovdiv to Progled then take a right turn signposted to Pamporovo.

Notes

1.Around the main hotels in Pamporovo I saw families of Black Redstart, Crag Martin, Pallid Swift and Scops Owl in 1993. The nearby forests had Goshawk, Nutcracker, Crossbill, Crested Tit and 4 species of woodpecker, including Black. One observer claimed to have seen Levant’s Sparrowhawk over the reserve in mid-July.

2.The round walk between Pamporovo and Stoikite produced Crossbill and Siskin in the forests, where Ron Job had a party of Hazelhen, and Buzzard, Red-backed Shrike, Serin, Hawfinch and Red-rumped Swallow in the more open areas.

3.The well-marked walk through forests and the Rozen meadows to Progled resulted in views of Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Red-backed Shrike, Serin and Red-rumped Swallow.

4.From the tower at Mount Snezhanka, it is possible to follow a marked path through forestry and meadows to Smolyan. In July 1993, this walk produced Black Redstart, Serin, Cirl Bunting, Red-backed Shrike, 2 Hawfinch and a Bonelli’s Warbler.

5.Further from the resort, the upland meadows beyond Progled yielded Goshawk, Lesser Grey Shrike and Bonelli’s Warbler amongst other more familiar species.