An extremely successful walk up Mt. Orelyak in the Pirin Mountains, seeing the rare Bosnian Blue, as well as Higgin's Anomalous Blue, Phalakron Blue, and a great range of other butterflies, bird and orchids.

A few hours focused on trying to photograph male Yellow-winged Darter at Smolyan Lakes.

A successful day at a couple of sites near the border with Greece — the best finds being Lulworth Skipper and a lifer for us: Provençal Short-tailed Blue.

Visited a range of sites in far southwest Bulgaria, in particular looking for dragonflies. We missed out on Violet Dropwing but saw Bladetail and Banded Darter, as well as mix of interesting butterflies.

A morning visit to the site of a extinct volcano, seeing a few interesting insects including a Freyer's Grayling, Bloodword Burnet, and a variety of Orthoptera including the rare Bronze Glandular Bush-crickets.

The first day of the trip was mainly a travel day, but we did have a little time in the morning to check out 'Smolyanski Ezera', in particular to search for Yellow-winged Darter.

The first of three days in the far south-east of the country. After a morning washout we had a good afternoon with two new species — an Assmann's Fritillary, and a tantalisingly brief Large Chequered Skipper.

Started off at a site north of Burgas to look unsuccessfully for Reddish Whip Snake. Then visited Atanasovsko Ezero again, and finished off along the southern Black Sea Coast with a rain-interrupted herping session.

Some photos of a young Dice Snake we found at the end of day 15 of the trip.

A selection of photos of a Dark Spreadwing we found at Pomorie Salt Museum.

A quick visit to Joss Bay to see Kent's first American Cliff Swallow.

Today's main site was Atanasovsko Ezero, where a large number of Greater Flamingo and a small mix of waders were the highlights, as well as a few dragonflies and moths. At Pomorie in the evening the best bits were Dark Spreadwing and a Dice Snake.

An evening session photographing in excellent light Black-winged Stilts and Avocets at Pomorie.

A selection of photos from an excellent session photographing one of my favourite species, the Collared Pratincole, at Poda BSPB.

A visit to the Poda BSPB reserve, with a nice selection of birds, a Tree Frog, and a new species of bird for me: Citrine Wagtail.

An afternoon spent in the Goritsa Forest, unsuccessfully looking for Semicollared Flycatcher. We did however see some good herps, including more Meadow Lizards, and my first ever skink.

This morning was spent birding the steppe around the village of Balgarevo, looking mainly for larks & pipits. Photography was challenging, but I came away with some atmospheric shots of most of the steppe specialists.

A late afternoon/evening visit to Cape Kaliakra was as productive as we hoped. Both Pied Wheatear and Northern Wheatear were easy to photograph. The day finished with a nice bonus in the form of a very obliging Tawny Pipit.

The morning's main focus was hunting for Paddyfield Warbler — we were successful! Black Pennant was a nice bonus here too. We then moved on to another birdy site by the coast, before getting lucky with a showy Lesser Grey Shrike.

A selection of additional Scarce Fritillary images from the final (and most productive for this species) site we visited in the Suha Reka region.

Exploring a couple more sites in the 'Suha Reka' area of Bulgaria for Scarce Fritillary. We saw plenty at the second site, as well as a nice mix of other butterflies.

A selection of Rock Pipit photos from a recent visit to Reculver Towers. I had been hoping to find photograph Black Redstart, but the chance to take my favourite Rock Pipit photos to date was decent enough compensation.

A successful day despite only having a short amount of time, with a good session spent photographing Scarce Fritillary. There was also a nice bonus in the form of a Meadow Lizard, a new species for us.

A day spent birding in the area of Bulgaria called Sakar. We failed to find one of the main targets, Eastern Imperial Eagle, but were successful with Masked Shrike and Lesser Kestrel amongst a nice variety of birds. We also searched unsuccessfully for Russian Heath, but were compensated with a range of other insects.

The main target today was to search for a rare butterfly: the Small Bath White. We saw a nice variety of other Lepidoptera too, plus had a good time with Eastern Subalpine Warblers and a mix of other birds down by the river.

Spent the morning searching unsuccessfully for Sand Boa, but seeing an interesting range of wildlife including a low Lesser Spotted Eagle and lots of Dainty Bluet. Afternoon at a variety of other sites, photographing vultures, a surprise flock of pelicans, Schmidtler's Smooth Newt and various insects.

A disappointing day overall, with the morning spent searching unsuccessfully for Levant Sparrowhawk, and the afternoon spent attempting more flight shots of the tricky pair of Eastern Spectre and Turkish Goldenring. Photo opportunities of Little Ringed Plover and Small Pincertail were the highlights.

Spent the morning repeating what we'd done the previous day, focusing in particular on improving photos of Eastern Black-eared Wheatear and Lesser Grey Shrike. Afternoon spent at a dragonfly site, attempting to get flight shots of Turkish Goldenring and Eastern Spectre.

A few photos of a confiding male Eastern Olivaceous Warbler photographed over two sessions in the Dolna Kula Valley of the Eastern Rodopi mountains.

A selection of photographs of a surprisingly showy Chukar from the Dolna Kula Valley. Across two visits we were afforded some excellent views as it called from rocks just above and just below the road.

An entirely bird-focused day in the Dolna Kula Valley of the Eastern Rodopi. We had four main targets: Roller, Lesser Grey Shrike, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear and Chukar. We saw all four and I managed good photos of two.

A frustrating day focused around dragonflies, saved at either end by some Masked Shrike action early in the morning, and then my first ever non-lured clearwing found roosting in the evening.

A day where the focus was mainly on birds, in particular trying to photograph Isabelline Wheatear, Woodchat Shrike and any raptors that came over. We also found a nice variety of orchids and herps.

Some photos of Balkan Pond Terrapin from day 2 of our trip to Bulgaria. There were at least seven living in the trough of a water fountain.

A day spent exploring a river area in the Eastern Rodopi Mountains. No standout highlights, but a nice mix of butterflies, moths, reptiles, birds and beetles among others.

A few European Bee-eater photos from an encounter on the evening of my first day in Bulgaria. Most of the photos were taken using the car as a hide, but I later got out to take a few flight shots.

The first evening of a six-week trip to Bulgaria. Only time for a short walk out of the village we were staying in, but saw a few nice leps, including a roosting Eastern Festoon, 8 species of bat and several Bulgarian Bent-toed Gecko.

This morning I came across a surprisingly confiding Northern Wheatear on the beach at Reculver. It was a lot less nervous than the majority that pass through here, and I was able to get a nice variety of images.