We began today at a site north of Burgas where one of Europe’s rarest snakes — the Reddish Whip Snake can be found. We arrived at 7:35am with the intention of staying for a while, but it was a cool morning and we had other things planned for the day so decided not to stay long. Unsurprisingly we didn’t have any success, neither with the snake or any other reptiles. We did see a few butterflies though, including a Yellow-banded Skipper, 3 Ilex Hairstreak and an Eastern Baton Blue. We also recorded a Hare, a Southern Darter, 5 Pyramidal Orchids, 2 Hawfinch, Nightingale and a Golden Oriole.

We were moving on from Pomorie now, to the town of Primorsko several hours dive down the coast. On the way south we decided to stop for another hour session at Atanasovsko Ezero. We saw much the same selection of species, but a clear highlight was my first Ruddy Shelduck. The large flock of Greater Flamingo were still present, and in softer light I was able to get some nice images. I was also able to get some decent photos of one of the 15+ Little Gull we recorded. Other birds recorded included a flock of 4 Great White Pelican low overhead, 4 Dalmatian Pelican in two groups of two, a Curlew and 2 Black-tailed Godwit.

By the time we’d checked in to our accommodation in Primorsko, and had reached our next site, the weather had become extremely overcast. More to explore the site than in great hope of finding anything, we visited a location that is supposed to be excellent for reptiles. While we were much less successful than we’d planned when originally putting together the trip, in the end we were quite pleased to find a nice Eastern Slow Worm, showing the characteristic blue speckling along its body. This was a new species for me. We also recorded 5+ Eastern Green Lizard, the attractive Geometrid Rhodestrophia discopunctata, a new species for us, and while rushing back to the car in the pouring rain that had set in, a tiny juvenile Eastern Tree Frog, our second of the trip.