Enthusiast Birder

Dalmatian pelican / 6 nights – 7 days

Day 1- Arrival in Tirana and departure to Divjaka

English local guide welcomes the group in the airport. Departure to Divjaka-Karavasta National Park and check-in at the hotel in Divjaka.

Monitoring of the roosting sites for the Dalmatian Pelican in Divjaka. Other species to be observed are Stone Curlew, Pygmy Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret etc.

Dinner & Overnight in Divjaka

Day 2 – Monitoring of the Dalmatian Pelican Colony and the Collared Pratincole colony

Morning boat trip to the Dalmatian Pelicans colony where the group would engage in monitoring of the Dalmatian Pelican in accordance with the species monitoring protocol. The group will monitor the number of adult, juveniles and pullis (chicks) as well as their activity including brooding, feeding, resting, flying etc.

Afternoon monitoring of two Collared Pratincoles colonies in the southern part of the National Park.

Both visit will provide extensive opportunities for bird photography. Notably for the Dalmatian Pelican and Collared Pratincole.

Dinner & Overnight in Divjaka.

Day 3- Monitoring Dalmatian Pelican habitat use and fishing efficiency in Divjaka-Karavasta

Morning monitoring of the Dalmatian Pelican habitat use is done through simultaneous surveys in different water bodies in Divjaka-Karavasta. For each pelican being surveyed, the observers will try to measure the fishing efficiency. This exercise will provide information on the trophic status of the lagoon considered as an important factor for the breeding success of the Dalmatian Pelican.

The groups will rotate in the afternoon, in order to continue measuring of the habitat use and efficiency in different observation points previously used by other observation groups.

Both visit will provide extensive opportunities for bird photography of Dalmatian Pelican, Slender-billed Gull, Stone Curlew, Tawny Pipit, Red-back and Woodchat Shrike.

Dinner & Overnight in Divjaka.

Day 4 – Monitoring and habitat rehabilitation for Common and Little Tern

Morning boat trip to Karavasta lagoon for monitoring of breeding birds including the Little Tern, Common Tern, Black-winged Stilt, Common Redshank, Kentish Plover etc.

A wooden platform constructed by AOS in 2021 will be check in particular in order to assess the amount of the rehabilitation work needed for the platform to hot new breeding pairs for Little Tern.

Rehabilitation work will be conducted in the afternoon at the Little Tern platform and islands in order to provide potential breeding grounds for the species.

The visit will provide extensive opportunities for bird photography of Little Tern and Common Tern, Common Redshank, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Pied Avocet, Yellow Wagtail (feldegg race) etc.

Dinner & Overnight in Divjaka

Day 5 – Simultaneous monitoring of the Dalmatian Pelicans in Divjaka-Karavasta, Thana and Narta

The three sites are crucial to the Dalmatian Pelican survival with adults and juveniles using the sites for feeding. This survey will provide information on the relative importance of each water body trophic status of the lagoon considered as an important factor for the breeding success of the Dalmatian Pelican.

Apart from waterbirds, the visit will offer possibilities for bird photography of Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, Little Owl, Tawny pipit and Turtle Dove.

Dinner & Overnight in Divjaka

Day 6 – Monitoring the composition of the heronry in Divjaka-Karavasta and overnight in Tirana

The heronry has been discovered in 2015 and it is monitored since to understand the composition of the colony, the number of breeding pairs per each species and their reproductive success. So far the colony is composed by 6 species including Little Egret, Pygmy Cormorant, Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Cattle egret and Glossy Ibis.

The colony is situated in brackish water marsh, in the Northern part of the National Park, in the so-called jungle of Divjaka-Karavasta due to its difficult access and pristine nature. Nevertheless, its monitoring will be conducted from a dike, separating the mainland from the marsh.

The visit will offer possibilities for pictures of the species part of the colony as well as other birds including warblers, birds of prey etc.

Dinner & Overnight in Tirana.

Day 7 – Departure from Tirana

Morning walk through the city and Tirana Park for tour of the city and possibilities of observing swifts, swallows, woodpeckers, warblers, tits and other nesting birds in the city and in Tirana Park.