Birdwatching and nature photography by slow boat, through the channels, lakes and reedbeds of Europe’s largest wetland.
recorded on these routes
one boat, a handful of people
the season worth travelling for
EN / RO / FR / DE
Ornithologist, nature photographer and writer. Guides every trip and skippers the boat.
Cooks aboard CODRUTZ. Lipovan, from the Delta’s Russian community, and a former MasterChef Romania contestant.
In 2000, on the shore at Sulina, Mihai Baciu found nine white-tailed lapwing — Chettusia leucurus — in courtship display. It was the first time that display had been recorded in Europe. The name stayed with him, and in time it became the boat, the camera, and the company.
Before that he spent ten years as a ranger with the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, which is where the Delta stopped being a map and became a place he knew by its channels. He has since written four books on the birds of the Delta, translated into English, French, German and Italian, and exhibited his photography in Tulcea, Bucharest, France and Luxembourg.
Each window is chosen for migration, breeding or light. Groups stay small and fill in the order people book.
Group size
Departs
Price
Group size
Departs
Price
Group size
Departs
Price
Group size
Departs
Price
Dates, group size, and what you most want in the viewfinder. Send those three and you will get a straight answer about what the Delta is doing that week.
The sand banks and dune forest hold some of the most photographed birds in the Delta.
Great white and Dalmatian both breed here, in the largest colony in Europe.
Nine species in one reedbed on a good morning, plus glossy ibis and spoonbill.
Letea and Caraorman: woodpeckers, eagle owl, and the wild horses.
Otter, jackal, wild boar and muskrat, mostly at the edges of the day.
Dice snake, pond terrapin, fire-bellied toad — everywhere once you look.
Spring passage and the start of breeding. The highest species count of the year, and the reeds are still low enough to see through.
Colonies in full swing and pelicans fishing in formation. Long light at both ends of the day, and mosquitoes that know it.
Autumn passage and the first cold mornings. Fewer boats on the water, and the light turns gold earlier.
Come once and you have seen one version of the Delta. That is the honest pitch.
Review slot. Paste a real guest review here — nothing invented has been put in these cards.
Name
Trip and year
Review slot. Paste a real guest review here — nothing invented has been put in these cards.
Name
Trip and year
Review slot. Paste a real guest review here — nothing invented has been put in these cards.
Name
Trip and year
One boat, a handful of people. Everyone gets the side of the boat they need.
Routes chosen on the morning, from wind, water level and yesterday’s sightings.
Low and slow, so you drift into a colony rather than announce yourself to it.
Beanbag rests, low angles, and the patience to wait for the bird to turn.
Dates, how many of you, and what you most want to see. You will get a reply from a person, not a booking system.
Messages go straight to Mihai. Expect a reply within a day, in English, Romanian, French or Italian.
Anything not covered here, just ask.
Not very. Most of the day is spent sitting in a boat. There is some walking on the Letea and Caraorman trips, over sand, but it is flat and we go at the slowest person’s pace.
A long lens earns its keep — 400mm and up. Bring a beanbag rather than a tripod; the boat is the tripod. Dust and spray are the real risks, so a rain cover and a blower are worth the space.
In season, almost certainly — the Delta holds the largest colony in Europe. Nobody can promise a particular species on a particular morning, and anyone who does is selling something.
Yes. Plenty of people come for the landscape, the fishing villages and the food. The itinerary works either way; say which when you write.
They are real, mostly from June, and worst at dusk in the reeds. Long sleeves and repellent handle it. Spring and autumn trips barely notice them.
Write with your dates and group size. You will get a reply from a person, not a booking system.
