Birding & Bears in Transylvania
Thursday 2 – Saturday 11 May 2024 Special Interest

The famous area of Transylvania in the northern part of Romania is a region rich in birds and wildlife. On this exclusive nine-day tour (eight nights) we will be the guests of Count Kálnoky at his family’s Transylvanian Guesthouse in Miklósvár and two nights at King Charles's private nature retreat in the nearby Zalán Valley at Zalánpatak.

Guided by local professional expert (Bobi Zeitz) from The Milvus Group (a non-profit conservation organization) and our Yorkshire Coast Nature guide (Mark Pearson) our group will explore the forests, meadows and gorges in search of great birds such as Lesser Spotted Eagle, Ural Owl, Scops Owl, Red-footed Falcon, Wallcreeper, Corncrake, Thrush Nightngale, Red-backed, Great Grey and Lesser Grey Shrikes, Pygmy Cormorant, White Stork, Black Stork, Golden Oriole, Barred Warbler and Brown Bears!

This is a rare opportunity to experience the wildlife of an iconic region at a relaxed pace whilst helping a local conservation organisation

Mark Pearson 

Mark is an obsessive Yorkshire coast birder and naturalist whose roles include wildlife guide, ecologist, speaker, writer and educator.

He is well known as a passionate, exceptional communicator, whether in the field with YCN clients, in the classroom with schoolkids, in lecture theatres, on television screens, on radio airwaves or via the written word.

He grew up on Flamborough Head, where the seeds were quickly sown – the family home became a bird hospital, complete with Puffins taking over the bathtub! - and he's been studying and advocating the wildlife of the area ever since.

He is regularly asked to share his knowledge and enthusiasm on TV and radio, and this has included co-presenting features with both Simon King and Chris Packham (on the BBC's Springwatch and Autumnwatch), with Michaela Strachan (Springwatch at Easter), with Chris for his recent Bioblitz campaign, and as a lead presenter of an episode of the BBC's flagship Natural World series. His appearances on radio, nationally and internationally, are numerous.

He is fortunate to have travelled world in his pursuit of birds and wildlife, with many memorable adventures across the globe in his notebooks; he is particularly fond of South and East Asia, Scandinavia and North America. He has managed various conservation and engagement projects in many different settings, from urban London (including the award-winning Cockney Sparrow Project) to rural Yorkshire, and his ecological fieldwork has taken him across the country from the Outer Hebrides to Kentish coast.

“Who better could have I asked to help guide me?” - Simon King, live on BBC Autumnwatch

• Limited to eight clients
• Escourted Tour guide from the UK
• Local expert guides from Romania
• A Birding holiday helping Wildlife Conservation
• Explore the forests, meadows & gorges in search of great birds such as Lesser Spotted Eagle, Ural Owl, Scops Owl, Red-footed Falcon, Wallcreeper, Corncrake, Thrush Nightngale, Red-backed, Great Grey and Lesser Grey Shrikes, Pygmy Cormorant, White Stork, Black Stork, Golden Oriole, Barred Warbler and Brown Bears!