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Description
A river valley high in the Pirin (Пирин) Mountains between Vihren (2914 m) and Todorin Vrah (2746 m), this site holds an excellent range of alpine and subalpine birds. Above the 2,300-2,400 m tree line, the grassy slopes have златен орел, жолтоклуна галка, гавран, алпско попче, карпеста трепетилка, ушеста чучулига (the Balkan subspecies balcanica with extensive black on the throat, a likely future species split), белограден ќос (alpine subspecies alpestris), планинска стрнарка and if you are lucky, карполазач.
The mixed conifer forests are important for Лешникарка (look for them collecting seed from Macedonian Pine [Pinus peuce] cones), Крстоклун (on my visit, two different forms, one small-billed, feeding on Norway Spruce [Picea abies] cones, the other large-billed and closely resembling Parrot Crossbill, feeding on Balkan endemic Bosnian Pine [Pinus heldreichii] cones), планинска сипка (the alpine subspecies montanus), сивоглав клукајдрвец, црн клукајдрвец, жолтоглаво кралче, црвеноглаво кралче, обичен ползач and цуцулеста сипка. The alpine chalets hold breeding сива пиштарка and карпеста ластовичка, both of which feed widely over the valley, and циганче.
Lower down, the mixed woodland around Bansko holds среден клукајдрвец (which can even be seen in parks and gardens in Bansko) and краткопрст ползач. Also look for passage migrants like жолто гушанче and шумски свиркач. Open areas have Пепелава врана, жолтарче, and црногрла стрнарка as well as жолтогрла стрнарка. Overhead, Пештерска (Црвенкаста) ластовица feed together with more familiar градска ластовичка and селска ластовичка. The river holds воден ќос and планинска тресиопашка along its full length.
Details
Access
The mountain resort of Bansko (Банско) has an excellent range of accomodation and can be reached easily by train or bus from the capital Sofia. From Bansko, the best option is to hire a taxi to either the Banderitsa Chalet (Хижа Бъндерица, 14 km) or Vihren Chalet (Хижа Вихрен, 16 km), where you can also stay to explore the area, or walk along the many footpaths back to Bansko.
Terrain and Habitat
Forest , Mountain , Canyon/cliff , Scattered trees and bushes , Grassland , Valley , Tundra , River , City/villageConditions
Mountainous , Open landscape , Rocky , HillyCircular trail
NoIs a telescope useful?
NoGood birding season
Spring , Autumn , SummerBest time to visit
Autumn , Spring , SummerRoute
Paved road , Wide path , Unpaved road , Narrow trailDifficulty walking trail
StrenuousAccessible by
Foot , CarBirdwatching hide / platform
NoExtra info
My visit was in autumn, after most summer visitors had left. If there are other good species to be seen here in spring or summer, please leave a note below and I will add the details!
As well as the many birds, the site holds occasional Brown Bear and Wolf. It is botanically very rich, including the famous 'Байкушевата мура' ('Baikushev's pine'), an ancient Черна мура / Bosnian Pine (Pinus heldreichii) estimated to be over 1,300 years old, one of the oldest trees in the whole of Europe.
Thanks to Stivi Musievski for tips on additional birds that can be found here.
Gallery photo below of Лешникарка in the Banderitsa Valley by Amkramer, creative commons cc-by-4.0 license, from iNaturalist via Wikimedia Commons.