Day six A.M.

We had a lay in today, meeting in the hotel foyer at six ready for a drive to the Burgas fresh marsh run by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds. We stopped en route for a coffee to wake us up, now part of our morning ritual.

 The first impression of the marsh was the large numbers of cormorants nesting on a line of old power pylons  but there were also a considerable number on lines that appeared to be live! Janos then pointed out a number of white pelican flying along looking like musical notes between the power cables.

I have been unable to definitely name the gull pictured, I thought it may be an Armenicus but in trying to prove it I need help.......................

There were lots of Pygmy cormorants about but my best effort was the ones on the posts in front of the first hide. A female marsh harrier put in a brief appearance, and then it was time to pack up and head for our lunch location and it's speciality species, but not before we met my namesake 'Philip' according to Mladen, the rescued white pelican who looked at us like Oliver Twist in front of Mr Bumble the beadle as it begged for fish, he had been nursed back to health but now refused to recapture his freedom as he appeared to enjoy the comforts of living with humans, I could have taken him home but Lesley may have had negative thoughts about him.