Martin Zwick

The chicks have hatched, or the parents are still sitting on their eggs. It is the first month, where the birds in the colonies are a bit more relaxed. The Cormorants are starting to fledge.

Pelicans can be observed for the first time regularly outside their strictly off limits breeding territory.

The vegetation is thick, the need reed has grown already up to 2 m. The first water lilies are flowering as well as other flowers, the water level has dropped about one meter.

The year 2006 was due to the extremly large evaporation surface of the flooded Delta in combinationwith the intense sun characterized by nearly daily thunderstorms. A thunderstorm in an open boat on the large lakes on channels is not much fun, therefore we have often been fleeing the thunderstorms.

Through the intense green of the new vegetation, the Delta gives for the first time in the year the impression of a huge, unpenetrable wilderness. There is life in every place above, on and under the water.

A beautiful month!

Until June you have been nearly the only tourist in the delta.

This changes in July. The delta, especially the more acesssable lakes and channels are full of anglers. On every dry corner on the dams and levees you will find tents. Sun loving tourists are bathing in the big channels (the small ones are full of leeches...!) and during weekend there is a big party going on in the delta. The delta has been transformed into a leisure area. Somebody looking for peace and tranquility must look for it in the small channels and lakes, which are still open.

It is hot and clouds are building up nearly every day, somethimes there will be thunderstorms. The high hunidity in the air is the reason, why the quality of the light goes down already in the early afternoon hours.

The water is quite clear by now and due to the low water level vast flooded areas are showing up as dry land. Most of the channels and lakes are still open, the vegetation is dense and the water plants begin to clog the lakes and channels.

The breeding period of the birds is nearly finished. Even if most of the colonies are still accessable, the low water level makes photography of nests nearly impossible. Some birds are already loosing their colorful breeding plumage and the fist chicks are going to leave the colonies. Some channels are already crowded with birds, impressive!

If you are lucky you can see for the first time pelicans fishing together with cormorants. This is really spectecular.

July is a beautiful month, but not always optimal for photography.

Some days ago was announced, that the Danube Delta was selected to be the "Landscape of the Year 2007/2008".

Landscape of the Year

Lets hope that this popularity helps the Danube Delta to cope with all the challenges.

Pictures of the "Landscape of the Year 2007/2008" can be searched by using "Schnellsuche" or by using this link for

Images Landscape of the Year 2006/2007 Danube Delta

April is the month of the Danube Delta flood. The water is yellow due to its heavy sediment load and the delta is just a big lake. As the weather is cold and rainy, if you are using an open boat, clothing for sub zero temperatures is obligatory.

You will probably find only birds who are wintering in the delta. The colonies are just populated by cormorants, which are very sensitive to any disturbance in this month. Herons are just coming in and try to recover from the long migration. They are even more shy than in the later months.

Trees show, if any, only very little green; the last year's reed is yellow, if you are lucky a bit golden.

In short, April is not a month I can recommend for wildlife photography in the Danube Delta.

The first "green month" in the Delta. The trees show the fresh green of the spring, the reed is starting to grow again, but the channels and lakes are still completly without any vegetation. The water has already a bit darker appereance due to the sedimentation processes in the Delta. Birds all over the Delta are ready to nest or have already begun with breeding. the colonies are full of birds, on the lakes ducks, geese and divers are nesting, but the birds are still very sensitive to any disturbance.

The temperature is much better than in April and it is also raining not as much as in April.

A beatiful month!

and the tourists are still there - thats a possible summary of August.

The Delta is full of birds. The sheer number of herons and waterfowl is unbelievable. The breeding colonies are empty and old and young birds are busy looking for food. If you just want to look for birds, come in August.

The delta is still a anglers paradise and you must be prepared to find parties going on at every corner in the more accessable parts of the delta.

The vegetation is thick, lots of channels are closed due to the low water level. For the first time in the year you get the impression that there is dry land in the Delta. The water in the lakes and smaller channels is crystal clear and sometimes it has a deep black hue - very photogenic, the weather is hot and a bit more dry as in July.

Until mid of July you hardly will find any pelican. They stay in the strictly protected lakes around their breeding colonies. This changes in late summer! In groups of more than one hundred birds and often together with more than 1000 (!) cormorants they invade lakes and big channels to fish together. It is hard to find anything more spectacular than this well organized mass fishing of pelicans and cormorants. Howerver the delta is huge and you never now where and when this will happen. If you want to be on the save side you have to invest about one week to get some good shots!

If you do not want or do not have to take pictures in the colonies, come in August. For anybody who is not in photography I would recommend August as well!

September is similar to August. The channels and lakes are crowded by birds in unbelievable numbers. Pelicans and cormorants are fishing in the lakes and compete with the sports fishermen for the biggeest fish. It is hard to believ that the delta is not running out of fish. It must have a huge productivity.

By September only the big channels are open all the rest is dry or closed due to fallen trees or clogged by water plants. Otherwise submerged forests are dry for the first time in the year and livestock is grazing on dry meadows which have been lakefloor a couple of weeks ago.

The birds have lost their breeding plumage and feed day out day in to get the energy for their migration or the cold east european winter. The weather is nice, still hot but quite dry.

September is recommended as well.

I spent many weeks in the delta and was always lucky to get weather representative for the season. I payed for this in October! During one week a just had a couple of hours suitabel light for photography - worse than you find normally in October! Regardless of this experience you feel autumn already. There is morning fog, rain is regular and some birds are already leaving for their winter migration.

But it is much quiter and people interested in migrants will find interesting things going on.

The water level is very low and the vegetation is preparing for winter.

October is not a bad month, but something for specialists!

The next report well come not before January. The delta during wintertimes will certainly be a very special experience.

If collegues, or anybody else have questions regarding photography in the Danube Delta, do not hesitate to use the Contact Form.

New sections will be appended after each visit.

Martin Zwick

27.10.2006