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Birds and wildlife of the Danube Delta: pelicans, where and when to see them

Two feral horses on a wide meadow at the edge of a grove of tall poplars and oaks
Two feral horses on a wide meadow at the edge of a grove of tall poplars and oaks · Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Danube Delta has 365 recorded bird species, according to the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority (ARBDD), among them most of the European population of the great white pelican and the Dalmatian pelican. Europe's largest great white pelican colony is in the strictly protected Roșca–Buhaiova area, which is closed to visitors, so you see the pelicans from a boat, on the open lakes and channels, above all in May–June, when the birds are nesting, and during the spring and autumn migrations.

Below, the species, the pelicans, the places and the seasons are taken one by one, then the closed areas and what is forbidden near the colonies, followed by the delta's other wildlife and plants: the mammals, the jackals, the feral horses of Letea Forest, the reeds and the water lilies. At the end come the bird sites near Bucharest and Brăila. The access permit and the general rules of the reserve are in the guide to a first visit to the Danube Delta.

In short

  • The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has 365 recorded bird species, according to ARBDD; about 170 of them nest in the delta.
  • Two pelican species nest in the delta, the great white pelican and the Dalmatian pelican, both declared natural monuments in 1933; the reserve holds most of their European population.
  • Europe's largest great white pelican colony is in Roșca–Buhaiova, one of the delta's 20 strictly protected areas, which are closed to visitors.
  • Birds are best seen in May–June, when they are nesting, while in spring and autumn the delta is a stopover for several million migrating birds.
  • The reserve's fauna counts 4,286 species, including 135 fish and 51 mammals, and its flora 2,994 taxa; about 70% of the vegetation is dominated by reed and reedmace.
  • The horses of Letea Forest are feral horses, descended from domestic horses set free; do not go near them and do not feed them.

Danube Delta birds and wildlife at a glance: what, where and when

The table brings together what nature visitors usually look for: which species, at which place on this site and in which season. The places with a link have their own page, with how to get there and their rules.

What you want to seeWhereWhen
Great white and Dalmatian pelicansfrom a boat, on lakes Furtuna, Merhei or Roșu; the Roșca–Buhaiova colonies are closedMay–June, nesting
Cormorants, herons, egretson the classic boat routes (cormorants), at Lake Razim (herons, cormorants), at Gura Portiței (herons, egrets)May–June; spring and autumn, on migration
Migrating birdsLake Razim, Gura Portiței, Sfântu Gheorghe Beachspring and autumn
Swans and geesethe reserve's lakeswinter
White-tailed eagleLetea Forest, Caraorman Forestspring and autumn, with the excursions
Feral horsesLetea Forest, on the approved routesApril – September/October
Raptors and storks on migrationMăcin Mountainsautumn
Fish and dioramas of Delta wildlifeTulcea Aquariumall year
Birds near Bucharest and BrăilaVăcărești (more than 180 species), Comana (212), Balta Mică a Brăilei (206)spring and autumn

Species numbers from the websites of the administrations (ddbra.ro, apnv.ro, Comana Natural Park, bmb.ro), read on 30 October 2026; places and seasons from the attraction pages.

How many bird species are there in the Danube Delta

ARBDD gives 365 bird species recorded in the reserve; 89 of them are listed in Annex 1 of the Birds Directive, and 97% are protected under the Bern Convention. About 170 species nest in the Danube Delta.

Some populations matter on a world scale, according to ARBDD: the delta holds about 60% of the world population of the pygmy cormorant and, in winter, about half of that of the red-breasted goose. There are also important colonies of Eurasian spoonbill, and a few pairs of white-tailed eagle nest here.

Among the species declared natural monuments, ARBDD names the great white and the Dalmatian pelican, the great egret and the little egret, the spoonbill, the black-winged stilt, the common shelduck and the ruddy shelduck. Most colonies are mixed: cormorants, spoonbills, glossy ibises, herons and egrets nest together, in the same willows and the same reeds.

Danube Delta pelicans: the great white pelican and the Dalmatian pelican

Two pelican species nest in the delta: the great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus). Both have been natural monuments since 1933. ARBDD writes that the reserve holds most of their European population; in its population table, the delta's great white pelicans are 52% of the Palearctic population and its Dalmatian pelicans 5% of the world population.

  • Roșca–Buhaiova, in the north of the delta, has Europe's largest great white pelican colony. It is a strictly protected area: no entry.
  • Ceaplace Island, in the north of Lake Sinoe, is one of the 3 sites in Romania with Dalmatian pelican colonies; it is a scientific reserve.
  • Prundu cu Păsări Islands, also on Lake Sinoe, are a stopover for great white pelicans, and Dalmatian pelicans have tried to nest there.

Visitors see them from a boat: the Delta's page gives lakes Furtuna, Merhei and Roșu, while at Lake Razim and at Gura Portiței pelicans appear on passage, that is, on migration.

Where and when to see birds in the Danube Delta

May–June is bird season for the Danube Delta page: the water is high, the birds are nesting, and the heat and mosquitoes of July–August have not arrived yet. Mila 23 also has May–June, with high water; on the classic channels to the village and to Crișan, the Delta's page mentions the reed beds, the water lilies, cormorants drying their wings on the willows and, with luck, pelican colonies.

Spring and autumn are the migration seasons. ARBDD writes that the delta is a major stopover for several million birds, mainly ducks, white storks and many raptors. On this site, Lake Razim (herons, cormorants, pelicans on passage), Gura Portiței (herons and egrets on Lake Golovița) and Sfântu Gheorghe Beach, with the Sacalin islands offshore, have their bird season in spring and autumn.

In winter, the reserve hosts large flocks of swans and geese, according to ARBDD. How to get onto the channels and which routes the boats take is explained in the guide to Danube Delta excursions.

A reed-thatched house among willows, with fishing boats moored on the bank of the Old Danube

Mila 23

Mila 23, TLOpen5 lei/day
Villages and traditions

Roșca–Buhaiova, Sacalin–Zătoane and the other strictly protected areas

The reserve has 20 strictly protected areas, covering 50,904 ha, or 8.7% of its surface. They are closed to visitors: the ARBDD rules forbid unauthorised entry, on foot or by boat. Those linked to birds, according to the ARBDD zoning:

  • Roșca–Buhaiova (9,625 ha): floating reed islands, lakes and willow woods in the river delta, with Europe's largest great white pelican colony and mixed heron colonies. The Roșca–Buhaiova–Hrecisca area was declared a biosphere reserve as early as 1978.
  • Sacalin–Zătoane (21,410 ha), south of the Sfântu Gheorghe arm: the mute swan nests here and, on Sacalin Island, about 30 species, and it also has the largest Sandwich tern colony. From Sfântu Gheorghe Beach the islands can only be seen from afar.
  • Periteașca–Leahova (4,125 ha): a winter refuge for the red-breasted goose.
  • Sărături Murighiol (87 ha): a salt lake with black-winged stilts, avocets and tern colonies.
  • Letea Forest (2,825 ha) and Caraorman Forest (2,250 ha), with the white-tailed eagle; these can be visited on the approved routes.

On Lake Razim, Popina Island is also strictly protected; you see it from the boat.

What is forbidden near the bird colonies

The ARBDD rules for visits on the water forbid people and boats from entering nesting sites, destroying nests, collecting or destroying eggs, and making loud noise in signposted nesting areas. The Danube Delta page adds: the colonies are off limits, do not go near nests and do not shout; in sensitive areas motorboats are limited to 5 km/h, and a drone needs ARBDD authorisation.

In practice, this means watching from the open channel, with binoculars, and not asking the boatman to push into the reeds towards a colony. The other rules of the reserve (the permit, fires, camping) are in the guide to a first visit to the Danube Delta.

Danube Delta animals: mammals, reptiles, fish and jackals

ARBDD counts 7,280 species in the reserve, 4,286 of them fauna: 3,713 invertebrates, 135 fish, 10 amphibians, 12 reptiles, 365 birds and 51 mammals. 37 species new to science have been described here.

  • Mammals: the otter and the European mink, species of Community interest, plus the stoat, the raccoon dog, the red fox and the wildcat; in Caraorman Forest, with luck, you see roe deer and wild boar.
  • Reptiles: the steppe viper lives at Letea; the spur-thighed tortoise is a natural monument.
  • Fish: the 135 species are 75–80% of Romania's fish fauna, from carp to the sturgeons that still come up from the sea. Fishing is covered in the guide to fishing in the Danube Delta.
  • Jackals: they live in the reserve. In 2025 ARBDD published measures to limit the damage they do to farm animals, and the rules for slow tourism list the jackal and the viper among the dangers to bear in mind.

In bad weather, Tulcea Aquarium has 24 fish species from the delta and the Black Sea, and dioramas of the nature of the Delta, the Razim–Sinoe lagoons and the Măcin Mountains, with 44 bird species and 12 mammals.

The wild horses of Letea Forest

The horses of Letea Forest are not a wild species but feral horses: descendants of domestic horses set free by the locals, hundreds of animals grazing on the meadows at the edge of the forest. To protect the saplings, the strict zone was fenced in 2013–2014.

The forest's page is clear: do not go near the horses and do not feed them, they can kick. The forest can only be visited on the three approved routes and only with a licensed guide, and the excursions usually run from April to September–October.

At Letea, ARBDD also counts 120 bird species, 70 of them potential breeders, with the white-tailed eagle as the flagship species, plus the European roller, the hoopoe and the red-footed falcon. The forest has about 500 species of higher plants, with Periploca graeca lianas.

Danube Delta plants: reeds, floating reed islands and water lilies

The reserve's flora has 2,994 taxa according to ARBDD, 1,364 of them vascular plants. About 70% of the delta's vegetation is dominated by reed and reedmace, including the reed on the plaur, the floating reed islands that the Delta's page describes among the channels.

On lakes and channels grow water lilies (white and yellow), water chestnut and other submerged plants; in the Roșca–Buhaiova area, ARBDD also mentions carnivorous plants, Utricularia vulgaris and Aldrovanda vesiculosa. The higher banks have willow woods, and the Letea and Caraorman forests have oaks and ashes with lianas. Sand grasses grow on the dunes, and halophytes such as Salicornia on the salty soils.

The ARBDD code of conduct asks you not to pick plants or water lilies.

Birds near Bucharest and Brăila: Văcărești, Comana, Balta Mică

Three wetlands outside the delta also have many birds, with the figures of their administrations:

  • Văcărești Nature Park (the Văcărești Delta), in Bucharest: more than 180 species, among them the egrets, the black-crowned night heron and the ferruginous duck; at times more than 500 pygmy cormorants roost here. Migration is in April–May and September–October; the administration regularly runs free guided tours.
  • Neajlov Delta, in Comana Natural Park, a Ramsar site: 212 bird species in the whole park, with herons, egrets and cormorants on the marsh; the season is May.
  • Balta Mică a Brăilei: 206 species, 98 of them water birds; great white and Dalmatian pelicans come on passage or in winter, and the spoonbill and the white-tailed eagle are on the park's list. It can only be visited by the administration's boat.

In autumn, tens of thousands of soaring birds, mainly raptors and white storks, fly over the Măcin Mountains National Park, along the Via Pontica migration route. How to plan a day at Văcărești or Comana is in the guide to the deltas near Bucharest.

Pink pelicans, the largest bird and other confusions

  • "Pink pelicans": the pink birds of the delta are usually flamingos. In May 2021, ARBDD counted 49 flamingos on Lake Sărături Murighiol and about 60 on Lake Tuzla; their plumage takes on shades of pink depending on their food.
  • The largest bird in the Danube Delta: ARBDD does not publish a ranking. Of the white-tailed eagle it writes that it is the largest bird of prey in the Danube region; in 2014, a winter census counted 166 white-tailed eagles in the reserve.
  • "The birds' paradise" is the name ARBDD itself gives the delta on one of its pages, with a call on visitors to protect its biodiversity.
  • UNESCO and Ramsar: in 1991 the delta was added to the Ramsar list, as a habitat for waterbirds, and 340,000 ha were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, according to ARBDD; what this means for the reserve is explained in the general guide to the Danube Delta.

Frequently asked questions

How many bird species are there in the Danube Delta?
365, according to the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority (ddbra.ro, October 2026). 89 of them are listed in Annex 1 of the Birds Directive.
Which pelican species live in the Danube Delta?
Two: the great white pelican and the Dalmatian pelican. Both nest in the delta and have been natural monuments since 1933.
Where can you see pelicans in the Danube Delta?
From a boat, on lakes Furtuna, Merhei or Roșu, and on passage at Lake Razim and Gura Portiței. The largest colony, Roșca–Buhaiova, is a strictly protected area, closed to visitors.
When is the best time for birdwatching in the Danube Delta?
May–June, when the birds are nesting and the water is high. Spring and autumn are the migration season, when the delta is a stopover for several million birds.
Are pelicans migratory birds?
Yes. At Lake Razim, Gura Portiței and Balta Mică a Brăilei they appear on passage, that is, on migration, and Balta Mică also lists them among its winter visitors. In the delta, both species nest.
What is the largest bird in the Danube Delta?
ARBDD does not publish a ranking. The white-tailed eagle is, according to ARBDD, the largest bird of prey in the Danube region.
What animals live in the Danube Delta?
ARBDD counts 4,286 animal species: 51 mammals (otter, European mink, red fox, wildcat), 12 reptiles, 10 amphibians, 135 fish and 365 birds. Jackals also live in the reserve.
Are there wild horses in Letea Forest?
They are feral horses, descendants of domestic horses set free by the locals, hundreds of animals. Do not go near them and do not feed them: they can kick.
Which birds live in the Văcărești Delta?
More than 180 species, including the great egret and the little egret, the pygmy cormorant, the black-crowned night heron and the ferruginous duck (apnv.ro). Migration can be seen in April–May and September–October.

Sources

All guides