The Danube Delta (Delta Dunarii)

The mighty Danube River flows 1,788 miles from its springs in Germany's Black Forest to the Black Sea. Just before reaching the sea it forms the second largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas: 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes, tree-fringed lakes and reed islands. The Danube Delta is a wildlife enthusiast's (especially a bird watcher's) paradise.
The Delta can be explored as part of a Danube River Cruise, or on day trips and boat excursions a which has good hotels, restaurants specializing in fish dishes and the Museum of the Danube Delta.

The Delta seen by visitors

(Excerpts of an article by Ms. Nina Darnton.
Ms. Darnton is a New York-based freelance journalist).

Delta Blues - The Danube, Romania
A VISIT TO THE DANUBE DELTA usually begins in the Romanian town of Tulcea, a two-hour drive from Constanta. As I boarded a small, brightly painted boat and headed for the delta, I entered a world that seemed almost anachronistic. Here, at the gateway to the 2,200-square-mile Danube delta wetlands, I found lakes and channels with crystal-clear water, and a network of islands, covered in swaying reeds, that would be blanketed by wildflowers in summer. The delta is a haven for bird-watchers; willow, ash, and white poplar trees provide nesting sites for more than 300 species of birds over the course of a year. The silence was broken only by chirping and the sound of oars cutting through the water as fishermen rowed by.

NuferiThe Delta Biosphere Reserve has placed strict limits on future exploitation of the region. Scientists have divided the delta into three types of areas: those in which controlled fishing and hunting are permitted; those in which tourism may be carefully developed; and those that are completely off-limits to all but the scientists studying them.

IN LATE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER, the delta, bursting with life, is a breeding ground for hundreds of bird species, including the majestic white-and-pale-pink Dalmatian pelican. Like the pelicans, a number of birds found here nest in colonies, some as many as 5,000 strong. In summer, bird-watchers can see thousands of pelicans and huge flocks of the crimson-backed glossy ibis, with its long, curved beak. During breeding time, when the birds' colors are at their most brilliant, you might catch sight of some other rare species, such as the pygmy cormorant or the red-breasted goose. Or you might hear the call of an egret, and then spot a group of pelicans lifting gracefully into the air in a blur of black-and-white-tipped wings.

"You go out on one of these boats," says Gomoiu, the reserve's first governor, describing a trip on the delta. "You leave your line over the back all day to catch your dinner and then you see thousands of pelicans so close you can feel their breath."