Danube Delta Wildlife Species Guide

Wildlife of the Danube Delta — One of Europe's Most Biodiverse Wetlands

The Danube Delta is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve covering approximately 5,800 km² across south-eastern Romania. It is one of Europe's largest and most important wetlands, recognised as a Ramsar Site and Important Bird Area (IBA RO001) by BirdLife International. Over 360 bird species have been recorded in the delta — roughly half of all species documented across Europe.

Ibis Tours has led expert-guided wildlife cruises in the Danube Delta since 1995, documenting breeding, wintering and migratory species across all core habitats: reedbeds, shallow lakes, wooded channels, sandbanks and open water. Our species guides are built from first-hand field observations, annual monitoring records and peer-reviewed population data.

Each guide covers identification (plumage, size, behaviour), when and where to find the species in the delta, ecology and habitat requirements, IUCN conservation status, current population estimates (with the caveat that numbers vary annually according to international monitoring programmes), and photography tips from our guide and photographer Daniel Petrescu, published in National Geographic UK in 2025.

Flagship species include the Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus, Vulnerable), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Pygmy Cormorant, Red-breasted Goose (Vulnerable), and Ferruginous Duck (Near Threatened). The full guide covers 18 species across herons, raptors, waterfowl, terns, bee-eaters and rollers.