I visited this WHS in 2023. Knowing that this was one of the lowest ranking WHS in our community, I made sure to visit it first before the Danube Delta in Romania and I decided to spend two nights here to be able to explore more of the reserve at appropriate times of the day (i.e. sunrise and sunset) for more birdlife activity, as opposed to a touch-and-go experience.

Getting here by car in the summer months means visiting when the landscape is dominated by never-ending sunflower fields and the only hazard you'll meet on the road are the several huge harvesters. Srebarna is a very sleepy village, so much so that there is no grocer or an ATM! We stayed at a very low key B&B just next to the Natural Science/History Museum or Srebarna Nature Reserve Visitor Centre (free entrance on Thursdays) is too far to appreciate the best bird activity'; in fact it is best suited for a panoramic view (with binoculars and telescopes) of the nature reserve and to at least see any birds you missed out in the field ... but stuffed! There is a painted UNESCO and Man and Biosphere sign next to the museum entrance and a couple of new UNESCO WHS inscription boards along the ecotrail.

Years after the 2019 meetup I had missed, the overall upkeep of the ecotrail is now fully "eco", i.e. it has been engulfed by nature. Not only are all the remains of wooden handrails, benches and dustbins taken over by overgrowth, but now even the few gazebos and observation towers are out of bounds, and anyway the view there once was is now fully covered by trees in front of them. The only service I noticed was a not-so-clean portable toilet and the only maintenance is keeping the minor unpaved road/trail free of grass, shrubs and branches. This is a shame as the site has potential for small guided tours or even small boat trips, although this might be against the strict nature reserve policy.

Although visiting around sunrise and sunset are surely the best options to be able to see more bird activity and in larger numbers, these times are also when mosquitoes outnumber birds by far. So make sure to cover yourself from head to toe, and use deet mosquito repellent. That said, whenever you stop hiking to take photos, you'll quickly be literally covered by these pests, and in some way or another, they'll find their way to suck a generous breakfast out of your skin. I've been to several birdwatching experiences, but the one in Srebarna was surely the worst in terms of mosquito bites even with all the precautions taken.

Without any guide, I headed down the road (GPS coordinates 44.10275245017054, 27.062852383278862) and kept on walking (sometimes in ankle high mud) till I reached the lake, connected to the Danube river via a channel, just opposite the Romanian border. There are a couple of makeshift fisherman homes and sheds along the way, towards the end of the "trail", and a couple of reed patches and small islands in the middle of the lake, but other than that there is nothing to see from land. In the early morning and in the late afternoon, you'll definitely see hundreds of pygmy cormorants, cormorants, spoonbills, glossy ibises, wagtails, herons, egrets, bluethroats, coots, ducks, swans, marsh harriers, sparrowhawks, kestrels, etc. feeding close to or in the water. Closer to the muddy banks near the reed patches, you'll be able to spot scores of honey-bee eaters and kingfishers, although the chances of getting a good photo without a mosquito blurring your focus are quite hard. I managed to spot and track some small mammals such as rodents, foxes, a deer and a small boar too. Pay attention as there are lots of spiders and snakes too in the area, especially since it isn't well kept.

The star attraction for most at the Srebarna Nature Reserve, as in the Danube Delta, is probably going to be the Dalmation Pelican. Along the trail I managed to spot several of them in flight, but also some feeding at the lake. The Nature Science Musuem seems to have built a very small wooden jetty and some planks where a number of pelicans love to rest during the day (the binoculars and telescopes point mostly toward this direction for people to get a chance of spotting pelicans). However, most of the Dalmatian pelicans seem to love to congregate on the opposite muddy/sandy bank of the island in large groups. I managed to view this area from a distance using my drone and the aerial views are far better than those from land.

All in all Srebarna Nature Reserve is an important wetland in Eastern Europe, located along the Via Pontica, a bird migration route between Europe and Africa, providing a nesting and migratory habitat for many endangered avifauna. Although I haven't visited yet, it seems to be comparable mostly to the Ichkeul National Park in Tunisia, both in terms of accessibility and in terms of what there is to see for the common visitor/birder.