SmartBirds
© Damyan Petkov
An international census of wintering Dalmatian pelicans on the Balkan Peninsula took place in late November and mid-December. The purpose of the census is to collect data on the number and distribution of endangered Dalmatian pelicans in the study area. Тhe study was conducted in two stages. A census was conducted at the end of November in the Western Balkans – Western Greece, Albania, and Montenegro. In the period December 9-12, wetlands in Bulgaria and Romania were visited. The event is organized within the project “Pelican Way of LIFE”.
Teams from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) also joined the international initiative. They visited the wetlands of the greatest importance for the wintering Dalmatian pelicans in the country – – Burgas Lakes, Srebarna Lake, Ovcharitsa Dam, Rozov Kladenets, Studen Kladenets, the islands along the Danube River, Varna Lake, etc.
© Svilen Cheshmedziev
А total of 754 Dalmatian and six Great white pelicans were counted in Bulgaria. By comparison, during the 2021 census 1,469 Dalmatian and 48 Great white pelicans were counted in the country. Traditionally, the largest number of Dalmatian pelicans were observed in the area of Atanasovsko Lake near the city of Burgas – 535 ind., on sandbars and islands along the Danube River in the section from the village of Dolni Tsibar to the town of Silistra – 172 ind. and in Lake Srebarna – 12 ind. Our teams also found six Great white pelicans – five in the Mandra Dam and one in the Rozov Kladenets Dam.
© Svilen Cheshmedziev
The data collected will contribute to better knowledge and implementation of conservation activities for the Dalmatian Pelican in Southeast Europe. Cross-border cooperation is key to the conservation of this species.
© Svilen Cheshmedziev
The actions for protecting the Dalmatian pelican are carried out within the project “Pelican Way of LIFE” (LIFE18/NAT/NL/000716), funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Union and with the assistance of the Whitlеy Fund for Nature.
