{"id":33120,"date":"2025-01-27T11:41:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T09:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/?p=33120"},"modified":"2025-01-27T11:41:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T09:41:50","slug":"a-historic-event-for-bulgarian-conservation-dalmatian-pelicans-nest-in-the-burgas-area-after-nearly-80-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/a-historic-event-for-bulgarian-conservation-dalmatian-pelicans-nest-in-the-burgas-area-after-nearly-80-years\/","title":{"rendered":"A Historic Event for Bulgarian Conservation \u2013 Dalmatian Pelicans Nest in the Burgas Area After Nearly 80 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9<\/em> Vladimir Mladenov<\/em><\/p>\n

The year 2025 began with a historic achievement for Bulgarian conservation efforts. A new breeding colony of the endangered Dalmatian pelican has been established in Bulgaria. The birds have occupied artificial islands built by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) within the Natura 2000 site “Mandra-Poda Complex” near the city of Burgas. This marks the fourth breeding site for the species in Bulgaria, alongside Lake Srebarna, Persin Island (Belene), and the Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Area.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a9<\/em> Vladimir Mladenov<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In late 2021, as part of the international project \u201cPelican Way of LIFE,\u201d<\/a> a team of BSPB experts and volunteers successfully constructed two floating platforms in the oxidation ponds of Lukoil Neftochim Burgas, located within the boundaries of the “Mandra-Poda Complex” Special Protection Area. The aim was to attract the birds to nest. These ponds are among the most favored roosting and resting sites for Dalmatian pelicans in the Burgas Lakes region. Additionally, human disturbance in the area is minimal, which is critically important for this sensitive species. Each platform spans 40 square meters. These artificial islands quickly became popular resting and roosting spots for both Dalmatian and Great White pelicans.<\/p>\n

In August 2024, during the \u201cAtanasovsko Lake Brigade,\u201d a conservation camp organized by BSPB, volunteers helped construct a new wooden platform with an area of 32 square meters. Similar wooden structures have been instrumental in establishing breeding colonies in Persina Nature Park and the Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Area.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Adriana Todorova<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

We are thrilled to share that, in mid-January, Dalmatian pelicans formed a new breeding colony on the artificial islands we created for them. Currently, our experts have identified 23 nests on the floating and wooden platforms. The birds are still actively building nests and mating, suggesting that the number of breeding pairs could increase in the coming days. Over 100 adult Dalmatian pelicans were observed in the area around the islands.<\/p>\n

For over 60 years, Bulgaria had only one breeding colony of Dalmatian pelicans – at Lake Srebarna near Silistra. Thanks to targeted conservation efforts and the construction of wooden nesting platforms, two additional colonies were established: in Persina Nature Park in 2016 and the Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Area in 2021. The last recorded nesting of Dalmatian pelicans in the Burgas area dates back to 1948, in Mandrensko Marsh.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Vladimir Mladenov<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

This remarkable conservation achievement represents another significant milestone in safeguarding this majestic species. After nearly 80 years, one of Burgas\u2019s symbolic birds has returned as a breeder to the region – a dream realized for generations of scientists and conservationists. The first chicks are now eagerly awaited in the newly formed colony within the Natura 2000 site “Mandra-Poda Complex.”<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Vladimir Mladenov<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The conservation activities for the Dalmatian pelican are implemented as part of the \u201cPelican Way of LIFE\u201d project (LIFE18\/NAT\/NL\/000716), funded by the EU LIFE Programme.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 Vladimir Mladenov The year 2025 began with a historic achievement for Bulgarian conservation efforts. A new breeding colony of the endangered Dalmatian pelican has been established in Bulgaria. The birds have occupied artificial islands built by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) within the Natura 2000 site “Mandra-Poda Complex” near the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":33112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-33120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33120"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bspb.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=33120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}