A new nesting colony of the endangered Dalmatian pelican has been settled in Bulgaria. The birds occupied the artificial island in Nature 2000 area “Kalimok Complex“ near the city of Tutrakan. This is the third nesting colony of the species in Bulgaria in addition to those in Serbarna lake and Persin island (Belene).
New data from the Messolonghi lagoon bring hope for the protected species’ breeding status!
A record number of Dalmatian pelicans nest on the two wooden platforms in the Peschina swamp on the Persin Island. This was established during the regular monitoring by the experts from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and the Persina Nature Park Directorate. On March 12, the number of nesting pairs of Dalmatian pelicans in the Peschina swamp was 64, which is an absolute record compared to previous years.
On February 22nd, a team of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) successfully trapped and tagged with a satellite transmitter a Dalmatian Pelican in the area of Atanasovsko Lake near Burgas. This is the first Dalmatian pelican with a transmitter in Bulgaria.
For the sixth consecutive year, the breeding season for the Dalmatian pelicans in Persina Nature Park has successfully started. In early February, during the regular monitoring of the marshes on the Persin Island, a team of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and the Persina Nature Park Directorate found that for the first time the pelicans occupied all four wooden platforms built for them – 2 in the Peschina swamp and 1 in the Dead Marsh.
In January 2021, a joint team of experts from the Persina Nature Park Directorate and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) managed to carry out a number of activities related to improvment the nesting conditions of the protected Dalmatian pelican on Persin Island.
In the last days of January, a team of experts from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) trapped and ringed with color rings tree Dalmatian pelicans in Atanasovsko Lake, near the city of Burgas. This is the first successful trapping of healthy and flying birds in Bulgaria.
During 12-14 of December 2020, 567 Dalmatian pelicans have been counted in their preferred wintering areas in southern Romania. An additional 62 birds have also been recorded in the Danube Delta, in Maliuc area and close to Sulina. Adding to this number, a total of 812 DPs have been recorded by our colleagues in Bulgaria south of the Danube and along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
With the year 2020 coming to the end, we are happy to share with you the year highlights of the rewilding efforts for Dalmatian pelican comeback along the Black-Sea Mediterranean Flyway. As the Dalmatian pelican is the ambassador of healthy wetlands, other species and the whole ecosystem will also benefit in the long run.
Recent surveys indicate that the Dalmatian pelican is making a tentative comeback in Europe. This is good news for ongoing rewilding efforts, which are playing a supportive role in the recovery.