A recent webinar gathered 30 participants from 11 European countries and India to learn about the Pelican Way of LIFE initiative, as work continues to improve conditions for Dalmatian pelicans along the Black Sea-Mediterranean Flyway.
The international project “Conservation of the Dalmatian pelican along the Black-Sea Mediterranean Flyway” (“Pelican Way of LIFE”), in which the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and the Persina Nature Park Directorate are the partners for Bulgaria, is among the nominated projects for the prestigious European Natura 2000 Award of the European Commission.
For the seventh year in a row, the breeding season for Dalmatian pelicans in the Persina Nature Park has started. In mid-February, during the regular monitoring of the marshes on Persin Island, a team of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and the Persina Nature Park Directorate found that the pelicans had occupied all the wooden platforms built for them – two in the Peschina swamp and one in the Dead Marsh on Persin Island. At the time, experts observed about 120 adult birds actively preparing their nests.
The dalmatian pelican population is severely affected by an avian influenza outbreak that is currently in progress at the Prespa National Park in Greece, in the Lesser Prespa Lake Dalmatian pelican colony that is the largest colony of the species in the world.
In mid-January, a team of experts and volunteers from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) successfully built two new floating platforms for the protected Dalmatian pelican.
Despite the difficult weather conditions, at the end of December 2021, winter survey of the Dalmatian pelican took place in Ukraine. It was organized simultaneously with similar surveys in other Eastern European countries. This year’s results give hope: three and a half times more pelicans are left to spend the winter in the Danube Delta than last year.
On the 10th of December 2021 “Maria”, the first Dalmatian pelican with a satellite transmitter in Bulgaria, has died. The cause of death was a collision with the overhead powerline.
At the very end of the year we are happy to share with you the year highlights of the rewilding efforts for Dalmatian pelican comeback along the Black-Sea Mediterranean Flyway. This year was quite active and exciting in all the involved countries and for all partners. A lot of activities from the scientific monitoring of the species to public events and volunteers camp took place in the region. Enjoy the details in the list below.
At the beginning of October, Pelican Way Of LIFE boatman and guide training took place in Sfantu Gheorghe, located in the Danube Delta. The 2-day course was the first event in the series of 3 trainings planned for Romania.
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. The study was conducted in two stages. A census was made at the end of November in the Western Balkans – Western Greece, Albania, and Montenegro. In the period December 10-12, wetlands in Bulgaria and Romania were visited. The activity is organized within the initiative “Pelican Way of LIFE”.