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 addition to the regular monitoring, the care of the nesting colonies of the species is also assosiated with maintenance of the wooden platforms in good condition to provide a safe and secure place where pelicans can raise their chicks. The experts inspected the technical condition of the platforms, mowed and covered them with reeds in order to be ready for the new breeding season.
The Danube River has been rising in recent weeks. This means that more water will flood the wetland of Persin Island. The availability of sufficient water in the island’s swamps is extremely important for pelicans and other waterfowl in the area of Persina Nature Park.
In 2016, a new nesting colony of Dalmatian pelicans was formed in Bulgaria for the first time in 60 years, on the territory of Persina Nature Park. Until then, the only place where birds were breeding successfully in our country was Srebarna Lake. In 2020, already two nesting colonies exist in the Persina Nature Park. They are located in the Persina marsh Maintained Reserve and have had a very successful breeding season – 30 pairs of Dalmatian pelicans successfully raised 40 juveniles.
The conservation activities of the Dalmatian Pelican are carried out in the framework of the “Pelican Way of LIFE” project (LIFE18/NAT/NL/000716), funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Union and with the assistance of the Whitley Fund for Nature.