Dimitris Vavylis, the Greek conservationist and photographer, continues his photo mission along the Black-Sea Mediterranean Flyway of the Dalmatian pelican. This time he visited the picturesque wetlands of Bulgaria and also the gorgeous Danube delta – one of Europe’s last truly wild places, as the photographer said. Read the blog accompanied by the stunning shots from the region to find out more about the life of the pelicans and the conservation efforts of the “Pelican Way Of LIFE” initiative, coordinated by Rewilding Europe.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

The first nature protection festival dedicated to the Dalmatian Pelican, organized by Persina Nature Park Directorate, has passed. The event took place on July 2 and 3 in front of the Visitor Centre of the park with a rich and interesting program.

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.

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.

In the last week of August, 14 volunteers took part in the monitoring of pelicans and other waterbirds in the Burgas lakes in Bulgaria. They also inspected dangerous power lines located near the Specially Protected Areas of Natura 2000 Mandra-Poda Complex and Atanasovsko Lake.