site.btaEndangered Dalmatian Pelican Forms New Nesting Colony in Bulgaria After 80 Years

The endangered species of Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is forming a new nesting colony in Bulgaria for the first time in nearly 80 years. The birds have settled on artificial islands built by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) in the NATURA 2000 protected area of Mandra-Poda Complex near Burgas (on the Black Sea).  This is the fourth nesting colony of the species in Bulgaria, the BSPB said on Monday.

The nesting platforms were placed within an international project, Pelican Way of LIFE, back in late 2021. Those water basins are among the most preferred resting spots for Dalmatian pelicans in the area of the Burgas Lakes. The human disturbances there are limited, which is of particular importance for this species. The platforms, each with an area of 40 sq m, quickly became a favourite place for Dalmatian and great white pelicans to spend the night and rest, the BSPB said.

In August 2024, volunteers participating in BSPB's Atanasovsko Lake environmental brigade built a wooden platform on an area of 32 sq m.

In mid-January, Dalmatian pelicans began nesting on the artificial platforms. BSPB experts have thus far confirmed 23 nests, but more are being built as the birds copulate and new couples are formed. Over 100 adult pelicans have been observed around the islands.

For over 60 years, there was a single nesting colony of Dalmatian pelicans in Bulgaria: in Srebarna Lake near Silistra (on the Danube). Targeted environmental activities and the construction of wooden platforms led to the formation of two more colonies: in Persina Nature Park in 2016 and in the Kalimok-Brashlen protected area in 2021. The last data on Dalmatian pelicans nesting in the Burgas area date back to 1948.