site.btaGreater Flamingo Now Listed as Nesting Species in Bulgaria

Over 450 individuals of the Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) species are currently living in the wetlands near Burgas, ornithologist Dr Petar Yankov from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) told BTA. Their number has dropped significantly since the migration period in late summer, when over 4,000 birds were observed, as a result of the insufficient food in winter. This species does not fear the cold and has been observed in areas with the harshest climate on the planet, he specified. 

The first generation of Greater flamingo in Bulgaria was seen this year near Burgas, Yankov recalled. The species is now on the national list of nesting species in Bulgaria, and the local population attracts researchers from across the world. The fact that flamingos next in Burgas' wetlands shows that the location offers everything they need.

Recently, Dr Yankov and Prof. Zlatozar Boev of the National Museum of Natural History published an article about the flamingos nesting in Bulgaria in Croatia's Larus, a leading scientific journal in the Balkans. The article reads that the biggest population of Greater flamingo in Bulgaria by the end of 2018 exceeded 134 birds. Since August 2024, the monitoring of the species indicates a stable increase, with numbers varying between 79 and 4,170 individuals.

The first attempt of flamingos in Bulgaria to breed was registered in June 2023, when several birds started building nest the southern part of the Atanasovsko Lake. However, the colony was active for too short a period, which prevented a successful breeding, the article reads. Human disturbance might also have posed a serious threat, because the news about nesting flamingos attracted many people, some of whom came too close to the colony.

The first flamingo chicks were seen in Atanasovsko Lake on June 16, 2024. Three birds who looked like they had hatched 5 to 7 days earlier, were observed in the nests with adults nearby. Six other adults were nesting at the time. The news was kept a secret for two months, and the nests were observed from afar to prevent any disturbances, Yankov and Boev said. Around that time, the ornithologists found over 70 abandoned nests in the northern part of the lake.

It should be noted that in 2022, the salt extraction from that part of the lake was suspended, and the water regime of the basins around the flamingo colony underwent significant changes. The colony is located very close to areas with dense vegetation, which provides good conditions for the land predators, the article reads.