Dalmatian pelicans in Persina Nature Park, Bulgaria
More than 50 Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) have already occupied the wooden platforms in the Peschina Marsh, located in the Persin Marsh Maintained Reserve, on Persin Island. Since 2016, Dalmatian Pelicans have been nesting on Persin Island in Persina Nature Park - Bulgaria, after an absence of more than 60 years. The park is a part of the international network of protected areas DANUBEPARKS and is one of the LIFE WILDisland project partners.
The Nature Park was designated in order to protect the Danube wetlands and the natural state of the islands along the river. There are 2 islands in the Park classified as completely natural, WILDislands, these are the islands of Milka and Kitka, already declared as natural reserves. Other islands, such as Persin Island, contain unique and valuable habitats, such as the inland marshes in the Persin Marshes Reserve, which form the island's wetland and contribute to providing favourable living conditions for a number of threatened waterfowl species. The island is a Natura 2000 site.
The colony of Dalmatian Pelicans in Persina NP is located in the marshes of the Persina Marshes Nature Reserve and is already preparing for nesting this year. Pelicans need safe areas, surrounded by water, to protect their eggs and young from terrestrial predators. Since many of the natural areas they could use for nesting have been destrayed, conservationists construct and offer special platforms. You can read more about a fellow-LIFE project aiming directly at Pelican conservation here.
The preservation and restoration of islands and small side-arms however remains one of the main prerequisites for the successful breeding of various endangered species of birds, fishes and amphibians. This is what the LIFE WILDisland is there for - to establish a corridor of intact WILDisland habitats, preserving the islands' natural state and river dynamics and protecting riparian habitats and floodplain forests!
For more information:
Daniela Karakasheva - Persina NP PR expert: persina@abv.bg
Photos: title photo: Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Area, © Svilen Cheshmedziev / "Persina" NP/Veselin Koev - Chief Expert Biodiversity
