The 48th midwinter waterfowl census was conducted in Bulgaria from January 11 to 14, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) reported here on Wednesday. Despite the numerous frozen fishponds and reservoirs, as well as the missing sandspits along the Danube due to the high water level, the recorded number of wintering waterfowl species was much higher (97 species with a total of 280,956 specimens) compared to the data from the previous two years – 88 species with a total of 206,239 specimens in 2023 and 90 species recorded with a total of 206,688 specimens in 2022.
Within four days, 43 teams of experts and volunteers from the BSPB, the Executive Environment Agency, the Green Balkans Federation, regional inspectorates of environment and water, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, hunting associations and NGO representatives, collected data on wintering birds from over 200 wetlands in Bulgaria. Almost all teams used the SmartBirds Pro mobile app for data entry, which contributed to the quick entry and processing of over 10,000 records.
While more promising than the previous two years, the results in 2024 are significantly worse than those recorded in 1999 and 2000 with 404,410 and 652,418 specimens respectively.
The wintering waterfowl census has been conducted worldwide since 1967 and is one of the most massive conservation events, involving over 15,000 people. It is conducted simultaneously across Europe and North Africa to count birds as accurately as possible. At global level, the information is compiled by Wetlands International. The census provides an assessment of the status of waterfowl populations and the condition of their wintering sites, many of which are part of the Natura 2000 ecological network.
/RY/
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