site.bta149 Dalmatian Pelican Chicks Raised in Bulgaria This Past Season, but Drought Prevents Nesting in Srebarna

A total of 149 Dalmatian pelican chicks were successfully raised in Bulgaria during the most recent breeding season, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) says on its website.

In the Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Area near Tutrakan, 83 pelican pairs raised a total of 106 chicks. All the young birds left the nesting platforms by mid-July but still remain nearby along the sandbars of the Danube River, the BSPB says. For the fourth consecutive year, this site has been the largest breeding colony of the species in Bulgaria.

In Persina Nature Park, 12 pairs raised 14 chicks, while in the Martvo Blato (Dead Marsh) area, 23 pairs successfully raised 29 chicks.

However, no chicks were raised at the internationally famous Lake Srebarna, by the Danube in the country's northeast, despite 37 pairs nesting there. Low water levels allowed jackals to reach the platforms and scare away the nesting birds, according to the BSPB.

The breeding season was also unsuccessful at the Mandra-Poda Complex near Burgas. Pelicans began nesting on the platforms in January, but abandoned them a month later for unknown reasons. Similar behaviour has been observed elsewhere during initial nesting attempts, and conservationists hope the birds will return and breed successfully next year.

The pelicans faced multiple challenges this season: low water levels in the Danube and wetlands, sudden temperature drops, heatwaves, and predator attacks.

An international bird census at the end of 2024 counted 1,333 Dalmatian pelicans and 42 pink pelicans in Bulgaria. By comparison, in 2023, there were 644 Dalmatian and 93 pink pelicans recorded.