STABLE NUMBERS OF REDBREASTS AT SHABLA AND DURANKULAK LAKES
06.01.2014

On 4 and 5 January we held this year’s first monitoring of wintering geese at Shabla,  Durankulak Lake and Srebarna Lake . Due to the relatively high temperatures and thick fog last week it was normal to expect a smallerthan usual number of wintering geese. In confirmation of this assumption came the results - near 4000 Redbreasts  and 8000 White-fronted Geeseatthe two coastal lakes.

The Red-breasted geese were concentrated mainly in Durankulak Lake where we recorded 3,600 birds. In the early morningthey left  in mixed flocks with the White-fronted geese to the fields to feed. Srebarna Lake welcomed us with very dense fog that cleared away only at noon, but there werefew geese anyway - the result is 10 White-fronted and 20 Greylag geese.

Census of the other wintering birds can be summarized in a few words – a poor picture without rare species. Only the flock of eight Greater Scaups (Aythya marila) in Shabla Lake gave more flavor to the winter count .

The team of the LIFE+ "Safe Ground for Redbreasts" project monitors the wintering geese every two weeks from November to March. The checks on hunters’ compliance with the hunting and conservation legislation by the joint patrol team including representatives of BSPB, RFD - Varna, HAA - Shabla and the police are also going on.