NEWS | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

THE COLD SPELL BROUGHT THE REDBREASTED GEESE TO THEIR TRADITIONAL WINTERING GROUNDS

After the unusually warm weather at the end of 2015, the cold spells finally reached Bulgaria with the New Year. A large number of waterfowl and other birds arrived from the north to find refuge in the northern Bulgarian Black Sea lakes Durankulak and Shabla.

During the bird census carried out by a team of the Wildlife Conservation Society on January 2, 2016, we established 6980 Red-breasted Geese (of which 5830 in Durankulak and 1150 in Shabla lake) and 2025 White-fronted geese ( 1205 in the Shabla lakes and 820 in Durankulak). We also observed 11 Greylag geese, traditionally wintering in small numbers in the two lakes. All of the observed geese had roosted on the lakes.

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WE ARE PART OF THE THIRD FESTIVAL OF KITES IN VARNA

The attractive event will coincide with the Day of Varna, August 15, and will be held on the beach of Asparuhovo

Kite Festival – Varna 2015 is organized by Club “Asto – Sky Wonders” and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – a team of enthusiasts with experience in conducting events of this kind and with ambition to turn it into one of the iconic events of Varna in summer. With its international character, this innovative and attractive cultural event contributes to the development of the specific look of the city, encourages creativity and social inclusion of different groups of participants, fosters a love of flying, birds and freedom, and the right attitude to the environment.

This year the festival is dedicated to the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats and is co-funded by the WCS with the support of the EEA Financial Mechanism 2009 – 2014.

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WHO’S HIDING IN THE WOODS AROUND?

July 16, 2015: “The Secrets of the Kamchiya riverine forest, or Who’s hiding in the woods around?” was the topic of a presentation to the children of Sanitary and Health Complex “Kamchia”, Black Sea Camp, by experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society. The training is part of the “Volunteers for Nature” project, which aims to both strengthen the capacity of volunteers in northeastern Bulgaria to implement biological monitoring, and working with children and by means of educational initiatives to promote the idea of nature conservation. The project is financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) – 2009 – 2014

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VOLUNTEERS FOR NATURE

With training for volunteers “The wonder world of KAMCHIYA – BIRDS AND PLANTS: Part I”, the Wildlife Conservation Society launched a new project, called “Volunteers for Nature”. The project aims to increase the capacity of volunteers in northeastern Bulgaria for the implementation of biological monitoring and is being implemented with funding of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) – 2009 – 2014.

Theoretical and practical field training of volunteers will be held in four sessions over four different seasons and includes building skills to recognize and record rare and endangered plants and birds typical of the areas of the European ecological network Natura 2000 “Kamchia” and “The Flocks” (Yatata).

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LET’S CLEAN

This year once again the Municipality of Shabla and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) participated in the national campaign “Let’s clean Bulgaria together.” The action was held on June 27, 2015 and was attended by representatives of the Municipal Administration Shabla, members and supporters of the WCS. The section of sand dunes separating Eagle Marsh (southeastern part of Durankulak Lake) from the sea was cleaned, and was “relieved” of about 50 garbage bags of waste. More such waste was collected from the beach at camping site “Dobrudzha” near Shabla by workers from temporary employment programs. The municipal office of Durankulak also took part in the campaign by cleaning the riverbed in the village.

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THE 2015 FIELD SURVEY OF THE BREEDING BIOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF THE SEMI-COLLARED FLYCTACHER JUST STARTED

March 20, 2015: This year’s field season of the four-year study on the breeding biology and morphology of the Semi-collared Flycatcher started with a presentation entitled “The Semi-collared’s breeding cycle based on 40 years experience of the Collared’s”, given by our colleague from Sweden, ornithologist and researcher Johan Traff at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research (IBER) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. For more than 40 years Johan Traff has conducted observations on the breeding biology and morphology of the genus Flycatchers (Ficedula) and in particular of the species from the group of “black and white” Flycatchers (Pied, Collared and Semi-collared Flycatchers).

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STEADY NUMBERS OF RED-BREASTED GEESE WELCOMED THE NEW YEAR IN COASTAL DOBROUDZHA

After a severe cold spell in late December 2014, the monitoring of wintering geese conducted by a team of the Wildlife Conservation Society on January 3, 2015, revealed the following situation:
Red-breasted Geese – 16 290, of which 13440 in Shabla Lake Complex (Shabla – Ezerets lakes and Shabla Tuzla) and 2850 in Durankulak Lake and the sea front.
Greater White-fronted Geese – 54 905, of which 38 405 in the Shabla Lake Complex and 16 500 in Durankulak Lake and the sea front.
Graylag Geese – 32 birds were observed in the two wetlands.

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THE NUMBER OF WINTERING GEESE IN COASTAL DOBRUDZHA IS STEADILY GROWING

On December 6, 2014, a team of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Neophron Tours conducted monitoring of the wintering waterfowl in the coastal lakes of Shabla and Durankulak. According to our expectations, the cold spell that occurred during the first days of December brought about an increase of the number of Red-breasted geese in the area of Coastal Dobrudzha – we observed 720 Red-breasted Geese (Branta ruficollis), 1330 White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) and 19 Greylag geese (Anser anser).

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BEST PHOTOS, SELECTED FROM PHOTO WORKSHOP “VARNA KITE FESTIVAL -2014”

A workshop for reportage photography was a part of this year’s events during International Kite Festival – Varna 2014. The workshop and the selection process were carried out with the professional assistance of our partners from Photoplace – Varna.

This year’s Festival of Kites supported the cause of the Wildlife Conservation Society “Let’s get to know and love the soaring birds on the Black Sea migration route Via Pontica”.

Many thanks to all photographers – amateurs and professionals, who sent us their photos. Here is a selection of 22 representative images, which were extremely difficult to select among all the beautiful photos we received

THE FIRST RED-BREASTED GEESE ARE HERE!

November 2, 2014: Late October was unusually cold along the northern and western coast of the Black sea, with rains and snow. So we were looking forward to the weather to improve and to check what has arrived in Coastal Dobrudzha, the northernmost Bulgarian Black sea coast.

On the 1st Nov we did one of the regular bird monitoring in this area, together with colleagues from Neophron Tours, we were lucky to have found the first 24 Red-breasted Geese (Branta ruficollis) for the season – in a flock of about 900 Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons), feeding in a corn stubble field.

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