BSPB organizes the 8th international census of the white stork

EPP North and BSPB are working on a joint project for the conservation of the species

This month, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) announced the launch of an information and donation campaign “Year of the White Stork” dedicated to the study and conservation of the species, which includes counting storks in Bulgaria. Some of the initiatives for which donations are collected are the organization of the census, the purchase of transmitters for the study of movements and migration, the purchase of pastures in Southeast Bulgaria, important for storks during the migration and nesting period, etc. An international census of the white stork is organized every 10 years in more than 40 countries around the world. This year it will be the eighth in a row and will cover more than 5,000 settlements. BSPB is the coordinating organization for Bulgaria.

In June and July we will count the adult birds and their young. Anyone can join the initiative by recording their observations in the SmartBirds mobile application, said BSPB species expert Svilen Chesmedjiev. More about the purpose of the campaign and the ways of donation can be found at www.birds.bg.

Simultaneously with the campaign, the online monitoring of the nests of the white stork families in the villages of Yarlovo and Dragushinovo will continue; transmitters of birds from the Bulgarian population of the species will be placed in order to study migration; together with the partners of BSPB, among which EPR North, risky stork nests will be raised on platforms; mapped the locations of white storks during migration for their identification and conservation.

In addition to establishing the number of storks, the purpose of the census is also to identify threats to the species. Among the most serious of them found so far are industrialization, monoculture and chemization in agriculture, the disappearance of wetlands where the stork most often finds its livelihood, dangerous electric poles.

The highest numbers of the white stork species were established in the 1980s, then in 1994 there was a drastic decrease in their number - only about 4,200 pairs. Then began a positive trend in Bulgaria and throughout Europe of an increase in the population of the white stork. Based on the data of the last census of white storks in our country 10 years ago, 5,800 nesting pairs were identified. This is an increase of about 20% compared to the previous census. Storks have been found to love wetlands, meadows and pastures, said Mihail Iliev from BSPB. The paradox is that hundreds of thousands of birds of this species migrate through our territory, but very few of them remain to nest here, he added. Iliev suggests that this year's census will show similar data for the country.

Almost the entire population of the white stork nests in settlements. The proportion of birds with nests on poles, instead of trees or on buildings, is increasing. This creates a risk of electric shock with interruptions in the power supply, as well as ignition of nests or injury and death of birds. For the conservation of the species, EP North is actively working by installing protective platforms for stork nests. The project of BSPB and EPR North is at the very beginning, and the most risky points are about to be secured. We are still at the stage of establishing the most dangerous for birds lines from the power grid, said Mihail Iliev.