New Pair of Imperial Eagle Discovered in SAKAR Mountains.
A breeding pair of Imperial Eagles were discovered by Georgi Gerdzakov, ecology student and member of the BSPB. With this latest count, there are 10 breeding pairs of which 18 have been in the country since 2007. There is no doubt that the Sakar Mountains are the best location in Bulgaria for protecting the Imperial Eagle. Unfortunately the Bulgarian Government did not include the region within the NATURA 2000 Network (a pipeline is planned to be built thru the area cutting through other important habitat in Bourgas and Western Strandzha).
The Society continues to monitor and protect Imperial Eagle nests in the region. Three nests are constantly being monitored as to prevent any disturbance to the birds and their young. For additional information, contact Stoycho Stoychev, who heads the Imperial Eagle Project in Bulgaria: s_stoychev@recbg.net
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FoBSPB Press Release: How to eliminate Important Bird Areas and Vital Flora and Fauna Habitat
The Friends of the Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds has released a Press announcement concerning the affect of the Bulgarian Government's decision to delay implementation of NATURA 2000, the European Nature Conservation Network, into law by 8 months.
Imperial Eagles Nesting Near Sliven
The nest which was found on 7th April 2007 by BSPB volunteers is a brand new one built this year as during a visit on 24th of March it was still not there. It is situated in a vulnerable area endangered by illegal logging and human disturbance and needs urgent actions for nest guarding and protection. The pair that has build up the nest is young one and consists of second year birds.
The Imperial Eagle has stopped breeding in the area since 1998. In this year was found an adult pair subsequently re-seen many times with one of the successfully fledged juveniles. In the next years Sliven plain and the nearby Balkan range section became a temporary settlement area for immature and non breeding Imperial Eagles due to the good forage resources in the area. In different days during the summer up to 8 different birds have been observed.
After finding the nest in 1998 members of BSPB – Sliven branch started regular observation of the imperial eagles in the town vicinity. In order to protect the globally threatned Imperial Eagle in the area have been designated two IBAs Sinite Kamani-Grebenets and Kamenski Bair. One of the immediate threats beside tree felling and disturbance is the habitat change – the conversion of the steppe pastures into arable lands and vineyards and the wind turbine construction in the foraging area.
To help with funding Imperial Eagle habitat conservation in Bulgaria - Please contact us!
Why the Delay in implementing NATURA 2000:
Source: Novinite
PM Sergei Stanishev will be signing a deal for implementing the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline on 15 March 2007. This pipeline is most likely the major reason why several key internationally recognized IBA's were not included in government's NATURA 2000 Network proposal. The IBA's and habitats which are under threat because of the prposed pipeline are: Sakar, Western Rhodope, Poda-Mandara, all of which are internationally recognized IBA's (with Western Strandzha and Sakar being the breeding location of 100% of Bulgaria's Imperial Eagle Population (13% of Europe's Population).
The map below shows that the pipeline will go through this territory and why the government did not include these regions (economic not scientific as required by the EU) in the documents submitted to EU.
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