The largest pelican colony in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (RBDD) has reached a record number, says the Ornithological Society of Romania (SOR) in a press release issued on Friday for AGERPRES, at the end of processing the findings of the first international synchronous census of pelicans in South-East Europe.
“The biggest colony of white pelicans, the one in Rosca Buhaiova [RBDD], is increasingly bigger and this is obvious based on the observations made in the past years. (…) The results indicate that here we already have a record number for the oldest colony known by ornithologists,” reads the SOR release.
In the said area, in early May this year, 18,633 white pelicans were counted, both nesting pairs, as well as immature ones present here during the nesting period, with the total number of pelicans of this species in Romania being 19,993.
The number of brown pelicans is also growing, given that they have expanded their nesting area.
The SOR specialists and RBDD ones identified in Romania, during the first synchronous census of pelicans in Eastern Europe, 534 brown pelicans.
In 2003, according to the SOR, Romania counted up to 5,000 nesting pairs of white pelicans, with the number of brown pelicans being 400 breeding pairs.
The two species of pelicans are protected by international conventions, their presence in Delta Tulcea often being criticized by fishermen, because these take the fish caught in the nets stretched in the lakes and channels of the delta.
SOR is an NGO that has got involved in protecting colonies of birds.
RBDD is famous for ornithological fauna, with 331 species being recorded in the area, in addition to the 520 ones inventoried in Western Europe. The area has a special importance for the nesting of many migratory bird populations and is particularly interesting from scientific and tourism standpoints.
