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At the end of July, the activities for monitoring the artificial nesting boxes for Red-footed Falcons and European rollers, which were installed last winter and spring in suitable habitats in Northern and Northwestern Bulgaria, were completed.
Joint teams from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and Electrodistribution Grid West ЕAD successfully installed 50 nesting boxes for both bird species as part of the LIFE Danube Free Sky project.
Photo: Damyan Petkov, European Roller
Join us to celebrate the beautiful Danube River and raise awareness about the importance of preserving this incredible natural resource. Discover the Danube's rich biodiversity: Dive deep into the fascinating world of flora and fauna that call the Danube home. Explore interactive exhibits, learn about conservation efforts, and get to know some of the amazing creatures that inhabit the river!
Among our project partners, with whom we jointly protect birds along the Danube from collisions with power lines or electrocution, are also national parks certainly worthy to visit! Click on the Read More button below and discover the Danube with us!
On the occasion of the Danube Day 2023 dedicated to the Danube River, the project partner Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority in Romania organized an activity with the theme ”Keep the Danube blue!"
We used this opportunity to present the LIFE Danube Free Sky Project and its activities and results, as well as the importance of the Natura 2000 network to the participants. Children joined by their teachers and parents received also T-shirts produced within the project and were happy to learn something new.
In May, a broad team from the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia (BPSSS) managed to tag 2 Saker Falcons (Falco Cherrug) with telemetry equipment. Birds were tagged in the south Banat area in the vicinity of IBA Deliblato sands.
The action was organized together with the Department for Biology and Ecology from the Faculty of Sciences (Novi Sad), Electro Network of Serbia (Elektromreža Srbije) which provided installers and cut of the power from high voltage power lines, and the Provincial Institute for Nature Protection from Novi Sad. The whole action was filmed by an excellent team from "Sasvim prirodno" (Completely natural) documentary filming team and will be promoted later during the year.
On Friday, May 26, within the framework of the LIFE Danube Free Sky project, the third consecutive bird-watching camp was held with the aim of raising awareness among the general public about project activities and birds in general.
This time we were joined in bird watching by seventh-grade students from Mladost Elementary School from Osijek. The students had the opportunity to see Kopački rit in its most beautiful form when the water level is high.
Chilli is working on the monitoring of the railway lines in Austria in cooperation with our partners the Austrian Federal Railways and BirdLife Austria.
Chilli is 10 years old and was born in Slovakia, and shortly after found a home in Austria. He is working for 5 years as a part of the dog unit and together with his owner Stefan he is searching for the cadavers e.g. along the railway/power lines and also assists in cases of bird crimes (illegal activities such as poisoning or shooting). In April, another round of successful monitoring of the railway lines has been held, and the next round is planned for September. Monitoring with the dog units has proven to be a very effective method of finding carcasses that are difficult to track or recognize by humans.
In March, a joint team of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and Electrodistribution Grid West EAD successfully installed 27 more artificial nest boxes for the endangered Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus). This brings the total number of newly installed houses for the species in Bulgaria to 50.
The Red-footed Falcon is a small falcon whose population has declined sharply over the last twenty years in Bulgaria, reaching the critical threshold of only a few known pairs in 2022. This is the reason why the species is listed in the Red-list of threatened species of Bulgaria in the category "Critically Endangered", and in view of its declining numbers in Europe - to be part of the World Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
