Since 2018, a smaller population of Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) has been regularly wintering, but also present during summer, on the Danube between Negotin and Kladovo areas in eastern Serbia. So far, their numbers have been increasing slightly year after year. In late December 2025, workers from the Elixir factory near Prahovo informed our project partner - Birdlife Serbia that a large flock of Pelicans had formed downstream from the settlement.

After reviewing the photos, at least 103 birds were identified in a single frame, resting on the Danube alongside Great Cormorants.

his was definitively the largest recorded number of Pelicans since ornithological records began for the territory of Serbia. The recovery of the population of the Dalmatian Pelicans is primarily the result of successful active protection of the species in Romania and Bulgaria, and especially in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. Thanks to the banding results, we know that some of these birds have traveled over 500 km from the colonies where they were hatched to reach Serbia!

Although Pelicans were regular breeders of wetlands in the Pannonian part of Serbia in the 18th and 19th centuries, they have disappeared by the 1950s and have been recorded only sporadically since then. Weighing up to 15 kilograms and with a wingspan of 3.5 meters, the Dalmatian Pelican is one of the largest birds on the planet. Since the Danube is extremely important for their survival, this is one of the key species for monitoring and protection within the LIFE Danube Free Sky project, as a significant number of birds die from collisions with power line wires. As part of the project in Serbia, we have protected medium-voltage power lines near Kladovo in the area of the Mala Vrbica Important Bird Area with special bird diverters.

In the future, we hope to continue work with energy distribution companies to also protect the high-voltage power lines that cross the Danube in several places near the Iron Gates I and II, which would be of great improvement for the safety of Pelicans during their further spreading towards west.

Photos: Milorad Drča, Marko Šćiban