News

Zeleni Balkani
Fourteen juvenile Saker falcons fledged from their nests in Southern Romania and Bulgaria
Aug. 22, 2022
From the middle of May, the project team resumed the activities related to the monitoring of the Saker Falcons in the protected areas included in the LIFE for Falcons project, dedicated to the conservation of this critically endangered falcon species. The field visits, carried out between May and July by both Romanian and Bulgarian experts, aimed to assess the reproductive success of the pairs identified at the previous monitoring session.
IBEI hamster
IBER team mapped successfully Romanian hamster colonies in Bulgaria
Aug. 02, 2022
The IBER team mapped donor colonies of the Romanian hamster instead of the hot weather and harsh conditions in July 2022. During the research holes were found and some individuals were captured. The hamsters were measured and photographed, their gender and age were identified and they were released back in the nature. After the designation of the colonies from which individuals have to be taken, we will implement the activities for capturing and breeding them in 2023.

 
ivaylo dimitrov
Help us save the souslik together!
Jul 29, 2022

In 2020 the European souslik (Spermophilus citellus) was designated as a globally threatened species. This amiable relative to squirrels, lives in meadows and pastures in Central and Southeastern Europe, where it is adapted to the traditional agricultural practices. Unfortunately, with the intensification of the agriculture and declining of the pastoralism the souslik is losing its habitats. One third of the colonies in Bulgaria vanished between 1950 and 1990 and this is still the current trend. Bulgaria at the same time is a center for the species dissemination with the highest genetic diversity. That is why the conservation of the souslik in our country is extremely important  for the surviving of the species.
© Ministry of Interior press-center
Interministerial group with expert from BSPB’s project team startеd working on the establishment of a special unit for investigation of the crimes against the nature
Jul 25, 2022
Ministry of Interior Press-center starts establishing a special unit for investigations crimes against the nature. With an order of the minister of internal affairs the working group in which takes part also a BSPB representative – part of the team of Life for Falcons project, aims to analyze the necessity and the opportunities for the establishing of the unit.
 
Ivaylo Klisirov
А second pair of Saker Falcons was registered on the territory of Bulgaria!
Jul 15, 2022

A few days ago, experts from BSPB and Green Balkans registered a new pair of Saker Falcons in nature! Initially, a male bird and a young fledgling were observed, and subsequently, the presence of a female was confirmed. After several days of trying to photograph and observe the birds up close, our persistence paid off, and, not only did we find out that it was a pair with a baby, but that the parents had hatched at the Green Balkans Rescue Center in 2019. They were released into the wild in the same year, within the framework of the organization's long-term efforts to restore the species under the "Reintroduction of the Saker Falcon in Bulgaria" project.

Dobromir Dobrev
First specialized course for qualification and capacity building of the state institution against use of poisons in the nature has been held in Bulgaria
Jun 28, 2022
In the period June 22-24, 2022, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), the Thrakia University of Stara Zagora, the General Directorate of the National Police and the Green Balkans Wildlife Rescue Center - Stara Zagora conducted a specialized training course of employees of state institutions, aimed at investigating cases of poisoning and improving coordination between institutions regarding the work and implementation of activities set out in the "National Action Plan to Combat Illegal Use of Poisons in the Wild 2021-2030“.
Field visit
IBER experts visited breeding centers for European hamster
Jun 14, 2022
In May 2022 our colleagues, Assistant professor Dr Yordan Koshev and Assistant professor Dr Maria Kacahamakova from the IBER, visited breeding centers for European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in Metelen, Germany and the Gaya Zoo in the Netherlands.
Ventsi Georgiev
The final round of the Bulgarian National Olympiad in ornithology was held
Jun 06, 2022


The final round of the National Ornithology Olympiad took place on May 29th (Sunday). 22 students from a total of 117 from 5th to 8th grade in schools from different cities in Bulgaria were ranked for it.     

The final round was held at the Nature Conservation Center of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) – "Poda" near Burgas and consisted of two parts: a test and identification of bird species from photographs. All finalists and their teachers were invited.

 

Marius Iana
The first Saker falcon monitoring in Romania covered over 5000 km
May 25, 2022
Amongst the falcon species found in Romania, we can say that the Saker falcons are so rare, that we can count them on one hand. Breeding in the southern and eastern parts of the European continent, it prefers arid, open landscapes of wooded steppes. It’s a large and powerful falcon, but also very agile and fast, aggressive and persevering in following its prey. All these qualities have earned our admiration and the name as sacred falcon, but have also caused this bird decline.