site.btaExpert: Large Greater Flamingo Population in Atanasovsko Lake Serious Proof of Climate Change
Nearly 2,300 flamingos live on the Atanasovsko Lake in Burgas, on the Black Sea coast. The data are from the latest bird census, carried out in October. The regular monitoring is implemented within a project entitled “The Lagoon of Life”, Radostina Tsenova of the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation told BTA on Wednesday. She said that the population has grown considerably over the past two years.
"Their numbers began to grow in August 2019, when the first large group of 159 birds arrived and since then they have been growing every month. There is a permanent population of Greater flamingos in the Burgas Lake regardless of the season,” said Tsenova. She said that this year three American students from the University of Colorado arrived to study the impact of the Greater flamingo on resident birds.
"For now there is no direct competition between the resident species and the flamingos, but we continue to carry out monitoring and various studies. We want to be aware of the situation and of the future of the flamingo population on Bulgarian lakes,” said Tsenova.
The Greater flamingos on the Atanasovsko Lake come from nearby colonies in Turkey and Greece. There are also ringed birds from France and Spain.
"It is interesting that the Greater flamingo is a species which seeks new habitats. Now with climate change, the Greater flamingo chooses new territories, as is the case in Burgas. The presence of such a big population of the species is a very serious proof of climate change and shows people what is happening. Temperatures of 26C in November are not normal for our climate” added Tsenova.
/PP/
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