Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information This is one of the most important breeding areas in the country for Ciconia nigra, for raptors such as Neophron percnopterus, Circaetus gallicus, Aquila pomarina, Aquila chrysaetos, Hieraaetus pennatus and Bubo bubo, and for forest species such as Picus canus, Dendrocopos medius and Ficedula semitorquata. The mountain is also a major migratory bottleneck site, where more than 33,000 Ciconia ciconia pass overhead each autumn. Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Phalacrocorax pygmeus (common on passage), Pelecanus crispus (common on passage), Crex crex (occurs on passage).

Site description A rather low mountain in the south-easternmost part of the country, through which the Veleka and Resovska rivers flow. The mountain is covered by mature broadleaved forests and pastures. Natural forest of Fagus predominates, although Quercus is common in higher areas. Mediterranean grassland and shrubland are widespread. Alluvial forests occur mainly at the river-mouths and are dominated by Fraxinus, with dense Salix and Alnus. Temporarily flooded areas along the rivers are overgrown with aquatic vegetation. Land-uses are forestry, hunting and extensive cultivation and stock-rearing.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Bosna	Protected Site	52	protected area contained by site	52
Bosna - BG0000208	Habitats Directive	16,226	protected area is adjacent to site	0
Bratanova pestera	National Monument	22	protected area contained by site	22
Derventski vazvisheniya 2 - BG0000219	Habitats Directive	55,036	protected area is adjacent to site	0
Dokuzak	Protected Site	5	protected area contained by site	5
Dupkata	Protected Landscape	7	protected area contained by site	7
Elenina dupka	Natural Monument	5	protected area contained by site	5
Kalkata	Protected Site	19	protected area contained by site	19
Konadzika	National Monument	19	protected area contained by site	19
Krivinizovo	Protected Site	109	protected area contained by site	109
Marina rechka	Protected Site	47	protected area contained by site	47
Moryane	Protected Landscape	103	protected area contained by site	103
Paroria	Protected Landscape	989	protected area contained by site	989
Pesterata	National Monument	8	protected area contained by site	8
Piren	National Monument	15	protected area contained by site	15
Réserve Ouzounboudjak	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	3,018	protected area contained by site	2,575
Rudenovo	Protected Site	15	protected area contained by site	15
Silistar	Protected Site	773	protected area contained by site	773
Silkossia	Buffer Zone	91	protected area contained by site	91
Silkossia	Reserve	390	protected area contained by site	390
Sredoka	Buffer Zone	160	protected area contained by site	160
Sredoka	Strict Nature Reserve	608	protected area contained by site	608
Strandja	Nature Park	116,136	protected area contains site	115,417
Strandzha - BG0001007	Habitats Directive	118,225	is identical to site	115,417
Strandzha - BG0002040	Birds Directive	115,417	is identical to site	115,417
Tisovitsa	Strict Nature Reserve	749	protected area contained by site	749
Tissovitsa	Buffer Zone	502	protected area contained by site	502
Uzunbodzak	Buffer Zone	488	protected area contained by site	488
Uzunbodzak	Reserve	2,582	protected area contained by site	2,582
Veleka	Protected Landscape	1,546	protected area contained by site	1,546
Vitanovo	Buffer Zone	185	protected area contained by site	185
Vitanovo	Strict Nature Reserve	1,112	protected area contained by site	1,112

Habitats

Land use

Management considerations Intensive tourism along the Black Sea coast during the past seven years has led to destruction of alluvial forests. There are several projects for the construction of reservoirs on the Veleka river, possibly disturbing the water regime. People often destroy nests of raptors, their eggs and chicks when cutting trees. Uncontrolled hunting and fisheries, and unsustainable forest management, are also problems. The IBA is designated as a National Park, comprising five Strict Reserves with Buffer Zones, 12 Protected Landscapes and five Nature Monuments. The management plan for the National Park was prepared by the Ministry of Environment under the Bulgarian-Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme.

Protection status National High International Low116,136 ha of IBA covered by National Park (Strandja, 116,136 ha). 390 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Silkossia, 390 ha). 608 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Sredoka, 608 ha). 749 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Tissovitsa, 749 ha). 2,582 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Uzunbodzak, 2,582 ha). 1,112 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Vitanovo, 1,112 ha). 22 ha of IBA covered by National Monument (Bratanova pestera, 22 ha). 5 ha of IBA covered by National Monument (Elenina Dupka, 5 ha). 19 ha of IBA covered by National Monument (Konadzika, 19 ha). 8 ha of IBA covered by National Monument (Pesterata, 8 ha). 15 ha of IBA covered by National Monument (Piren, 15 ha). 52 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Bosna, 52 ha). 5 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Dokuzak, 5 ha). 7 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Dupkata, 7 ha). 19 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Kalkata, 19 ha). 109 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Krivinizovo, 109 ha). 47 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Marina Reka, 47 ha). 103 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Moryane, 103 ha). 989 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Paroria, 989 ha). 15 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Rudenovo, 15 ha). 773 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Silistar, 773 ha). 1,546 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Veleka, 1,546 ha). 1,511 ha of IBA covered by Protected Landscape (Veleka Mouth, 1,511 ha). 91 ha of IBA covered by Buffer Zone (Silkossia, 91 ha). 160 ha of IBA covered by Buffer Zone (Sredoka, 160 ha). 502 ha of IBA covered by Buffer Zone (Tissovitsa, 502 ha). 488 ha of IBA covered by Buffer Zone (Uzunbodzak, 488 ha). 185 ha of IBA covered by Buffer Zone (Vitanovo, 185 ha). 2,575 ha of IBA covered by Biosphere Reserve (Uzunbodzak, 2,575 ha).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Strandzha. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 18/06/2013

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