Many water birds prefer to spend the winter in Bulgaria, shows data from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds. In the beginning of December last year the first concentrations of northern species such as the red-breasted goose, the greater white-fronted goose, the diver bird, etc, which often spend the winter in Bulgaria, were seen. At the end of 2019, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds registered a record-high number of greater white-fronted geese in the region of the Svishtov- Belene Plain- nearly 75,000 species. Another team of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds saw great bustard near Durankulak Lake, which is rare in this country. Tundra swans and a large concentration of over 600 stiff-tailed ducks were seen during the regular monitoring of the Burgas lakes. Bulgaria is a preferred place for species included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species such as the horned grebe, the red-breasted goose, the lesser white-fronted goose, etc.

The International Swan Census, which is carried out every five years, will be held again in 2020. Special attention will be paid to the whooper swan and the tundra swan. The census aims to follow the changes in the condition of the populations of the monitored species, which is an indicator of the changes in the environment. These researches are particularly important and topical in the context of the climate changes. Nearly 15,000 experts and volunteers from all parts of the globe participate at the international census. It is carried out in more than 100 countries and includes nearly 25,000 wetlands.