In February, a Green Balkans team twice monitored wintering geese and other waterfowl. In addition to the traditionally observed wetlands in Coastal Dobrogea in February the lakes around Burgas were also visited: Atanasovsko, Burgasko and Mandra. Experts visited the areas in order to identify the feeding habitats’ state, given their importance for migratory geese and other migratory birds. The examination of the fields, which are an important foraging habitat for wintering and migrating geese, again revealed the poor condition of autumn crops in the Dobrogea region. These are the winter cereals that the geese wintering in Bulgaria rely on in order to accumulate energy for the coming long way north. In the region of Burgas probably because of the good amount of precipitations in autumn the crops have developed well and are at a more advanced stage of development providing a good food base. The early spring has moved the flock of White-fronted and Red-breasted geese in Dobrogea to the north, with the few remaining birds in a restless, tense state, which is normal when they are on their way. At the beginning of the month, the total number of geese in Dobrogea was about 800 birds, of which only about 40 were Red-breasted and concentrated in the area of Ezerets Lake, while at the end of the month there were less than 200 geese and only in the area of Durankulak Lake. Burgas wetlands sheltered about 50,000 geese in early February, of which the Red-breasted were about 2-3 000, the main part being in the area of Atanasovsko Lake, but about 7-8 000 White-fronted geese were observed in the area of Mandra resrvoir. No geese were observed at the end of the month around Burgas.
We would like to remind the elegant balance that exists between the populations of these amazing travelers and livelihoods of people in the region. In the normal course of crops development and rooting feeding geese delicately prune the stems of the sprouted cereals, which support the so-called tillering. Tillering is characteristic of cereals in which besides the main stem, they can form additional stems, so propagation coefficient of the plant increases sharply as each new stem forms its leaves and wheatear. Tillering is an important means of self-regulation of density of the crops, which in combination with the abundant fertilization of crops by grazing geese, results in a good general condition of the field and, accordingly, better yields. Unfortunately this year the process can be spoiled by the unfavorable weather conditions.
For additional information:
Dimitar Popov ,e-mail: dpopov@greenbalkans.org
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We would like to remind the elegant balance that exists between the populations of these amazing travelers and livelihoods of people in the region. In the normal course of crops development and rooting feeding geese delicately prune the stems of the sprouted cereals, which support the so-called tillering. Tillering is characteristic of cereals in which besides the main stem, they can form additional stems, so propagation coefficient of the plant increases sharply as each new stem forms its leaves and wheatear. Tillering is an important means of self-regulation of density of the crops, which in combination with the abundant fertilization of crops by grazing geese, results in a good general condition of the field and, accordingly, better yields. Unfortunately this year the process can be spoiled by the unfavorable weather conditions.
For additional information:
Dimitar Popov ,e-mail: dpopov@greenbalkans.org
