Black Storks Are Last Birds to Migrate Away from Bulgaria

Jerusalem, 28 August, 2022 (TPS) -- SOFIA, 26.08.2022 (BTA)
Black storks, which have a conservation status set by the government of “Vulnerable,” will be the last bird species to migrate from Bulgaria, an expert with the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) Mihail Iliev told BTA. The white storks’ migration already reached its peak on August 20 and 21.

Black storks are the first to fly back to their native lands during the spring migration and do not return to Africa until the second half of September and early October, Iliev said.

The black storks’ “schedule” differs from that of other migratory birds, because the storks winter in the more northern parts of Africa, which makes the migration route in both directions shorter by 2,000-3,000 km, Iliev said.

The white storks’ migration this year has been going on with no large-scale accidents. Twelve storks died from electrocution during the autumn migration in Dobrich Municipality, Northeastern Bulgaria. The transmission towers there are made of iron and must be rendered safe, according to the BSPB expert. His organization has already alerted the energy company.

A short circuit in the network killed 60 birds in the village of Stozher in northeastern Bulgaria at the end of last summer. After securing the facilities in the area, the stork flocks there have not suffered any more victims.

Some 20,000 white storks were detected by ornithologists near the village of Debrene in northeastern Bulgaria.