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The site was identified as important in 2005 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Greylag Goose Anser anser	LC	passage	1999	428 individuals	B1i, C3
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca	NT	breeding	2004	10 breeding pairs	C6
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus	LC	breeding	1996	60 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides	LC	breeding	1998	58 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	LC	breeding	1997	10 breeding pairs	C6
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	breeding	1996	40 breeding pairs	A1, C1, C6
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	passage	2003	238 individuals	A1, A4i, B1i, C1, C2
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	breeding	1996	40 breeding pairs	C6
White-tailed Sea-eagle Haliaeetus albicilla	LC	resident	1996	1 breeding pairs	C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2005) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1948	Milka	Rezervat	1
1981	Persin-Iztok	Zashtitena Mestnost	9
1981	Persinski blata	Poddarzhan Rezarvat	6
1981	Kitka	Rezervat	<1
1981	Kitka Island	Reserve	<1
1981	Persinski Marshes	Managed Reserve	6
1981	Persina Iztok	National Monument	10
2000	Persina	Priroden Park	25
2002	Belene Islands Complex	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	25
2005	Persina	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	100
2007	Kompleks Belenski ostrovi	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100
2012	Persin	Zashtitena Mestnost	12

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest	Alluvial and very wet forest	60
Grassland	Humid grasslands	35
Wetlands (inland)	Standing freshwater	5

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
forestry	55
agriculture	30
fisheries/aquaculture	10

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Belene Islands Complex (Bulgaria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/belene-islands-complex-iba-bulgaria on 23/11/2024.