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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
Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca	NT	resident	1998	160-240 breeding pairs	B2
Hazel Grouse Tetrastes bonasia	LC	resident	1998	180-300 breeding pairs	C6
European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus	LC	breeding	1998	220-450 breeding pairs	C6
Corncrake Crex crex	LC	breeding	1998	25-70 breeding pairs	A1, C1
Eurasian Pygmy-owl Glaucidium passerinum	LC	resident	1998	10-20 breeding pairs	C6
Boreal Owl Aegolius funereus	LC	resident	1998	20-35 breeding pairs	C6
Ural Owl Strix uralensis	LC	breeding	1998	15-25 breeding pairs	C6
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca	VU	resident	1996	1-2 breeding pairs	A1, C1, C6
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos	LC	resident	1998	10-12 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius	LC	resident	1998	110-130 breeding pairs	C6
White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos	LC	resident	1998	130-150 breeding pairs	C6
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus	LC	resident	1996	40-50 breeding pairs	B2
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	EN	resident	1998	3 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus	LC	breeding	1998	6-7 breeding pairs	C6
Yellow-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus	LC	non-breeding	1996	500 individuals	A3
Eurasian Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus	LC	resident	1996	6,000-7,000 breeding pairs	B3
Eurasian Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla	LC	breeding	1996	25,000-40,000 breeding pairs	B3
Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria	LC	resident	1996	10-15 breeding pairs	A3
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus	LC	breeding	1996	3,400-4,000 breeding pairs	B3
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos	LC	breeding	1996	14,000-16,000 breeding pairs	B3
Fieldfare Turdus pilaris	LC	winter	1996	2,000-3,000 individuals	B3
Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus	LC	breeding	1998	5,000-7,000 breeding pairs	B3
Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula	LC	resident	1998	25,000-33,000 breeding pairs	B3
European Robin Erithacus rubecula	LC	resident	1996	55,000-65,000 breeding pairs	B3
Semi-collared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata	LC	breeding	1998	140-280 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva	LC	breeding	1998	550-600 breeding pairs	C6
Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush Monticola saxatilis	LC	breeding	1996	20 breeding pairs	B2
Common Stonechat Saxicola torquatus	LC	breeding	1996	200-300 breeding pairs	B2
Goldcrest Regulus regulus	LC	breeding	1996	6,500-9,000 breeding pairs	B3
Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris	LC	breeding	1998	600-800 breeding pairs	A3
Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs	LC	resident	1998	135,000-180,000 breeding pairs	B3

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	Boatin	Rezervat	1
1948	Boatin	Reserve	1
1949	Tsarichina	Rezervat	2
1949	Chamdja	Poddarzhan Rezarvat	<1
1953	Dzhendema	Rezervat	3
1961	Elenova Gora	Rezervat	<1
1964	Desetkar	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1965	Vodopad Suchurum	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	-
1966	Kostina	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1971	Vartopa	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1971	Vikanata skala	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	-
1972	Orlov kamak-Chervenata stena	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	<1
1973	Sokolski manastir	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1974	Mechkite	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	<1
1975	Eninskoto zhdrelo	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1975	Benkovskata pesheta	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1976	Evkaya-Kamenna kashta	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	-
1977	Parc national Steneto	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	2
1977	Boitine	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	1
1977	Réserve Tsaritchina	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	2
1977	Réserve Djendema	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	1
1979	Steneto	Rezervat	2
1979	Peeshti skali	Rezervat	1
1979	Sokolna	Rezervat	1
1979	Mehchenica-Yovovtsi	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1979	Tarnichensko praskalo	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	<1
1979	Guruncheto	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1979	Peeshti Skali	Reserve	1
1981	Stara reka	Rezervat	1
1981	Cherniat rat	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1981	Cherti grad	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	<1
1983	Severen Dzhendem	Rezervat	1
1983	Tsaritchina	Buffer Zone	1
1983	Stara reka	Buffer Zone	<1
1983	Steneto	Buffer Zone	<1
1983	Severen Djendem	Buffer Zone	<1
1984	Kamenshtitza	Rezervat	1
1984	Leshnitza	Rezervat	<1
1985	Sokolna	Buffer Zone	<1
1987	Kozia stena	Rezervat	1
1987	Skalen venetz	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	<1
1987	Stolishta	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1987	Kozya Stena	Reserve	1
1987	Kozya Stena	Buffer Zone	<1
1989	Studen kladenetz	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
1991	Centralen Balkan	Nacionalen Park	43
1991	Boatin	Buffer Zone	1
1991	Djendema	Buffer Zone	1
2002	Bulgarka	Priroden Park	14
2002	Mazalat	State Game Husbandries	13
2002	Rusalka	State Game Husbandries	3
2002	Rositza	State Game Husbandries	2
2005	Tsentralen Balkan	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	43
2006	Tsentralen Balkan - bufer	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	40
2006	Bulgarka	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	14
2007	Tsentralen Balkan	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	43
2007	Katuna	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
2007	Sechi kamak	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
2007	Borsuk kaya	Zashtitena Mestnost	<1
2011	Tsentralen Balkan bufer	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	41
2011	Bulgarka	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	14

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest	Broadleaved deciduous woodland, Native coniferous woodland	45
Grassland	Steppes and dry calcareous grassland, Dry siliceous grassland, Alpine, subalpine and boreal grassland, Humid grasslands	25
Shrubland	Scrub, Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis	21
Artificial/Terrestrial	Perennial crops, orchards and groves	1
Wetlands (inland)	Standing freshwater, Rivers and streams, Fens, transition mires and springs	1
Caves and Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic)	Caves	-
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Inland cliffs	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
tourism/recreation	72
agriculture	43
forestry	20

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Central Balkan (Bulgaria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/central-balkan-iba-bulgaria on 22/11/2024.