• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2000 baseline)
A dammed reservoir on the Black Sea coast, below which lies a brackish lagoon linked by an outlet to the sea, next to the town of Burgas. The open-water surface covers 1,300 ha, and is fringed by Phragmites, Typha, Juncus and Bolboschoenus. Along the shore, salt-tolerant vegetation is dominated by Puccinellia and Salicornia, and sand-dunes are overgrown with Leymus grass and Gypsophila. The lake is surrounded by wet meadows, marshes, arable land and areas of Paliurus scrub, with some forest of Quercus and Acer on the south bank.

Key biodiversity
The complex is important for many bird species, notably for globally threatened species (e.g. Numenius tenuirostris, Oxyura leucocephala), breeding waterbirds (e.g. Platalea leucorodia, Recurvirostra avosetta), and wintering waterbirds. The site holds 20,000 or more waterbirds on a regular basis, and is also a notable migratory bottleneck site in autumn, where more than 3,000 raptors (notably Aquila pomarina) and up to 20,000 Ciconia ciconia pass overhead. Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria while staging at the site: Pelecanus crispus, Aythya nyroca. Significant proportion (³1%) of national population breeding at site: Nycticorax nycticorax (28-30 pairs).

Attributes
Raptors MOU - IBA listed under Table 3 of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mandra-Poda complex (Bulgaria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mandra-poda-complex-iba-bulgaria on 22/11/2024.