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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	1996	15-25 breeding pairs	A3
White Stork Ciconia ciconia	LC	breeding	2004	57 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Short-toed Snake-eagle Circaetus gallicus	LC	breeding	1996	4-5 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus	LC	breeding	1996	2-10 breeding pairs	A3
Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra	LC	resident	2005	86 breeding pairs	C6
Olive-tree Warbler Hippolais olivetorum	LC	breeding	1996	10 breeding pairs	A3
Subalpine Warbler Curruca cantillans	LC	breeding	1996	10 breeding pairs	A3
Barred Warbler Curruca nisoria	LC	breeding	1996	50-100 breeding pairs	C6
Sardinian Warbler Curruca melanocephala	LC	resident	1996	2 breeding pairs	A3
Western Rock Nuthatch Sitta neumayer	LC	resident	1996	6-12 breeding pairs	A3
Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana	LC	breeding	2005	967 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
1976	Kupena	Prirodna Zabelezhitelnost	-
2002	Dikchan	State Game Husbandries	10
2006	Reka Mesta	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	34
2006	Rodopi - Zapadni	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	5
2006	Dolna Mesta	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	15
2007	Mesta	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mesta Valley (Bulgaria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mesta-valley-iba-bulgaria on 23/11/2024.