Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A rugged region of low, rounded hills and relatively open valleys, with few small villages and a poorly developed network of roads, close to the border with Turkey. There are dry grasslands, Mediterranean shrubland of
Paliurus and
Jasminum, scattered forests of Mediterranean broadleaved type (mainly
Quercus and
Carpinus), and some rocky areas. Land-uses are extensive stock-rearing and cultivation, hunting and forestry.
One of the most important breeding areas for
Buteo rufinus and
Picus canus in Bulgaria. Significant proportion (³1%) of national population breeding at site:
Neophron percnopterus (1 pair),
Circaetus gallicus (1 pair),
Hippolais olivetorum (min. 3 pairs).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main problem is the cutting of mature trees along the rivers. There are large populations of this rodent and of brown hare
Lepus europaeus in the area, providing much small-mammal prey for raptors.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sakar (Bulgaria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sakar-iba-bulgaria on 22/12/2024.
