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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
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus	LC	winter	1997	162-261 individuals	B1i, C2
Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis	VU	winter	1997	20,000-55,845 individuals	A1, A4i, B1i, C1, C2
Greylag Goose Anser anser	LC	winter	2003	3,273 individuals	B1i, C3
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons	LC	winter	1997	61,900-177,335 individuals	A4i, B1i, C3
Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus	VU	winter	1998	15-50 individuals	A1, C1
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca	NT	passage	1996	10-88 individuals	A1, C1
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos	LC	winter	1997	3,045-62,210 individuals	B1i, C3
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	winter	2001	286 individuals	A1, A4i, B1i, C1, C2
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	passage	1997	5-392 individuals	A1, C1
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	breeding	1996	5-9 breeding pairs	C6
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus	LC	breeding	1996	10-14 breeding pairs	B2, C6
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola	LC	breeding	1996	4-10 breeding pairs	C6
Mew Gull Larus canus	LC	winter	1999	285 individuals	B1i, C3
Little Tern Sternula albifrons	LC	breeding	1996	6-8 breeding pairs	C6
Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus	VU	breeding	1995	8-16 breeding pairs	B2, C6
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage	1997	6,500 individuals	B1iv, C5
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter	1997	100,000-499,999 individuals	A4iii, C4

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
1995	Shablensko ezero	Zashtitena Mestnost	17
1995	Shabla Lake	Protected Landscape	16
1996	Lake Shabla	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	13
2002	Balchik	State Game Husbandries	79
2003	Ezero Shabla - Ezerets	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	45
2005	Shablenski ezeren kompleks	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Forestry plantations, Other urban and industrial areas	62
Marine Neritic		13
Grassland	Steppes and dry calcareous grassland, Mesophile grasslands	6
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		-
Marine Intertidal		-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
water management	68
agriculture	32
hunting	30
tourism/recreation	1
fisheries/aquaculture	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Shabla Lake Complex (Bulgaria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/shabla-lake-complex-iba-bulgaria on 23/11/2024.