Data Zone
Country/territory: Bulgaria
IBA criteria met: A1, A4i, A4iv, B1i, B1iv, B3, C1, C2, C3, C5, C6 (2005)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 4,682 ha
Site description (2000 baseline)
A natural coastal lake to the west of Varna, the largest Bulgarian sea-port. The northern shore is fringed by reedbeds of Phragmites, Typha and Schoenoplectus, while other parts are steeply sloping. There are sand-banks, as well as small saltpans in the westernmostpart of the complex, whose banks are overgrown with Salicornia. The lake was converted in the 1970s into a ship-canal connecting the Black Sea and Lake Beloslav, and there are many industrial installations (factories, ports, etc.), roads and railways along the lake-shore.
Key biodiversity
The complex is important for breeding Recurvirostra avosetta, which nest at the saltpans. It is the only wetland between Shabla and Durankulak lakes in the north and the Burgas lakes to the south, and thus is an important staging and wintering area for waterbirds, especially Pelecanus crispus and Phalacrocorax pygmeus. It is also a major migratory bottleneck site, where up to 50,000 Ciconia ciconia pass overhead each autumn. Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Aythya nyroca (min. 9 on passage), Oxyura leucocephala (max. 3 in winter).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Varna-Beloslav Lakes Complex (Bulgaria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/varna-beloslav-lakes-complex-iba-bulgaria on 23/11/2024.