09 August 2018 - The expert team of ornithologists of the Public Enterprise for National Parks of Montenegro and the Natural History Museum of Montenegro announced the final result of the summer nesting season during the summer pelican monitoring and informed the public that the population of the pelican in the NP Skadar Lake was increased by 58 chicks.
Ornithologists have just implemented the summer pelican monitoring through the project of the French international organization for the protection of species Noe Conservation. Using conservation methods for many years, regular patrol controls of sites that pelicans inhabit carried out by the Protection Service of NP Skadar Lake, and the help of video monitoring set to monitor the condition of this species, provided favorable conditions for the development of pelicans in this protected natural area.
"The Public Enterprise for National Parks of Montenegro, in cooperation with domestic and international organizations, has implemented a number of activities aimed at protecting, preserving and successfully nurturing pelicans in NP Skadar Lake, for many years," said Elvir Klica, Director of PENPM.
"Pelicans are birds who nest exclusively on small islands. The decreasing number of natural nests, that have been lost during the past years due to the oscillations of the lake, has been recognized as one of the causes of the nesting of a smaller number of pelicans in the earlier period. For this reason, our ornithologists have made significant efforts in cooperation with international organizations and started to set up specific platforms for pelican nests," said Nela Vešović Dubak, an ornithologist at PENPM.
About 200 adult individuals and 58 young pelicans in nests have been registered in the NP Skadar Lake during the summer monitoring, which provides an ideal opportunity to invite all lovers of bird watching and staying in this protected natural area to enjoy this tourist offer and picturesque areas of the largest freshwater aquatorium on the Balkans, concluded the representatives of PENPM.
The success of pelican nesting and the stability of their population are key indicators of examples of good practice in the implementation of conservation methods for the protection of pelicans. The most important methods are: installing artificial platforms for pelican nests, establishing a video surveillance system, ringing young pelicans on nesting colonies, the regular control of the special nature reserve of Pančevo eye by the Protection Service of the NP Skadar Lake, setting up information boards about banning the entrance to the special reserve of Pančevo eye, as well as raising the level of awareness of the local population about the importance of protecting the National Park and the rich ornithofauna. It is very important to emphasize that monitoring pelicans enables the monitoring of the condition and other significant bird species, as well as taking measures for their preservation.
In the past years, in order to preserve pelicans, several projects have been implemented, among which are the "Conservation of Pelicans, a Key Biodiversity Species of Skadar Lake", which is mostly financed by the Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund, as well as "Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity at Lakes Prespa, Ohrid and Skadar Lake" funded by the German Organization for International Cooperation and Development (GIZ). The project for the preservation of pelican in the NP Skadar Lake is presented as an example of good practice in preserving the species in the Mediterranean.
