Srebarna Nature Reserve

Srebarna Reserve is located near the village of Srebarna, 18 km west from the town of Silistra and 2 km from Danube river. It includes the Srebarna Lake and its surroundings. The lake is the main stop of the Via Pontica – the most important migratory track of the birds between North Europe and Central Africa. The whole reserve is 600 ha large. It is one of the most interesting moist areas in Europe with exceptional variety of plants and animals. Here you can see 39 species of mammals, 21 species of reptiles and amphibians, and fishes. Some of the protected species in the reserve are: the otter, the lake crab, the tortoise, the water-rat, the white stag of a fellow deer. There are more than 100 different bird species in Srebarna Reserve – the dalmatian pelican, the pygmy cormorant (the only stock in the country), herons, the glossy ibis, the mute swan, the ruddy shelduck, the greylag goose, ducks, grebes, the marsh harrier, terns, the bluethroat, the bearded tit. In 1948 the region is declared for a reserve. In 1977 it became a bio-reserve in the UNESCO list, category A. there are only 17 objects with this category in the world. In 1983 Srebarna Reserve was enlisted in the UNESCO List for Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.