Lake Srebarna

How it formed

Srebarna is a shallow lake that is fed by karst water and linked to the Danube by a natural channel, and reeds and other water plants grow in and around it. It lies in the west of the Aydemir lowland. It is shallow, and its depth varies.

History

Foreign biologists had studied the lake for many years before the first Bulgarian scientist, Aleksi Petrov, visited in 1911. The area was proclaimed a nature reserve in 1948, became a Ramsar site in 1975, and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983. A museum next to the lake presents the species typical of the reserve.

Several legends explain the name. One tells of a khan named Srebrist who died in a battle nearby; another of a boat full of silver on the shore. The one regarded as most plausible says the name comes from the silvery reflections on the lake on moonlit nights.

Nature

The reserve lies on the Via Pontica, the route taken by migrating birds between Europe and Africa, and it is most famous for the many bird species that nest there, among them herons, cormorants, the glossy ibis, the Dalmatian pelican and the mute swan. Besides birds it is home to mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and to many plants, some of them endangered outside the reserve.

Pelicans on a platform

The Dalmatian pelicans nest on a wooden platform and rest on a small jetty on the lake, and the birds are wary of people, so watching is from a distance. The museum lends binoculars for the purpose. Between about 160 and more than 200 bird species have been recorded, among them white-tailed eagles and greater flamingos.