Poda nature reserve

Map of the seascape around the city of Burgas

The Poda Nature Reserve is part of the Burgas wetland. Poda extends south of the city center of Burgas on both sides of the Burgas – Sozopol highway ; it lies between the districts of Pobeda , Meden Rudnik and Kraimorie . In the west the area borders on the Mandra Lake and in the south on the Usungeren nature reserve on the Foros peninsula. Because of its flora and fauna, the Poda Nature Reserve is among the 100 national tourist objects of Bulgaria compiled by the Bulgarian Tourist Association.

The nature reserve

The reserve includes the Liman Poda, which flows into the Black Sea through a small channel in the southeastern part. It was originally part of the Mandra Lake before it was converted into a reservoir. To the east it is separated from the Black Sea by a narrow, sandy headland. The Burgas – Sozopol motorway runs along this spit . Numerous artificial nests for birds have been set up to the right and left of the headland. A large number of threatened bird species nest here. Poda, like all other parts of the Burgas wetland, is an important stop for the north-south migration of birds.

Flora and fauna

In the nature reserve Poda you can admire the abundance of birds all year round. During the migration period , flocks of pelicans and birds of prey can be seen. Also coypu find what it is plenty of food and can be observed.

255 bird species have been recorded in Poda, which corresponds to 67% of the entire bird world in Bulgaria. 71 species are on the red list in Bulgaria. In the open water areas one can observe small white herons , small great crested grebes as well as colonies of large cormorants . In the winter months, the rich food supply attracts nirks , great crested grebes , bellboys , gray ducks and other animals.

During the breeding season, the observer has the opportunity to observe mixed colonies of shovelers , ibises , gray herons , small, white, red and evening herons.

Burgas is also known as the setting for the migration of storks and birds of prey. Eight train routes cross over the city of Burgas. During the migration period, huge flocks of white and black storks , pink and Dalmatian pelicans , lesser spotted eagles , wasp buzzards , species of Limikolen , seagulls and terns and many other species of birds can be observed.

The best time for bird migration is:

Spring migration - late March to mid-May
Autumn migration - late August to mid-October

During the autumn migration alone, up to 300,000 white storks and 30 species of birds of prey fly over the city and its surroundings.

history

In Roman times, the Via Pontica , an important coastal road from Constantinople , via Apollonia and Odessos to the Danube Delta , ran here . The former Liman was the entry point to the port of Deultum . The entrance at Kraimorie was paved. There was the Pirgos Castle , which gave the later city of Burgas its name. Ship traffic and land routes were protected with the help of a bascule bridge . But the castle also collected taxes. Today there is another strategically important road above this narrow path: the Burgas – Sozopol motorway, which is to be expanded towards Istanbul.

Until the 1950s, the lake, as part of Lake Mandra, was famous for its abundance of fish and was used economically, together with Lake Burgas. A large part of Bulgaria's fishing industry was located on the two lakes. After the Nechtochim oil refinery was built, the ecological balance changed and the lake became heavily polluted. In recent years, especially after the lakes were declared a nature reserve, the situation has improved. Today the fish population has recovered and fishing is possible again.