Bulgaria-Aranzadi Project

Dr. Nikolov researcher of the Bulgarian team which is working together with Urdaibai Bird Center, has informed us that the first phase of the Red-backed Shrike project has concluded successfully in Bulgaria.

In the present year 2012, Urdaibai Bird Center has developed a project where Red-backed Shrikes have been marked with geolocators. The objective of this project is to determine migration routes and identify the wintering areas of the breeding population in the Biosphere Reserve of Urdaibai.

Dr. Boris Nikolov with one marked Red-backed Shrike.

In collaboration with a Bulgarian team, led by Boris Nikolov from the Bulgarian Ornithological Centre, part of the "Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research", Academy of Sciences of Bulgaria, we will be able to compare the information obtained for two populations located respectively in the western and eastern distribution range of the species in Europe. This is especially important to know in what grade such distant populations share strategies and migration routes as well as wintering areas.

Natura-2000 of Rayanovtsi where the project is carrying out.

Now it is time to wait until the marked Red-backed Shrikes return to their breeding areas, when we will try to recapture them to remove de geolocator with the collected data.