Tsalapitsa Rice-fields
Latitude: 42.219584
Longitude: 24.526336
Description:
The Tsalapitsa rice-fields are located in the Upper Thracian Plain, between the village of Tsalapitsa and the town of Saedinenie. The site is split by the road connecting the two settlements. To the south it borders on Trakia Highway, to the east – on the railway Plovdiv – Saedinenie. The site’s western border coincides with that of the municipality and its northern one passes several kilometers south of the town of Saedinenie. It is a complex of flooded plots used for growing rice, surrounded by low dykes and canals, including the surrounding wet meadows. At certain places the canals are overgrown with reed Phragfmites australis and reed mace Typha sp.. The rice pans have different water level and create conditions for bird species that have narrowly specialized feeding routine.
Birds:
Forty-six bird species are established so far in the Tsalapitsa Rice-fields, 10 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 23 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 5 of them being listed in category SPEC 2 and 18 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 11 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 9 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The Tsalapitsa Rice-fields are one of the most important breeding sites of the Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola in the Upper Thracian Plain and a concentration site for the Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinans. It is also very important for a number of waterfowl species in the breeding season, during migration and partially – in winter.
