State: DobrichArea: 16172,28 ха
Ownership: state - 45%; municipality - 15%; private - 40%;
Description:
The site is located in north-eastern Bulgaria and bears the name of the cape within its limits. It covers the easternmost part of the Dobrudzha plateau, with altitude from 0 to 150 m. To the west it borders on the town of Kavarna, to the north – on the villages of between Rakovski, Hadzhi Dimitar and Sveti Nikola. To the north-east it’s limit follows the road Sveti Nikola - Kamen Bryag – Tjulenovo up to cape Shabla, including the coast with its adjacent shallow marine area from cape Shabla to the port of Kavarna. The village of Bulgarevo and the tourist resort Russalka are also in its limits. The coast is fringed with vertical cliffs up to 100 m high, with characteristic caves and niches. The vegetation is characterized mainly by the prevailing steppe associations and sparse trees and shrubs. It develops on shallow soils and almost exposed limestone rock. The region between Bulgarevo, cape Kaliakra and the area of Eni Kulak holds the last and best preserved steppe habitats in Bulgaria. They are the result of the combination of specific relief, soils and climatic conditions and it is especially important to conserve them, as they support typical species of the steppe biome. Most of the plants belong to the xerothermal type of formations. The flora of Kaliakra resembles the Crimean flora.
Birds:
The Kaliakra IBA is the only site in Bulgaria, which keeps the remaining Eastern Dobrudzha steppe, as well as the biggest cliffs along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It supports 310 bird species, 71 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 106 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 17 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 21 in SPEC 2 and 68 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides key habitats for 100 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 95 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The territory of Kaliakra holds the last big and comparatively well preserved steppe habitat in the Dobrudzha. It is inhabited by typical steppe species, which are quite numerous – Stone Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla and Calandra Lark Miliaria calandra, 4 Wheater species, Rose-colored Starling Sturnus roseus. Almost the whole national population of the Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleshanka is concentrated in the region. The Stone Curlew, the Greater Short-toed Lark and the Calandra Lark are presented there with the biggest populations in the country. The coastal cliffs host the only Bulgarian colony of the European Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis. The open biotope supports a number of birds of prey, like the Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, the Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus, the Hobby Falco subbuteo, the Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes, the Eagle Owl Bubo bubo, etc. In the marine area of Kaliakra are registered the biggest flocks of the Mediterranean Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan in the country. The region is of exceptional importance during migration and it is typical bottleneck site, as it is located on the Via Pontica – the second biggest migration flyway in Europe. Every autumn considerable numbers of soaring birds – more than 29,000 storks, pelicans and cranes and more than 3,000 birds of prey, including globally threatened species like the Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, the Saker Falcon Falco cherrug and the Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca – pass over Kaliakra. Cape Kaliakra is the point where Bulgaria’s land territory reaches farthest into the sea. Due to the specific geography of the coastline (direction east – west) and the predominant NW wind migratory birds stay in the area longer than usual migrants, trying to avoid sea and to go back again above the mainland, and soaring to get higher. More than 60% of the migratory birds fly through the area up to 150 m high. When the wind is very strong storks and raptors (mainly harriers) lend on the fields between Kavarna and Cape Kaliakra. Only 9% of the birds pass the area flying higher than 500 m. The whole territory of Kaliakra SPA between Kavarna and Tyulenovo is used as stopover site for migratory storks. The Kaliakra IBA is used as stopover site for migratory storks. As they confront the sea on their way south, the numerous flocks of songbirds, Quail and the globally threatened Corncrake Crex crexstop there to roost and feed. They migrate mainly during the night. More than 50,000 are registered only in the light part of the days during the autumn migration. Significant numbers of waterbirds overwinter in the area of Kaliakra, mainly geese, which stay there between December and March. They overnight in the sea and every day they fly over Kaliakra in order to feed in the inland arable lands. Often they land to feed in the arable land in the limits of the proposed SPA. In smaller numbers but regularly the globally threatened Red-breasted goose also overwinter in the region. Forty rare, threatened and endemic plant species and sub-species have been established in the region. Eight of them are included in the European list of rare, threatened and endemic plants and 20 are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1984), 15 of them being in the category “rare” and 10 – “threatened with extinction”.
Threats:
The region of Kaliakra is particularly sensitive to human activities related to deterioration of steppe habitats, building activities, as well as constructions of high facilities. The main threats are currently the plans for construction of wind turbine farms both within the core area of Kaliakra and around it, which will lie on the migration route of the birds along the Via Pontica. The wind turbines are mostly with height of 120 m. most of them are to be erected on areas where BSPB has proved soaring and other active flying migrants pass at altitudes up to 150 m. which means direct collision for big number of birds. In total 180 wind turbines are due for erecting only on the territory of the Kaliakra. The development of wind turbine farms in this particular area will disturb the free movement of birds, especially of soaring migratory and wintering birds, and will limit to a significant extent the access of birds to the suitable habitats. They will cause direct collision and killing of them, fragmentation and loss of valuable the habitats used by birds for roosting, feeding, soaring, as well as places for avoiding of severe weather conditions. They will be a barrier for thousands of migratory soaring birds and night migrants on their flyway to the south and north and will cause significant mortality of birds and further decline in their populations. In the area there are already numerous electric power lines which cause numerous deaths annually of migrating birds – mainly Quails Coturnix coturnix and Corncrake C. crex as they fly at night and collide with the power lines. The construction works of different types of buildings will cause inevitable loss of unique steppe habitats with rare and endemic plant species, fragmentation of the habitat and reduction and significant decline of the breeding population of the Stone Curlew, Calandra Lark, Short-toed Lark, Pied Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear. In addition the lack of water purification systems of the settlements and the satellite buildings cause of pollution of the main rock base of the land territory as well as the adjacent marine waters. Illegal construction of oil and gas extraction facilities north of Kaliakra Cape (including the buffer zone of the Kaliakra Reserve) cause pollution of soil with oil and rubbish, as well as destruction of steppe and rocky habitats. Periodically military activities take place in the steppes in the north part of Kaliakra, which cause significant disturbance to birds and in some cases – fires in the steppe. The steppe habitats are used by localpeople for grazing of domestic animals. The aress close to the villages are overgrazed, while those situated far away are undergrazed. In both cases the quality of the habitats is decreasing. Other threats to birds in the region are the illegal building of roads, uncontrolled movement of people and illegal collection of plants and animals in the existing protected areas, as well as trailing fishing in the reserve aquatory. The activities related to the development of the infrastructure(construction of new roads, electrical powerlines, telephone lines, water pipelines, etc.), as well as the intensification of the tourism could cause to significant disturbance to birds, fragmentation, deterioration and even loss of valuable habitats.
Legal protection:
So far only 5% of the territory of Kaliakra is under legal protection by the national nature conservation law. On the territory of Kavarna Municipality there are two designated reserves – Kaliakra Nature Reserve in the grounds of the village of Bulgarevo and Yailata Archaeological Reserve in the grounds of the village of Sveti Nikola. The protected area Taukliman is on the northern side of cape Kaliakra. Cape Kaliakra was designated as Important Bird Area by Bird Life International in 1989. In 2005 the area in its present territory was designated again as IBA. It also contains the Kaliakra CORINE Site, designated in 1998 because of its European value for rare and threatened habitats, plant and animal species, including birds.
