The importance of Prespa National Park for breeding and wintering birds

Abstract

The breeding avifauna of Prespa National Park is of national and international importance both due to its high richness and the internationally important populations of rare species. The latter include the Dalmatian (Pelecanus crispus) and Great White (Pelecanus onocrotalus) pelicans and the Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus). Populations of national interest include Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Greylag Goose (Anser anser), Goosander (Mergus merganser), Great White Egret (Egretta alba) and six other species of ardeids. Among the 261 bird species observed in the area of ca 250 km2 since the late 60s, 164 breed and 41 are very rarely observed. Passage migrants and winter visitors include 91 species. Twelve breeding species became extinct in the National Park during the last 25 years and others are endangered. Raptors and aquatic birds suffered more due to habitat and land use alterations brought about by the construction of an irrigation scheme. Eighty-one species observed in the area are listed as in need of special protection in Annex I of the 79/409 EEC Directive and 32 of them breed. Lake Mikri Prespa is of virtually no importance for wintering waterfowl since it is frozen every winter, but the Greek part of Lake Megali Prespa, which never freezes, concentrates among other species the 20% and 35% respectively of the Great Crested Grebes and Tufted Ducks wintering in Greece. © 1997 Kluwer Academic Publishers.