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The first Lesser kestrels arrived from the south in the colony of the species in Stara Zagora

Mar 07, 2023
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After Levka, the first Lesser kestrels appeared in the colony of the species in Stara Zagora!
For now there are 4 birds - 3 males and 1 female. And, by their rings with which they are marked, we were able to identify the birds.

It is interesting that one of them is also the oldest representative of the colony in Stara Zagora - Pirat.

Pirat was hatched at the Rescue Center and released into our adaptation aviaries in 2018. Two years later we spotted him again over the Centre, but he had already lost one of his legs! However, Pirat turned out to be a brave falcon who apparently survives despite life's adversities. Because, in 2021 and 2022, he successfully created families and raised offspring. Among other things, he is apparently also quite liked by women, since both years he was with different partners!

The second known male has an equally interesting fate. Last year, the team of the project "Life for Lesser kestrel" LIFE19 NAT/BG/001017 of the Green Balkans, funded by the EU LIFE program, spotted the bird near the Center in mid-July, after the breeding season. He was in the company of three other Lesser kestrels, which had probably formed a small colony, in an unknown place for us, in the Stara Zagora region and, after raising their young, had returned to the "native" place.

What we do know about the only female, for now, is that it hatched in 2021. Ah, the fourth male was her partner until last year!

Our team's observations of Lesser kestrels arriving from the south continue. We sincerely hope to have a strong breeding season this year, with lots of young.

We remind you that the colony of Lesser kestrels is the third of its kind in our country, and the second largest. Like the one in Levka, it was created thanks to the efforts of Green Balkans for the return of the species to Bulgaria.