23 January 2019 22.01.2019- As part of the activities for monitoring and inventorying biodiversity, during last weekend (19-20.01.2019), the Kosovo Institute for Nature Protection, with the voluntary assistance of a team of experts from the Albanian Ornithological Society (AOS), conducted for the first time in Kosovo the International Waterbird Census. This count was carried out in almost all locations where there is a presence of water basins and was also supported by several nature enthusiasts. The activity was conducted within the framework of IWC2019 (International Waterbird Census), which has been organized worldwide for 53 years by Wetlands International.
Considering the bitterly cold winter of these days, most of the water surfaces visited were completely frozen. Batllava Lake, Livoc Lake, Perlepnica Lake, Henc Swamp, and Partesh Swamp were entirely covered with ice. Vërmica was almost without water due to the drop in the water level in Fierza Lake, while the remaining water surfaces in it were completely frozen. The only partially frozen surfaces where waterbirds were found were Badovc Lake, Radonjiç Lake, as well as some small lakes around the KEK thermal power plants (near the Waste Depot in Mirash). Here, the largest number of waterbirds were also found. From the preliminary results, it can be observed that 12 species of waterbirds were observed, with a total number of 9,178 individuals altogether.
Most of the waterfowl counted on this occasion were mallards, where Anas platyrhynchos with 6,632 individuals and Anas crecca with 2,398 individuals together accounted for 98.38% of the total number of birds.
For more, see the full research report
International Waterbird Census