Buljarica

Areas in hectares: 300
Altitude: 0-2 m
Conservation status: Unprotected at local and national level, Emerald site under the Bern convention
Coordinates: 42o11’26.62”N, 18o58’19.77”E

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

This site is located between the cities of Petrovac in the west and Sutomore in the south-east. There is the massif of the Mountain Rumija and Paštrovići area in the hinterland, which separate this bay from the Skadar Lake. This is a rural area with still underdeveloped infrastructure and nature. Buljarica is the longest beach in the Budva Riviera, 2,200m long, with a wetland behind. The higher parts of the hinterland are one of the last native Mediterranean forests of oak and ash, where there is an auto-camp situated. Dry parts of the bay are used in agriculture for wine growing, horticulture and grazing.

ORNITHOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE

Buljarica is one of the largest ecological complexes on the Adriatic coast, unique because of the untouched nature and indigenous species. Coast wetlands, where the mixing of salty and fresh water happens, stand as one of the rarest habitats in the Mediterranean. IBA standards recommend this site for protection because of its value as a habitat and as place of stay for a large number of endangered sea birds: cormorant, Phalacrocorax pygmeus, levant sparrow hawk, Accipiter brevipes; sea falcon, Falco eleonorae; Lanner falcon, Falco biarmicus; kestrel, Falco tinunculus, as well as the following songbirds: Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus; kingfisher, Alcedo atthis; Middle spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopos medius; Rock Nuthatch, Sitta neumayer; and Sombre tits, Parus lugubris. Buljarica is a significant part in the migratory corridor, which is confirmed by the strong hunting pressure during the winter: more species of ducks and waders use the beach for rest during migration, primarily ducks, Anas penelope, Anas acuta, Anas crecca, Anas querquedula and woodcocks, Calidris feruginea, Numenius phaeopus, and other.

HABITATS

At the contact with the sea, the beach was formed with coarser pebbles. The Beach is 30 m wide. In the hinterland of the beach there is an elevated natural embankment created by the activity of waves. The swamp in the hinterland is of the sea level, slowly rising to the mainland. There are drainage canals that contain water, and natural depressions which form few shallow ponds. In the nearest hinterland of the beach there is a thick reed that continues to the flood meadows and oak forest, swamp ash, elm and olive trees. Hills that surround the valley are covered with Mediterranean maquis, and also with cultivated olive groves. Habitat diversity by itself speaks of the complexity of the ecosystem, and also of the vulnerability of Buljarica.

PROTECTION MEASURES – VULNERABILITY OF HABITATS AND SPECIES

This is one of the most attractive locations at our coast, and the apparent danger to this area lies in the economic non-valorisation of this place. All of the other problems of this valley, including winter hunting, are insignificant in relation to the permanently lost space because of the urbanisation. Buljarica meets three of nine conditions of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, as a unique, rare and representative wetland on the east coast of the Adriatic, the habitat for many endangered species, not only birds but also the amphibians and reptiles, and a key site for bird migration.