The arrival of one Dalmatian pelican to the Metkovic area can herald the return of this largest wader nesting bird in Croatian swamps.
The Croatian Nature Conservation Agency warns that five species of nesting birds, including Pelecanus crispus, have become extinct in Croatia to date.
The head of the ornithologist station in Metkovic, Barisa Ilic, spotted the Dalmatian pelican during regular bird watching activities on 20 March, and local fishermen later told him that the bird had arrived in the area between 16 and 18 March staying all the time around the mouth of the Neretva River.
Local bird watchers have recently noticed a growth in the variety and number of birds arriving in the Neretva Delta. They say that in the recent years the police have stepped up actions against poachers, which has resulted in the restoration of bird populations.
Ilic expects that this spring the mouth of the Neretva river will provide a habitat for up to 3,000 birds, including ducks, grebes, coots, egrets, herons and spoonbills.
The revival of the bird world in the Neretva Delta seems to be crowned by the comeback of the Dalmatian Pelican.