Description of the attraction
Burgas Lake is the largest natural reservoir in Bulgaria, its area is 3 thousand hectares. The lake is located in the central part of Burgas, both banks are occupied by residential areas - Dolno-Ezerovo and Gorno. You can often find another name for the lake - Vaya. Since 1997, the Vaya area has been declared a protected area.
Burgas Lake is essentially an estuary that has become a coastal lake. As befits the estuary, it is salty due to a small channel connecting it to the sea. Fresh salt water is regularly supplied to the lake, which attracts salt-loving fish to the reservoir.
Also from the west the lake is fed by the Aytos, Chukarska and Syndyrdere rivers. The lake is separated from the sea by a sand spit, where today the Burgas industrial zone is located.
Vaya is one of the three most significant biotopes of high humidity zones with water-loving birds living in it from the Bulgarian shores of the Black Sea. Thanks to the initiative of bird watchers, up to 260 species of birds regularly appear here, depending on the season. It is worth noting that 9 out of 260 species are included in the Red Book, and there are also many rare bird species in Bulgaria.
In few places in Bulgaria one can observe colony of nesting small white and yellow herons together with night herons on the same territory. In winter, the lake is inhabited by cormorants and Dalmatian pelicans, bright and unusual red-breasted geese. Burgas Lake also attracts migratory birds.
Burgas Lake is part of NATURA - the national ecological network.
