Sand Martin

(Riparia riparia)

Category of conservation concern (IUCN, 2020) – Least Concern

Population size: 20 000 – 50 000 pairs

Distribution pattern

With patchy (especially in the Thracian Plain, the Sofia Field, around Varna) and dispersed distribution. In some areas the breeding grounds are located linearly in neighbouring or nearby squares along larger rivers – along the Danube River and its tributaries in the Danubian plain, along the rivers Tundzha, Struma, Arda, Kamchia, along the Black Sea coast, etc.

Comparative distribution of the species compared to the first breeding birds atlas (Iankov, 2007): Breeding locality until 2007 | Breeding locality until 2007, confirmed after 2015 – | New breeding locality after 2015. – The breeding localities after 2015 are identified on a base of raw data from smartbirds.org.

Habitats

Breeds in sandy or loess sheer banks, most often near water bodies with running waters or standing fresh waters. Highly dependent on the combination of conditions and vertical walls suitable for boring nesting chambers, which, in addition to riverbanks, is most often present around quarries for extraction of aggregates, canals, etc., less often – along the seacoast.

Trends in population changes for the period 2013-2020

Not analysed

Threats

Not analysed