Pelicans
Flocks on the water.
Roman Friptuleac — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roman Friptuleac — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Liudmila Curdova — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roman Friptuleac — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vadim Șterbate — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roman Friptuleac — CC BY-SA 4.0
Beleu is a wide, shallow lake on the Prut floodplain in southern Moldova. Calm water is carpeted in summer with yellow water lilies, small wooden boats sit on the bank, willows grow on the islands, and flocks of birds wheel over the water. The lake lies in the Lower Prut scientific reserve, founded on 23 April 1991, and takes up about two-thirds of it. It is 5 km long and 2 km wide and mostly 0.5 to 1.5 m deep. It is a remnant of old Danube delta lakes formed 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. The reserve has more than 196 bird species, including herons, cormorants and pelicans, and hundreds or even thousands of pelicans can gather here depending on the season. You watch birds from the shore or on a boat trip with a reserve guide, and see the lilies and the sunset over the water. The lake is about 204 km by road south of Chișinău and about 34 km in a straight line south of Cahul. It is a scientific reserve, so boats go only with licensed guides, and some areas need advance registration at the visitor centre.
Flocks on the water.
In summer.
Over the lake.
Lower Prut reserve, near Slobozia Mare, Cahul District
Usually spring and late summer.
No, only with reserve guides.