Republic of Moldova

Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, on the northeastern corner of the Balkans east of the Carpathian Mountains. The country spans a total of 33,483 km² (12,928 square miles) and has a population of under 2.5 million. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The country is separated from Romania on the west by the Prut river and on the east from Ukraine by the Dniester river. The unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester river. Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with its capital in Chișinău, the country’s largest city with a metropolitan population of around 636,000 and main cultural and commercial centre.

Although the country is technically landlocked, Moldova acquired (1999) from Ukraine (in exchange for ceding a stretch of contested road in the east of the country) a 0.45 kilometre river frontage to the Danube, on the confluence of the Danube and Prut rivers. This has transformed the old village of Giurgiulești (in the extreme south-west of the country) into a river port, providing Moldova access to international waters via the Danube and the Black Sea. At its closest point, Moldova is separated from the Dniester Liman, an estuary of the Black Sea, by only 3 km of Ukrainian territory.

La Castel Reserve – ©Alex Prodan CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

While most of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 1,500 feet, the highest point being the Bălănești Hill. Moldova’s hills are part of the Moldavian Plateau, which geologically originate from the Carpathian Mountains. Its subdivisions in Moldova include the Dniester Hills (Northern Moldavian Hills and Dniester Ridge), the Moldavian Plain (Middle Prut Valley and Bălți Steppe), and the Central Moldavian Plateau (Ciuluc-Soloneț Hills, Cornești Hills. In the south, the country has a small flatland, the Bugeac Plain. The territory of Moldova east of the river Dniester is split between parts of the Podolian Plateau, and parts of the Eurasian Steppe. Moldova’s exceptionally rich Chernozem soil covers around three-quarters of the country’s land area.

Nistru River – ©Alex Prodan CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Moldova has a climate which is moderately continental; its proximity to the Black Sea leads to the climate being mildly cold in the autumn and winter and relatively cool in the spring and summer. The summers are warm and long, with temperatures averaging about 20 °C and the winters are relatively mild and dry, with January temperatures averaging -4 °C. Annual rainfall, which ranges from around 24 inches in the north to just 16 inches in the south, can vary greatly; long dry spells are not unusual. The heaviest rainfall occurs in early summer and again in October; heavy showers and thunderstorms are common. Because of the irregular terrain, heavy summer rains often cause erosion and river silting.

Birding Moldova

Phytogeographically, Moldova is split between the East European Plain and the Pontic–Caspian steppe of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. It is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: Central European mixed forests, East European forest steppe, and Pontic steppe. Forests currently cover only 11% of Moldova, though the state is making efforts to increase this. Mammals such as red deer, roe deer and wild boar can be found in these wooded areas.

The environment of Moldova suffered extreme degradation during the Soviet period, when industrial and agricultural development proceeded without regard for environmental protection. Excessive use of pesticides resulted in heavily polluted topsoil, and industries lacked emission controls. The Ecological Movement of Moldova, an NGO, which is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature has been working to restore Moldova’s damaged natural environment. One project is the reintroduction of European Bison from the Polish population.

Lower Prut Reserve – ©Criss90kf CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

However, as farming is not yet as intense as in the UK, birds are also still in good numbers and variety supplemented by migration and the proximity of the Black Sea for wintering birds. There are small populations of Great Bustard, Steppe Eagle and Saker.

Around a dozen IBAs have been recognised so far including Stânca-Costeşti Reservoir, Ghidighici Reservoir, Salaş Reservoir, Cuciurgan Reservoir, Lake Manta and Beleu Lake among others. The Lower Prut area is one of the best areas for a variety of bird life. It was created in order to preserve and study the ecosystem of lakes and floodplain landscape of the lower course of the River Prut, to create favourable conditions for the reproduction of rare and endangered species of plants and animals. This includes some of the more than 196 bird species, of which 45 species are included in the Red Book of Moldova. It is the site of a very large pelican colony and is good for waterfowl, gulls and terns and waders dependent on the season.