Poda. 24/09/02; Burgas; 307 ha; 42°27'N 027°27'E. Partially Protected Area. A marshy wetland and adjacent sea bay located on the outskirts of the city of Burgas on the Black Sea coast. Although naturally formed as part of the Burgas-Mandra firth, the coastal wetland has deteriorated due to human interference in 1960s and later evolved into a mosaic of different habitats - freshwater, brackish, saline and hyper-saline pools, and flooded areas overgrown with aquatic vegetation. The site includes the shallow sea bay Phoros. The site has outstanding significance for biodiversity conservation, and more than 260 rare, vulnerable and endangered species of plants and animals have been recorded, among them eight globally threatened bird species and one globally threatened animal species (Otter Lutra lutra) - some species with restricted distribution also occur, like the Etruscan Shrew Suncus etruscus. Poda is an important breeding ground for some waterbirds (a mixed colony of glossy ibises, spoonbills - the only place along the Bulgarian coast where the spoonbill breeds - and five species of herons and egrets) and a valuable stopover site for migratory birds, and it hosts numerous winter concentrations of waterbirds, for many species often beyond the 1% threshold of the biogeographic population - Dalmatian Pelicans Pelecanus crispus, Great White Egret Egretta alba, Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula, and White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala. A management plan for the site, elaborated by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds/BirdLife Bulgaria (BSPB), is about to be approved by the Ministry of Environment and Waters. Ramsar site no. 1228. Most recent RIS information: 2002.