Via Pontica is also the name of one of the main routes of bird migration from Europe to Africa. It passes through the territory of Bulgaria - above Strandzha and along the Black Sea coast. This route is followed by many species of birds of prey, waterfowl and songbirds, including 78% of all white storks and the entire pink pelican population in Europe, as well as the extremely rare species of Imperial Eagle, Egyptian and Griffon Vulture. One of the points on Via Pontica, where migratory birds traditionally stop to rest, and some remain to winter and nest, are the Burgas wetlands. In 2001, a point was built on a special shelter on the southern shore of the lake, where ornithologists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds and the whole of Europe flock to observe the birds, the so-called birdwatching.