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The reserve is on the main migration route of birds migrating between Europe and Africa - "Via Pontica". There are several legends about the origin of the name "Srebarna" (“srebro” in Bulgarian means “silver”). One is linked with Srebrun Khan, who died here in unequal combat with the Pechenegs. The second tells of a boat full of silver, buried somewhere on the coast. But most likely the name comes from the beauty of the lake at full moon when the water mirror looks like molten silver.

In 1880, Edward Hodek stayed here a few days. He described his impressions in the article "The home of birds of passage". This is the first scientific publication on the site. But the lake was overtaken by its first great tragedy because of this article: Leo von Kalbermaten and his people killed thousands of herons, because the then fashionable ladies' hats required to be decorated with feathers from these birds. In 1890 Srebarna was visited by the famous Austrian ornithologist Otomar Reiser, who described his observations in his book "Materials on the avifauna of the Balkans". The famous Bulgarian environmentalist Alexi Petrov, came up here in 1911 and then in 1940, and offered hunting in and around the lake to be prohibited. In 1948 Srebarna was declared a reserve, but a year later dyke break its link with the river and began its agony that ended three decades later. In 1983, Srebarna was deaclared a monument of World Heritage by UNESCO.

Today in the museum in the reserve can be seen exposure of stuffed inhabitants of the reserve. Moreover, camcorder allows the visitors to see the pelicans from the museum in their natural environment and many birds can be monitored by observation sites on the reserve’s ecopath. Furthermore, it allows curious visitors to explore the vegetation of Srebarna - more than 130 species of vascular plants, some of them are threatened with extinction outside the lake. Main plant species is reed, but there are also water lilies, marsh snowdrop, rush and others.

Fauna in the reserve is also very diverse. There are 47 mammals, 27 species of reptiles and amphibians and 21 species of fish, including pike, bream, rudd, and more. By 1949 the lake was clean and clear and teeming even with huge catfish. characteristic were floating reed islands, reaching large sizes and called by the locals "kochki". They have never been flooded by water and birds prefer them to build their nests.

The reserve has always been best known for the variety of birds. They are over 220 species: pelicans, cormorants, herons, swans, geese, ducks and many others. Among the rare and endangered species can be identified glossy ibis, spoonbill, little cormorant, purple heron, the red potalnitsa, tern, red kite, the black woodpecker, titmouse and many others. Here live also otters, muskrat, crayfish, turtle, water rat and so on. The sea eagle and osprey does not nest in the reserve, but they hunt here. In the buffer zone the rare Ruddy Shelduck nest, and in the winter or hibernate or stay here the globally threatened Red-and the small white-fronted goose and around 30 000 birds of many species.

Here, of course, all activities are prohibited, except for visits to collect seeds, wild plants and animals for scientific purposes. The passage of people is allowed, but only on marked trails.

The famous traveler and artist Felix Kanitz was the first to draw the attention of the European scientific community to the rich and varied fauna and flora of this area. He uttered the memorable phrase that should not be forgotten: "Srebarna is the Eldorado for water birds."