An area in the Baixo Alentejo has been deemed unique, so it must be preserved, thanks to UNESCO.
The Castro Verde Biosphere Reserve is home to some 200 species of bird, including the great bustard (below) a species with 60% of its population found in Portugal and Spain.
A new paper just published by Arrondo et al in the journal Biological Conservation analysed the foraging strategies of 71 griffon and cinereous vultures tagged in Spain and foraging in the Portuguese-Spanish border region - which is largely defined by river valleys and is not associated with any abrupt or systematic change in terms of climate, topography or land cover.
While the Algarve in summer is more renowned for its holiday beaches, increasingly it is gaining a reputation for the wealth of beautiful birds that also migrate here for the season – but unlike the majority of the holidaymakers, they arrive from the south and not from the north.
Several, such as the impressive Alpine Swift and its smaller relatives, the Pallid and Common Swifts, can be watched while prostate on the beach as they zoom around their nest-holes in the cliffs. Others, such as the delicate Subalpine Warbler or the striking Black-eared Wheatear, will take a more determined search inland, but more than repay the effort.
The head of Portugal’s Food and Veterinary agency has received an application to authorise diclofenac for veterinary use. The problem here is that as well as being used in medicine to treat sick cattle, the drug is fatal to birds that eat carrion.
Birdlife Europe and Portuguese environmental organisations already have appealed to Portuguese government not to authorise the drug, saying it threatens already rare species such as the Black vulture and the Imperial-Iberian eagle.
The wetland area that gives the city of Lagoa its name is being erased by earth-moving machinery that is preparing the land for an, as yet, unknown development - but most likely to be a new Continente supermarket.
Thousands of Glossy ibis are being pushed from their winter habitat of Alagoas Brancas as the natural area to the north of the Aldi and Apolonia stores is being destroyed.
They have been seen very early this year so I feel I have to put out the warning again - fast! I have searched the books and net to come up with more comprehensive information on them. I must thank the various holiday companies for helping with some of the technical information.
On a personal basis I know of dogs who have lost their tongues to this beast, and it is not a pretty sight and so distressing. There seems to be little local information about them, there are companies here on the Algarve who will spray the pine trees.
A new survey of one of Portugal’s most threatened birds is being supported with funds by a British wildlife holiday group.
The little bustard – 'Sisão' in Portuguese – is declining in Portugal and Spain. It’s a bird of steppes and low intensity arable cultivations, with a key breeding population in Alentejo.
Reasons for the little bustard’s decline are unclear, and a coalition of nature conservation groups is undertaking a survey this year as part of efforts to tackle the decline.
Spain has been warned of the early arrival of lethal caterpillars due to a mild, dry winter similar to the one in Portugal.
The Pine Processionary Caterpillar (Thaumetopoea Pityocampa) poses a danger to children, dogs and some adults.
