Tag Archive for: nature conservation

Flamingos

Portugal boasts ten official nature reserves

The best places to find flamingos in Portugal is in the Algarve. While flamingos usually do not breed there, they make a stop in the wetlands of Portugal. Throughout the year, they can be seen in the Ria Formosa Natural Park – the impressive wetland spanning over 60 kilometres along the coast between the beaches of Garrão and Manta Rota.

However, the best time to spot them is between November and March. Breeding season takes place between March and July.

The Greater Flamingo – which is the species usually found in the region – prefers to feed in mudflats and shallow lagoons with salt water. These birds use their long legs and webbed feet to stir up the mud and water, creating a muddy soup that they filter through their uniquely adapted bills, which are specially designed to filter out small shrimp, molluscs, seeds, and algae.

As of 2021, the Algarve saw a group of flamingos successfully establish a colony, resulting in the birth of 550 chicks, making it the first successful nesting in the country. The colony began in one of the saltpans of the Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António Natural Reserve, located at the mouth of the Guadiana River, bordering Spain.

Although the event hasn’t repeated, the National Forest and Nature Conservation Institute (ICNF) investigates ways to encourage nesting again. ‘It was an atypical year’, explains João Alves, biologist at ICNF. ‘Nature tourism was restricted because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the area where they nested became much more quiet. ‘Remember that flamingos nest in colonies’, he added.

This protected area – spanning over 2,300 hectares – is Portugal’s oldest natural reserve, created 50 years ago. The establishment of the reserve also prompted traditional salt workers to form a cooperative, boosting economic activity in the area. What once was a neglected stretch of salt marches and brackish lagoons is today a thriving habitat, visited by thousands of nature lovers each year.

Except a sanctuary for flamingos, the area is home to over 200 bird species, such as Avocets, Black -winged stilts, Audouin’s gulls, spoonbills and Kentish plovers. Meanwhile, across the border in Spain, Doñana National Park – one of Europe’s most iconic wetlands – is suffering under prolonged drought, giving rise to an unexpected influx of Spanish nature tourists visiting Castro Marim.  

Another significant wetland where pink-feathered flamingos can be admired is the Tagus Estuary, situated near Lisbon, and a vital stopover for migratory birds.

The nearby Sado Estuary, located in the Setubal district, is above all famous for its white storks (and of course dolphins).


Enjoy your week                   Aproveite a semana      (pic Ptres/Público)

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Garranos

‘Not just part of Portugal’s history but part of the world’s history’

The rare Garrano is an endangered breed of pony within the Iberian horse family from northern Portugal mainly used as a pack horse, and for light farm work.

Members of this emblematic breed are usually dark chestnut in colour, with a straight facial profile and stand on average 1.35 metres. In the 1940s there were over 40,000 Garranos in Portugal. Current estimates put the total population at less than 2,000.

An exquisite, stocky species dating back to the Ancient Bronze Age and unchanged for thousands of years but in decline since the middle of the 20th century as farms were mechanised and horses replaced by tractors and cars.

‘A horse needs a function’, says Jose Leite, a vet and technical adviser of the Association of Garanno Horse Breeders (ACERG) in the Guardian. ‘The need for the horse as an agricultural tool has ended and its intensive breeding as well. The Association is trying to ensure the breed’s survival by highlighting its potential: it can pull buggies, do dressage and – because of its size  – is an ideal horse for novice riders.

Garranos are well known for their hardiness, physical resilience and ability to thrive in harsh environments, making them perfect for living in the northern mountainous regions of Portugal.

Native to Minho and Trás-os-Montes, the pony is a herbivore that plays a fundamental role in the prevention of bushfires, consuming fuel material in large areas as it is tradition to release and breed the horses in semi-feral state. Some herds are even completely feral in nature reserves like the Peneda-Gerês National Park.

Obsolescence however is not the only threat to the Garranos. The mountains of northern Portugal are also home to Iberian wolves, comprising some 300 animals. Like the ponies, the wolves have been in the area since at least Roman times and protected since 1988.

Gerrano foals are easy picking for the wolves. The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) – a state body that pays farmers whose livestock are killed by the carnivores – has launched a range of projects to support farmers in preventing wolf attacks, such as the use of traditional Portuguese livestock dogs and the building of fences.

But the Garrano breeders argue that neither measure is suited to roaming ponies and say the only sustainable solution would be the introduction of other animals for the wolves to eat, such as goats. In the meantime, many breeders are bringing their pregnant mares down from the mountains to raise their foals in safety.

Enjoy the week                     Aproveite a semana                (pic Pixnorm)

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