The number of known colonies of black vultures in Portugal has increased from four to five, thanks to the discovery of a new group of this species of birds on a farm located in the municipality of Vidigueira (Beja), the ICNF announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) revealed that he had identified this new colony of black vultures (Aegypius monachus), composed of 10 adult individualsin Herdade do Monte da Ribeira, in that Alentejo municipality.
“This colony is estimated to be made up of four or five breeding pairs, although only four nests were observed,” the organization said.
The new colony of black vultures nesting in Alentejo was found in the framework of monitoring actions carried out by ICNF, the statement reads.
“The colony was identified during the reproductive season, a particularly sensitive period for this species, with confirmed reproduction in at least one of the nests, where a juvenile individual was observed,” said the ICNF.
The breeding season for this species occurs between February and August and each pair produces one egg per year.
The Regional Directorate for Nature Conservation and Forests of Alentejo has already “initiated the necessary procedures to control and safeguard this colony, in collaboration with the owners of Herdade do Monte da Ribeira”.
The black vulture is a scavenger bird and is listed as “Critically Endangered” in Portugal, and is also considered to be of Community interest and a priority in the context of the Birds Directive.
“After more than half a century of demographic decline and absence as a nesting species in the country, the black vulture reestablished its breeding status in Portugal in 2010, with several small colonies,” ICNF recalled.
In Portuguese territory, most of the known colonies of this species, which is “the largest bird of prey in Europe”, reaching a wingspan of three metres, are found in protected areas, such as the Tagus International Natural Park, the Serra da Malcata and the Douro International Natural Park.
“More recently, in 2019, a new colony appeared” located in Herdade da Contenda, in Moura (Beja), which “currently has 11 pairs,” explained the ICNF.
Now, with this new colony in Alentejo, he stressed, “the number of known black vulture colonies in the country increases to five.”
In the statement, ICNF said it has been supporting the conservation of the national black vulture population in Portugal.
“From 2022 to 2027, the project ‘Egypt returns — Consolidation and expansion of the black vulture population in Portugal and western Spain’, which has the collaboration of the ICNF, with co-financing from the European financial instrument LIFE, in order to improve and accelerate the ongoing natural recolonization of the species”, it can be read.
Source: Observadora
