The ‘Sentinelas project – Network for Monitoring Threats to Wildlife’ has been expanded and has now 23 birds tagged to detect and fight against various forms of illegal persecution of wild animals, as well as other types of anthropogenic threats to biodiversity. The project is coordinated by Palombar – Conservation of Nature and Rural Heritage, Portugal, and developed in collaboration with the Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC – University of Oviedo – Principality of Asturias) and AMUS – Acción por el Mundo Salvaje, both in Spain, and funded by ‘Fundo Ambiental’ of the Portuguese Ministry of Environment and Climate Action and Viridia - Conservation in Action.

The most recent birds tagged as part of this project were a subadult griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) and a juvenile red kite (Milvus milvus), the first individual of this species to join the network, and are the result of a collaboration between Palombar and the Center for Recovery of Wild Animals of the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (CRAS-HVUTAD, Vila Real, Portugal), where the animals were recovering after being rescued debilitated in the wild.

The rehabilitation process of the birds had also the support of the Center for Environmental Interpretation and Animal Recovery (CIARA), located in Felgar, Torre de Moncorvo, Portugal. The griffon vulture and the red kite were equipped with a GPS/GSM transmitter and ringed with both plastic colour and metal ornithological rings and now will be monitored by the project team. The plastic colour rings for tagging the red kites over the course of the project were kindly provided by the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, an organization dedicated to the conservation of birds of prey worldwide.

Red kite will join the LIFE Eurokite project

Since the beginning of the ‘Sentinelas’ project, a total of 18 birds (17 griffon vultures and one red kite) were equipped with GPS/GSM transmitters and all 23 were ringed. The red kite recently tagged will be also part of the LIFE Eurokite project, with which Palombar is collaborating. This project aims to promote the protection and conservation of the red kite in Europe, using a cross-border approach and focusing on reducing the mortality of the species associated with human threats by using telemetry.

Red kite. Photo credit Pedro Alves/Palombar.

Sentinelas project contributes to the Portuguese Action Plan for the Conservation of Necrophagous Birds and has already reported 10 threats to wildlife

The ‘Sentinelas’ project has been contributing to the fulfillment of the Portuguese State's commitments related to nature and biodiversity conservation assumed nationally and internationally, such as, for example, the practical implementation of the action lines of the Action Plan for the Conservation of Necrophagous Birds (approved by Despacho n.º 7148/2019, from August 12th, published in Diário da República, the Portuguese Official Gazette), in close collaboration with the competent national authorities, in particular the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).

It has also made it possible to report 10 cases related to threats to wildlife to the competent authorities, including suspected poisoning and shooting, use of traps, and collision with power lines.

The recently tagged griffon vulture and the red kite were returned to the wild on Wednesday, August 24th, at the Carrascalinho Viewpoint, located in Fornos, in the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, inside the Douro International Natural Park.