Barn Swallow in decline

SPEA - Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds, presented earlier this month, O estado das Aves 2022, a publication whose objective is to bring to the public the results of monitoring programs and bird censuses taking place in Portugal.

Similar to the results of studies conducted in the rest of Europe, insectivorous and migratory birds associated with agricultural habitats are also in decline in our country.

Among them, we highlight the novelties related to the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica). This swallow, well known to the Portuguese, although well distributed throughout the territory, is presented in the publication as being in moderate decline.

A scenario that is in line with what has been observed at European level, in which there have been significant population declines of Barn Swallows, namely in the United Kingdom and Spain. The situation in these two countries is so dramatic that in the last revision of the conservation statutes this species went from “Least Concern” to “Vulnerable”.

We therefore look forward to the revision of the conservation statutes in Portugal and whether the new red book brings special protection to any of our species of swallows, martins or swifts.

Helping to save lives!

Every year more than half a million people, mainly children, die from diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria, yellow fever, dengue and zika are just some of the diseases that use mosquitoes as vectors, that is, the viruses and parasites that cause the diseases are passed from person to person through the bites of these insects.

The transmission of these diseases is seasonal, as mosquitoes are not common throughout the year. There is, therefore, a peak of transmission that occurs precisely now, between October and November, at the time of proliferation of mosquitoes. This transmission peak coincides with the presence of terns and swifts in Africa, birds that are very important in controlling the populations of many invertebrates, including those that transmit diseases. Therefore, its presence should be a determining factor for this scenario not to be even more catastrophic.

Protecting the swallows, martins and swifts that nest in Portugal is much more than taking care of our little corner! Where are the swallows and swifts that were born this year in your town or city?

They are in Africa, helping to save lives!

Bien venu Martinet-cafre!

The event of the year for most bird watchers in France was the confirmation of the nesting of the White-rumped Swift (Apus caffer) on the island of Corsica! More specifically in July of this year, in the north of the island, in an area that belongs to the Regional Natural Park that exists there.

This is the first record of this species nesting in French territory, as a result of the slow expansion that this bird has been achieving in European territory. The first confirmed nesting record on our continent was in Spain in 1964, only about 30 years later, in 1995, was reproduction confirmed in Portugal, (in the Mértola area, by an Irish observer who lived in Portugal , Colm Moore, who published a very interesting article in Pardela magazine with the results of his observations), and this year, again with an interval of about 30 years, we have the news that the White-rumped Swift conquers as a breeder a new country!

Allez, cafre allez!!