REPORT ON CRANE RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION IN PORTUGAL

Júlia Almeida and Marcia Pinto

Ministerio do Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais

Serviço Nacional de Parques, Reservas e Conservaçao da Natureza, Lisboa, Portugal

CENSUS OF CRANES WINTERING IN PORTUGAL

Following similar actions initiated in 1988, crane censuses were carried out last winter in the Portuguese wintering sites, by DIEE/CEMPA. Censuses were done with the help of an increasing

number of non©professional collaborators.

Unfortunately, logisitc problems prevented us to accomplish November censuses.

December, January and February counts were made in the same dates of censuses ccordinated in Extremadura (Spain) by ADENEX. Contacts were made to jointly control the border areas of Mourao Moura/Villanueva del Fresno and Campo Maior/Villar del Rey.

This seems to be the only way to obtain accurate numbers of wintering cranes in these areas, avoiding duplicating counts when computing the total number of wintering cranes in the Iberian

Peninsula.

This cooperation turned out to be extremely productive. As in Spain the owner of the land surrounding the roost of Campo Maior/Villar del Rey had strictly forbidden the access to the

area, counts could only be made from Portugal. On the other side, movements of entrance to the roost at Mourao©Moura/Villanueva del Fresno can only be completely covered with observation points in both countries.

A monitoring program of the wintering of cranes in Portugal is being developed. Two different sites have been selected: MouraoªMoura, for the great number of birds present, and Evora for being too close to an urban center (Evora). No important change of habitat or land use by the species were detected on those two wintering areas.

At Campo Maior site, the construction of a dam on the national borderline with Spain is currently being arranged between the Portuguese and Spanish Administrations. The conversion of agricultural practices will have a very negative impact on these crane wintering sites. At Castro verde site, about 3250 ha of farmland have been bought recently by a cellulose company forÔ

Eucalyptus plantations. The accomplishment of this project will destroy an important crane feeding area.

RECENT PAPERS ON COMMON CRANES BY PORTUGUESE AUTHORS

ALMEIDA, J. (in press) A INVERNADA DE GROUS (Grus grus) EM PORTUGAL: PROGRAMA DE CENSUS-RESULTADOS DO INVERNO 1989-90. ESTUDOS DE BIOLOGIA E CONSERVAÇAO DA NATUREZA 1. S.N.P.R.C.N., LISBOA.

CRUZ, C.M. 1986. A IMPORTANCIA DOS MONTADOS DE AZINHO NA CONSERVAÇAO DOS GROUS EM PORTUGAL. PROC. I ENCONTRO SOBRE MONTADOS DE SOBRO E AZINHO. EVORA, MAIO 1986.

VICENTE, R.O. 1974. WINTERING CRANES (Grus grus) IN PORTUGAL. Cyanopica 1 (4): 99.