Within the scope of the projeto LIFE Aegypius Return project, the Portuguese Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF) and several environmental associations met in Castelo Branco to coordinate the next steps in protecting the breeding colonies of the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) in Serra da Malcata and Tejo Internacional.
Colonies of major importance
The ICNF Regional Directorate in Central Portugal manages two protected areas that are crucial for the conservation of the Cinereous Vulture in the country: the Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve and the Tejo Internacional Nature Park.
Serra da Malcata hosts a breeding colony confirmed in 2021 by Rewilding Portugal, which has since continued to monitor it, providing essential support to ICNF and the LIFE Aegypius Return project. In 2024, this colony recorded 18 nesting pairs and produced 12 fledged juveniles, out of an estimated 48–49 nationwide. This year’s results, to be released shortly, indicate a geographic expansion of the colony.
The Tejo Internacional colony is the largest and oldest in the country. After the extinction of the Cinereous Vulture as a breeder in the 1970s in Portugal, natural recolonisation took place in this protected area in 2010, with the establishment of two breeding pairs. In 2024, the colony comprised 61 to 64 breeding pairs (15 to 16 of which already in Spanish territory) and produced 24 to 25 fledglings (4 to 5 in Spain), practically half of all chicks recorded nationwide. Since the recolonisation, the ICNF has had the support of Quercus in monitoring the colony. With the approval of the LIFE Aegypius Return project, since the 2023 breeding season, SPEA (Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds) has coordinated detailed monitoring of all breeding parameters, in collaboration with ICNF, Quercus and the Junta de Extremadura (Spain).
Cooperative work
Conserving the Cinereous Vulture requires cooperation across several areas, including:
- forest management to prevent the risk of fires,
- management of breeding and feeding habitat,
- inspection and repair of nests at risk of falling or collapsing,
- construction of new artificial nest platforms,
- provision of supplementary food,
- monitoring of colonies,
- combating threats such as disturbance and wildlife crime.
The meeting, held at the end of October at the premises of the ICNF’s Regional Directorate in Castelo Branco, made it possible to discuss approaches to all these aspects in Serra da Malcata and Tejo Internacional, consolidating inter-institutional cooperation between the ICNF and the non-governmental organisations Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) – coordinator of the LIFE Aegypius Return project, Faia Brava – responsible for various project actions in the centre and north of the country, SPEA and Rewilding Portugal.
The organisations also discussed concerns about the large number and concentration of renewable-energy projects planned for regions that could affect the Cinereous Vulture, such as the Beira e Sophia photovoltaic power plants. The LIFE Aegypius Return project has systematically issued technical opinions and information on these projects in an effort to prevent and mitigate impacts on the species.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to all the people and organisations involved in conserving the Cinereous Vulture and, in this particular instance, to everyone who took part in this productive technical meeting.
About the LIFE Aegypius Return project
The LIFE Aegypius Return project is co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE programmeO seu sucesso depende do envolvimento de todos os stakeholders relevantes, e da colaboração dos parceiros: a stakeholders and the collaboration of the partners: the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF), the coordinating beneficiary, and local partners Palombar – Conservation of Nature and Rural Heritage, Herdade da Contenda, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds, the League for the Protection of Nature, the Transhumance and Nature Association, Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre, the National Republican Guard e the National Association of Rural Owners of Game Management and Biodiversity.
