Welcome to our January Newsletter 2020     

It’s a New Year and we have new Monthly Articles and New Contributors! 

We hope you enjoy the changes.

Happy New Year! We hope it brings you Peace, Love and Happiness!

Thank you for being ‘A Friend’.

Helen & Filipa

I was born in Marinha Grande in central Portugal, where I attended school and studied  until 12^th Grade. I travelled and worked in Switzerland and England .

Returning to Portugal, I worked with my father who was a Blacksmith, I trained with him and we produced handmade tools, and forged iron for gates and railings.  I married and had a family, and went into business on my own, opening two carpet shops in Nazare.

I moved to the Algarve in 2001 after my divorce and started a business selling tools and knives in the local markets both in the East & West of the area, from Castro Marim to Sagres.

In 2015 I opened the Chicken Tavern Restaurant with a partner who was in the Catering Trade, I then took over on my own. I had run several businesses, which gave me the experience to run the Chicken Tavern. I started with 3 employees and now I employ 9 people as the business has grown and become more successful.

In July 2019 I went into partnership and we opened a Restaurant in Ferragudo which has a slightly different menu and is called Portuqale ( an old way of spelling Portugal).

I enjoy living in Alvor, I have 2 children who attend school here and I feel part of the community.

Distribution: Afro-tropical and subtropical distribution, occurs from Madagascar across Africa and Madeira to the Mediterranean Region and the Arabian Peninsula.

Notes: The larvae is polyphagous and eats many types of herbs. It is very similar to Ochropleura plecta, this is more reddish and bright in colour, smaller and has a wider distribution (all the Northern hemisphere).

• A Rocha started officially as a Portuguese Association in 1991, but before that, work was already happening! Part of A Rochas work was and is still done by volunteers. See the video by Isabel Soares:

Family: Mustelidae

Distribution: From west coast of Ireland and Portugal to Japan, form Artic Finland to Indonesia and sub-Saharan regions of Africa (see map).

The otter is a carnivorous mammal, it has a long and slim body, short legs, long tail, wide muzzle, small eyes and short ears. The hair is dark brown, long, soft and shiny and it is well adapted to the aquatic life (the otter has the same weight, dry or wet and this is related to the effective protection of the double hair layer). The otter can occupy all the continental aquatic habitats (lakes, rivers, streams, marshlands, water channels) that are well preserved and with little human interference, as well as estuaries and marine habitats. Important requirements in habitat selection are the presence of suitable vegetation to provide shelter, availability of food and human disturbance. Their diet is mainly fish but can also feed on arthropods, reptiles, micromammals and birds.

Reproduction can occur all year round; the otter females, as other members of the Mustelidae Family, have the capacity of keeping the fecundated ovules attached to the uterus walls and their development just happens afterwards, so pups can be born when the environmental conditions are more suitable, normally in Spring or Summer. The otters are mainly solitary animals and males need large vital territories.

In Portugal the otter population is regularly distributed among the territory and the numbers are stable comparing with other European countries, where the population was dropping in the last years, and it was even considered extinct in some countries. According to the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list, globally, it is considered NT (Near Threatened), in Portugal it is Least Concern. The major threats are habitat destruction, water pollution, water system regularization, accidental killing by running over, drowning by fishing methods and direct persecution.

Notes: it reacts well to pruning, growing even from the old branches. It is widely used as an ornamental plant for hedgerows, both in sun and shadowy places. Almost all parts of the plant contain toxic substances. It is one of the ornamental bushes mostly cultivated in Portugal. In old times it was used for constipation.

1^st of January           –                             New Years Day/Public Holiday

2^nd, 9^th, 16^t, 23^rd and 30^th of January    Cruzinha Birdringing display & Moth Talk (10am to 12 am)

6^th of January                                             Kings Day (Twelfth Night, down come the decorations)

It’s never too early to think about what you will give as a present to someone for their Birthday. What about Gifting a Friendship for the Friends of A Rocha Portugal?

Every month we will share information that can change the world. Sometimes small things can make a big difference. The world is our planet and our home, we all need to take care of it!

As an environmental organization and as citizens of the world, in a time which we constantly hear about climate change, one of our concerns is Environmental Conservation. We try to promote sustainable values and change attitudes and behaviour concerning the environment.

In Portugal each individual produces on average 487 kg of rubbish per year!

By following the 5 R’s maybe we can all make a difference?

Do you know what the 5 R’s are ?

1 Rethink: think about your choices, there are simple and eco-friendly actions (have  you considered an in home composter for your organic waste? Or repairing your computer instead of buying a new one?)

2 Refuse: say no to plastic disposable things that have short life duration (refuse the straws-do you really need a straw in your drink? refuse plastic shopping bags – use reusable shopping bags)

3 Reduce: try to reduce the amount of waste you produce (avoid buying things with useless plastic packaging)

4 Re-use: think of ways you could reuse something (find a reusable water bottle and reused shopping bags, reuse the glass containers)

5 Recycle: (and composting) this enables materials you throw away to be used again by making them into new products

LETS BE GREEN – LETS BE GREEN – LETS BE GREEN

Our last Friends Event of the year and what an amazing day, it was sunny with blue skies and perfect for birdwatching.

The group set off in a convoy of three vehicles and drove to Quinta Da Lago, hoping for a day of bird sightings, and wonderful scenery.  It couldn’t have been any better, there were between 55 – 60 species sighted. The Swamp Hen was a favourite, the once shy birds are obviously getting used to humans who are playing golf in the area and seem to pay no attention to their presence. This enabled everyone to see this colourful bird out in the open, they normally hide in the reeds.

A decision was made due to the abundance of birds for a slight change of plan and there was  less walking and more birdwatching. Everyone had nothing but praise for Gui, his knowledge and passion shone through. THANK YOU GUI for making this another amazing day.

Allow me to reintroduce myself: My name is Tessa, I’m 24 years old and I’m a Master student from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, where I study Forest and Nature Conservation. You may remember my article from the June’s Newsletter, where I wrote about the Iberian azure-winged magpie (Cyanopica cooki). At the time my research was still ongoing, and I was out in the field almost everyday to look for these beautiful birds. Now, almost half a year later, my written thesis has been completed and I believe to have unravelled the success of the Azure-winged Magpie! But before I tell you about all my findings, here is a short recap:

The Iberian azure-winged magpie has been found to have increased in numbers in southern Portugal in the past decades, but it is unknown what makes this species so successful. Considering that many bird species are currently declining, it is interesting to know what can make a species successful in our current time and age. Moreover, it is rumoured that the magpies steal and eat the chicks of other passerine birds. This means that the success of the Iberian azure-winged magpie could become a double-edged sword that threatens the existence of other birds, and thus, research is needed! In order to unravel the factors behind its success and to further study these rumours, I did a fieldwork study together with Esra (18), another student from the Netherlands. Together we cycled line transects in the field. I also did a small behavioural study on the azure-winged magpie in the area near Cruzinha. During the line transects we specifically looked at the urban : green ratio within each section of the line transect, but we also recorded a handful of other variables. The reason we looked at the urban : green ratio is that, in the first weeks of fieldwork, Esra and I went to all kinds of natural areas, located far up in the hills, in the forests or in the middle of nowhere, yet we barely encountered any magpies no matter where we went. However, whenever we made our way back home and would cross towns, suddenly we’d see magpies everywhere! This gave me an idea… perhaps the magpies aren’t out there in the wild anymore, but there where the people are?

Now that you’re all up to date, let’s get to what we found! First of all, we found that Iberian azure-winged magpies highly prefer areas that have an intermediate to high (50% – 75%) cover of green area, which we named Category 3 and 4, respectively. Here, the remaining area is considered urban, which includes households, buildings and hardened terrain. These areas contained significantly more magpies than areas with a low green area cover (Category 1; 0% green and Category 2; 25% green), but also significantly more than areas that are completely green (Category 5; 100% green)! This is quite surprising, as it has not yet been mentioned in literature that Iberian azure-winged magpies now occur rather close to human settlements. As seen in these results, the magpies prefer areas with a mix of nature and human settlements over areas that are completely green or completely urbanized. This is precisely what I expected after the observations made in the early fieldwork stage, and changing my method seems to have been a good call after all!

During the behavioural study it also became clear that magpies tend to flock to human settlements in order to look for food, be it our own food or the feed of the animals. I regularly observed magpies stealing the food from the dogs at Cruzinha, and I also received footage of magpies stealing food from cats, dogs and even geese. Another behaviour I observed regularly was that of magpies flying into a garden and, after a few minutes, flying back to a natural area where they’d clean their beaks. After this, they would often return to the garden again, from where they repeated the cycle. It is likely that the magpies were foraging in the gardens and returned to a safe natural area after feeding to clean their beaks. Moreover, I observed many magpies using fences, poles and powerlines as a look-out post from which they could search for food. In this manner, they can use infrastructure to improve their foraging strategies. These observations show that the magpies have learned how to take advantage from human settlements while also still enjoying the safety and resources of natural areas. This would also explain why the magpies nowadays prefer areas with low to intermediate levels of urbanization. Looking at other species from the Corvidae family shows that many species of magpies, crows and raven have learned how to use human settlements to their advantage, and some species even have higher reproduction rates when breeding near human settlements. It is likely that the Iberian azure-winged magpie is one of the latest species in the Corvidae family to have learned how to profit from humans.

Now one question remains, which is whether the Iberian azure-winged magpie predates on the eggs and chicks of other passerine birds. I did not observe this behaviour during my stay, however this does not necessarily mean that the magpies do not predate on other birds. It likely has to do with my behavioural study being too small (about 20 hours of observations) to observe this possibly scarce behaviour. Moreover, I may also have conducted the study too early in the season (end of March – beginning of May), when there was not yet an abundance of eggs and chicks for the magpies to steal. As such, further research may be needed to discover whether the magpies do indeed regularly predate on eggs and chicks and, if so, what the impact of this behaviour is on the populations of bird species that are predated on by the magpies.

Overall, I conclude that the Iberian azure-winged magpie has learned to profit from human settlements, which improved its foraging strategy and has likely aided to an increased reproductive success. As such, the magpie population has been able to successfully expand over the past decades. However, it is still unknown whether the species predates on the eggs and chicks of other passerine birds, and how large the impact of this behaviour would be. As it is likely that the Iberian azure-winged magpie population will continue to increase, some might be happy knowing that this colourful magpie species will continue to roam the skies of southern-Portugal, while others might fear for their pets’ dinner. I, for one, look forward to seeing these beautiful, cheeky birds again one day!

Let’s get cooking !

We are really pleased to announce that we have an Executive Chef who works in the Algarve who has kindly offered to contribute one of his recipes each month to our Newsletter. We hope you all enjoy this new addition for 2020.

Marmalade with Pennyroyal and Medronho

Ingredients:

2 kg ripe and clean quince

200 gr ripe and clean medronho

750 gr sugar

Peel of 1 Orange

50gr Pennyroyal

2 Cinnamon sticks

100ml Medronho (strawberry tree firewater)

Peel and clean the quince, boil for about 3 minutes. Drain well.

In a pan put the sugar, the pennyroyal, the cinnamon sticks, the orange peel and 1 litre of water. Boil slowly for 10 minutes. Take out the pennyroyal, the cinnamon sticks and the Orange peel.

 In a large pan put the cooked quince and the dry “medronho”, add the sugar syrup.

Cook on a low heat for 1 hour stirring often (ensuring there are no lumps) until it thickens to a smooth consistency.

Put in containers, sprinkle with medronho and cover with greaseproof paper. Leave it to dry in a cold and ventilated place for about 3 days.

It is ready to eat!!

SPEA recently published the State of Birds in Portugal 2019 report; the first compilation of data from most of the country’s bird monitoring programmes. The report reveals alarming results that require immediate response. The report comprises data obtained thanks to hundreds of volunteers throughout the country over the past 15 years. In spite of the worrying picture it paints of the nation’s birds, the report has one positive note: nature conservation works.

More info (in Portuguese): http://www.spea.pt/pt/noticias/relatorio-revela-panorama-preocupante-para-as-aves-portuguesas/

Download the report: bit.ly/EstadoAves

Bonelli’s Eagle

The Bonelli’s Eagle is a species of bird of prey which is found in the Western Palearctic and is mostly in Southern Europe and North Africa. Iberia hosts 80% of the European population. In Portugal, the population was estimated between 92 and 99 pairs during the period 1999-2005, mostly in the East and South of the country, with about 30 pairs in the Algarve and south-west of the Alentejo. In Portugal, the population is growing but differences exist between regions. A cause of reduction in numbers is the increase in forest resulting in a decrease in hunting territories. Also the decrease of rabbits had an impact on the population of eagles since there is a correlation between the proportion of rabbits in the Bonelli’s Eagle diet and the breeding success. The other preys include pigeons (sometimes in a big proportion when the eagles breed near a town), partridges (but few, even though its Portuguese and Spanish name is the “Partridgy Eagle”) or Ocellated Lizard. In southern Portugal the Grey Heron is one of the biggest preys this eagle catches. Its diet even includes other birds of prey (diurnal or nocturnal)! The pair, which usually bonds for life, hunts as a couple.

The nest is usually on a cliff but population from the south of Portugal breed on big trees (mostly eucalyptus, sometimes pine trees or Cork oaks). This difference of where they nest is one of the reasons the population in southern Portugal is increasing. One or 2 eggs are laid in January or February. The adults are resident but the juveniles wander a lot after leaving the parent territory. Some of them travel several hundreds of kilometers.

At Ria de Alvor, this species was sighted 5 times since 1986 even though the closest pairs are just a few kilometers away! Three of these sightings were in the autumn (between September and November) are all related to juveniles or immature birds, which matches with dispersion time of the young birds.

This species is tolerant to human presence as long as they are not disturbed during the breeding period.

The name Bonelli comes from an Italian naturalist from the XIXth century. Temminck (another naturalist, which a Stint was named after) proposed that the eagle was named after the Italian naturalist since he was the first one to send him a specimen of the species to study. This species is also the symbol of the Portimão football team!

Photo and text by Guillaume Réthoré

The flowers are quite distinctive, and often can be found sprouting from the trunk! It is sometimes “dioecious” i.e. some trees are male and some are female, but some are hermaphroditic, that is, it has both male and female flowers. The local tree photographed here is hermaphroditic in that it has both initially red male flowers with prominent stamens and also female flowers with their embryo pods. Some flowers have even both male stamens and female pods! The male flowers are however rather smelly, described by Roman historian, Pliny the Elder as smelling like Roman sailors!

What an interesting tree! Look out for it and enjoy!

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us:
friends.arpt@arocha.org
Our office is open from Monday to Wednesday from 9:00 to 12:00 am
Or visit us on our open day: Thursdays from 10:15 to 12:00 am
See map: https://arocha.pt/en/contact-us/
GPS coordinates
37°08’39.8″N (37.1444) 8°36’29.2″W (-8.6081)
(+351) 282 968 380
Thank you for supporting us!
Hope to see you soon!