Aware-raising

One of the nests of the LIFE-ZEPAURBAN Project installed at the San Mateo Church in the urban SPA of the town of Alburquerque (Badajoz) has been occupied by a female lesser kestrel that was released in June 2018 at the El Millarón estate of Valencia de Alcántara (Cáceres) -- about 30 km in a straight line to the northwest of Alburquerque.

UNDER THE LIFE-ZEPAURBAN PROJECT ENTITLED “MANAGEMENT OF URBAN SPAS IN EXTREMADURA”, WE ARE CONTINUING WITH THE WORKSHOPS FOR CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES THAT CARRY OUT WORKS ON BUILDINGS WITH A LESSER KESTREL PRESENCE.

OBJECTIVE 

To discover in detail the proper way to carry out the works so that they are compatible with the presence of lesser kestrels.

WHO IT IS AIMED AT 

Individuals and companies in the construction sector, in particular the staff members who carry out the work (masons, laborers, carpenters, etc.).

PLACE AND DATE

Our partners from the General Directorate of Tourism are starting to hold the new activity workshops for those who are part of the Urban Birding tourism product.  These include the presentation of the pilot routes to observe lesser kestrels and other birds in the urban SPAs of Extremadura where said product is being developed:

Zafra: Tuesday, November 12, 9:00 a.m. Manuel Pérez Business Initiatives Center (Fairgrounds).

Jerez de los Caballeros: Wednesday, November 13, 9:00 a.m. Vasco Núñez de Balboa House Museum (C/ La Oliva, 12).

Since last September and within the context of the Life ZEPAURBAN Project, work has been being carried out to improve the feeding habitats of the lesser kestrel at the designated estates of the SPAs of Trujillo, Cáceres, and Acedera. Specifically, the spreading of fertilizer (superphosphate) has begun in grassy areas, with the aim of improving the grass quality, which in turn will increase the abundance of prey for the kestrel in the spring.

The General Directorate of Tourism of the Regional Government of Extremadura will undertake, during the last quarter of 2019, the consolidation phase of the urban ornithological tourism initiative known as Urban Birding, whose protagonist is the lesser kestrel -- the only bird of prey that nests in colonies in urban centers, mainly in historical buildings.

On August 7, the announcement for a tender process for the RESTORATION AND ADAPTATION OF WALLS FOR THE LESSER KESTREL AT THE LA VISITACIÓN CONVENT (PUEBLA DE ALCOCER), was published on the State Contracting Platform.

URBAN BIRDING is the name of the tourist product that has been created in Extremadura (under the Life ZEPAURBAN Project, funded by Europe) with the lesser kestrel and other urban birds in mind.

Under Action A2 "Study and characterization of feeding habitats of the lesser kestrel in the urban SPAs and roosts of Extremadura", for which the partner Terra Naturalis is responsible, it was planned to place seven satellite transmitters on lesser kestrel specimens from several previously selected colonies -- selected due to their geographical location and their accessibility when doing the capturing.

Within the context of the follow-up activities for Action D1 of the LIFE-ZEPAURBAN project, “Monitoring of the impact of the project's conservation actions on the lesser kestrel in the urban SPAs of Extremadura”, monitoring is being carried out to discover the effectiveness of the conservation actions undertaken within the project's scope. To this end, periodic visits are being made to the buildings where activities have been undertaken under Actions C1 and C2 to determine the degree of acceptance of the improvements made.