Alves, J.A., Lourenço, P.M., Dias, M.P., Antunes, L., Catry, T., Costa, H., Fernandes, P., Ginja, B., Jara, J., Martins, R.C., Moniz, F., Pardal, S., Pereira, T., Rainho, M.J., Rocha, A., Rodrigues, J. & Rolo, M. (2015) Monitoring waterbird populations on the Tejo, Sado and Guadiana estuaries, Portugal: 2011 report. Anuário Ornitológico, 9, 66-87.
NON-cE3c affiliatedPortuguese wetlands harbour numbers of international importance for several species of waterbirds, which designate those areas as key sites for wader species on the East Atlantic migratory flyway. The monitoring programme of waterbird populations in several Portuguese wetlands aims to describe the abundance and phenology of the several species that use these sites throughout the annual cycle. In 2010 this programme included one more wetland, covering during that year the high-tide roosts of the Tagus, Sado and Guadiana estuaries in which waterbirds were counted every month. The importance of these three estuaries is particularly clear during the non-breeding season, being used by considerable numbers of several species during migratory and winter periods. Inter-annual variation is relatively small, with one exception to this pattern, the flamingo’s phenology. The relatively short duration of this programme already allows unravelling the dominant annual patterns for the majority of the most abundant species (excluding the flamingo) and the importance of the several wetlands and high-tide roosts for the different groups of waterbirds. However, and as shown by the flamingo in 2010, only long term monitoring allows detecting changes in abundance and phenology of waterbirds and consequently take appropriate and timely action towards their conservation.
Maria Ana Dias Conservation in Socio-Ecological Systems - CSES
