Vast, unnecessary hotel complex to destroy Portugal’s wetland paradise

Portugal gives go-ahead to destroy internationally recognized unique coastal lagoon and bird sanctuary on Algarve coast.

July 2012. With current hotel occupancy standing at just 55% the Portuguese Government has disgracefully given permission for yet more - and, what's worse, the development threatens the last coastal lagoon along the south coast.

The RSPB and SPEA, (the Portuguese equivalent), have been fighting a ten year battle to save the area, Salgados, (or "Pera Marsh" as it's known to many birdwatchers), and for it to be given named as an SPA, (a site of special protection status); inexplicably this has never been granted.

Vast luxury development pannedInstead the Government has given Finalgarve, (part of Grupo Gallilei, a company currently before a Parliamentary Commission for corruption), permission to develop an area of 359 hectares, (887 acres), right next door to this unique habitat. 

Insufficient funds & corruptionIncluded in the plan are three new hotels and a golf course, along with myriad villas and shops etc. However, with not enough funds to pay the fines being levelled on it for its past corruption, Finalgarve have let it be known that they do not have the money necessary for construction and are appealing for investors worldwide. 

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/salgados.html

Bird sanctuary needs help

ROSEMARY MCLEOD

Bob Dylan's nasal voice grates through the sound system, almost breaking through the cries of small children. The Rata Cafe in the Zealandia visitor centre has attracted a small mob of mothers, toddlers and pushchairs, and I'm waiting for the guided tour to start on a chilly, drizzly day.

I'm on my way to the group rendezvous point when I see the first of Zealandia's special species grubbing in the earth beside the walkway. They're humanis volunteeris, the backbone of Wellington's financially challenged ecological attraction, industriously ridding the path of introduced weed species like so many large, pecking birds with woolly plumage. There's a big job ahead, with 225 hectares of regenerating bush and 32km of tracks, but Zealandia's vision of creating a true pre-human environment covers an ambitious 500 years into the future. The androids will be grateful.

TOP BIRD: One of the star attractions at Zealandia is T2 the takahe.  Photo: Kevin Stent/Fairfax NZ

Like most Wellingtonians, I suspect, I've stayed away because (a) There's heaps of native bush that you can walk in for free; (b) I think native birds are so well camouflaged that I'll be lucky to see any, especially with excited children about; and (c) It's expensive to go there, much more so at night, when it's more than $60 to hopefully see spotted kiwis foraging.

My handbag has been examined for mice, incidentally, inside the great predator-proof fence that defines the sanctuary perimeter. Mice are the one pest and predator they haven't got rid of yet – which seems to contradict the claim that the valley has been pest-free since 1999.

I see blackbirds. I hear tui cackling and trilling, and catch a glimpse of one. I see a colony of pied shags on a collapsed tree in the former Karori Reservoir lake. They look, in the distance, like a Chinese painting. The ducks swimming about are the usual mallards.

I hear the distinctive cry of an invisible bird, or possibly a toddler, and then we're in the takahe enclosure, looking at two of the rarest birds now in existence. They have awkward-looking, long plastic tracking devices poking out of their backs, and are quite unafraid as they nibble the grass a metre away from us. No wonder they nearly died out.

Read on:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6824292/Bird-sanctuary-needs-help

New wetland being created near Salisbury

Mass reed plantathon brings bird sanctuary closer to completion

April 2012. Staff at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust have turned out in force to breathe life into the new wetland being created at Langford Lakes nature reserve near Salisbury. They put their backs into planting 3,000 reed plugs into the banks of the newly dug water channels that are transforming a field into a rustling reed bed for birds and other wildlife.

Two complex trench systems, a large pool and numerous scrapes (areas of shallow water and marshland) have been dug into the 25-acre field to add a spectacular variety of habitats to what is already an important centre for resident and migratory birds.

30,000 reeds
While staff made great progress towards planting the 30,000 reeds that are needed to complete the project, there is still a long way to go and volunteer parties are turning out in all weathers to do their bit too. 

"You will be able to return in years to come and get great satisfaction from seeing the reeds swaying in the breeze, thronging with wetland bird species such as the reed warbler," says Chris.

"The reeds we are planting are common reed, which will develop over the years into an expansive reed bed."

Once grown as a resource for roof thatching, reed beds are dying out along with the industry that helped them flourish. As they disappear, so too does the wildlife that lives in them. Reed beds are now in included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (a blueprint for restoring wildlife) as a priority habitat, so it is vitally important to expand them wherever suitable.

Wetland will open in September
This is a good time to visit Langford Lakes nature reserve to see a variety of breeding waterfowl, as well as warblers in the surrounding trees and scrub. The wetland will open to the public on September 8th from 10am-4pm.


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/langford-wetlands.html

Nearly 38 species of birds spotted at Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary

A variety of birds flocking at the bird sanctuary in Vaduvur near Mannargudi, Tiruvarur District. Photo: M. Srinath

TIRUVARUR, February 10, 2011

G. Srinivasan

Birds have extended their stay at the Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary near Mannargudi due to the availability of water in the lake. Thousands of birds can be seen chirping in the early hours and in the evenings. They are perched on the trees in the mounds created by the forest department in the sprawling lake abutting the beautiful Sri Kothandaramaswamy Temple at Vaduvur. A watch tower on the Thanjavur-Mannargudi roadside helps bird watchers to have a close look of the winged visitors.

According to K. Soundarapandiyan, Wild Life Warden and S. Chandrasekaran, Forest ranger, nearly 20,000 birds visited the lake this season i.e., from October to February. Nearly 38 species of birds have been spotted. The birds that visit the lake every year are the Open bill stork, Cattle egret, Little egret, Pelicans, Grey Pelicans, Darter, Little Cormorants, Common coots, Little tern, Pond heron, Night heron, Painted stork, Common keat, Kingfisher and so forth. The birds are best viewed between 5.30 a.m. to 6.30 a.m., and between 5.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

The birds may leave the sanctuary by the second fortnight of March. Following this, the forest department will take up desilting of the lake at a cost of Rs. Two lakh. The Ipomea will be removed at a cost of Rs. 60,000 and a visitors road will be formed along the lake for three kms, Mr. Chandrasekaran said. Eco Development Committees have been formed in villages around Vaduvur for joint forest management. A six member committee will help the forest department in the management of the bird sanctuary and forest in the surrounding areas.

There is a forest guest house in Vaduvur.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/article1318355.ece