Another chopped up dolphin, @ Costa Nova, Portugal (November 13, 2015)

Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba ?? Cause of death unknown. Reported to CRAMQ.

French Wireless gull (Larus cyborgus) @ the Eirol landfill, Portugal (November 3, 2015)

Projecto Sobreiro: Seeding more ‘balotas’ in the São Jacinto dune reserve

Yesterday my two companions and I went for a big walk through the São Jacinto dune reserve. With us we carried two big bags full with balotas (acorns), which we seeded at the moister and shaded areas in the woods of the reserve. 2015 is the fourth year in which acorns are seeded there by us. This activity is undertaken to increase diversity of the woods, to reduce the chance of forest fires and to help fight invasive acacia species (see some earlier posts about this subject). Thankfully, now the wardens of the reserve also see the point of this and already seeded a large amount of acorns there earlier this fall. Very nice!




Over time this little oak will outgrow the acacia and attract a lot more wildlife.




Not all of the young oaks survive. Again, this summer a number of them died due to the scorching temperatures and draught that occur on the peninsula during summer. Most of the oaks that grow there now are English oaks (Quercus robur). Cork oaks (Q. suber) have also been seeded during the past four years, but this species appears to have more difficulties surviving its first years. I suspect that over time the oaks themselves will create better growing conditions for both types by changing the soil structure and chemistry, and by preserving moist.




At least three of the oldest English oaks in the reserve that have been planted there in the past, produced acorns this year (one more than last year). Although there were not many yet, the acorns that have been seeded thus far will certainly speed up the process. We’ll have to be patient, but in some decades from now the São Jacinto dune reserve can host the largest mixed forest of the Aveiro region, which once was dominated by oak (instead of monotomous Eucalyptus plantations…)!

Herring Gull YBAJ @ Schiphol airport. September 29 2015, 11:50 AM

Some recent captures from Zwolle, The Netherlands (September 19 – 27)

Coal tit Periparus ater




Common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos



Common snipe Gallinago gallinago

Big Brown Bird

 

A 1st calender year Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus. Caught, ringed, measured and released today in the wetlands of Salreu (Portugal).

Aquatic warblers in Salreu

Aquatic warblers Acrocephalus paludicola are the rarest and the only internationally threatened passerine in mainland Europe. Apart from a very small remnant population in Western Siberia, its breeding grounds are completely confined to Europe. Drainage has meant that this species has declined. Its stronghold is now the south of Belarus, where 70% of the world's population breeds. This time of the year Aquatic warblers show up also in the wetlands of Salreu. These birds are on their way to Africa, where they spend the winter. They use the food rich marshes of Salreu to build up strength for the next part of their journey. JMN and I managed to ring two of these birds on September 4.




Typical Aquatic warbler habitat in Salreu: sedges and rice fields.