New call for census participation of volunteers and enthusiasts of these birds.
The White Stork census takes place every ten years. In Portugal this year is coordinated by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry, in collaboration with other entities, such as Quercus and SPEA (Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds). Hence this species is the bird of the year 2014 due to the census that are being carried out not only in Portugal but also simultaneously in several European countries.
The previous process count, in 2004 recorded 7,684 occupied stork nests in Portugal, more than double those recorded in 1994 (3,302 nests). In the district of Castelo Branco, Quercus is responsible for the census in the municipalities of Castelo Branco Covilhã, Penamacor, Idanha-a-Nova and Vila Velha de Rodão Proenca-a-Nova. Elsewhere in the country, the environmental organization will also be involved, through its Centers of Algarve, Aveiro, Coimbra, Guarda, Lisbon and Vila Real.
Work will take place between March and June, so the Quercus calls for participation of volunteers to collaborate in the field crews or shipping information.
Six years after being assessed as "near threatened species," the White Stork was cataloged in 1994 as "least concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Has benefited from human activities during the Middle Ages as cleaning of forests, however, changes in farming methods and industrialization saw their population decline and even disappear in some parts of Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across the European continent have made the white stork return to reproduce in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and even up in Portugal.
http://www.quercus.pt/documentos/campanhas/censo-mundial-cegonha-branca-marco-a-junho
http://www.spea.pt/pt/participar/campanhas/ave-do-ano-2014-cegonha-branca/
