Portugal Wildlife

A fully Illustrated Wildlife Biodiversity Catalogue for a

86 Hectare (213 Acre) private Nature Reserve in

Baixo Alentejo, Southern Portugal

We practise Ecological Restoration and Rehabilitation rather than Rewilding. One key element to Ecological Restoration is a Keystone Species. Our Keystone Species is the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) {Javali}. Wild Boars have a beneficial impact on their environment that allows other species to flourish and biodiversity to increase.

A "Blog" page shows all recent sightings: Recent Sightings 2023.

Links to Portugal Nature Reserve webpages:

Most Recent Sightings

Reptiles and Amphibians

Conservation and Management

Reptile and Amphibian Maps

Colour Ringed and Tagged Birds

Fox Gallery

Links to Photo Galleries from other countries:

Species Counts November 2023:

Number of Species Recorded on the Reserve

Flowers	177

Birds	139

Insects	37

Dragonflies	28

Butterflies	27

Mammals	24

Fungi	12

Reptiles	10

Trees	9

Spiders	7

Moths	6

Amphibians	6
Other	3


TOTAL	485

February 2023: Awesome visitor. An Iberian Imperial Eagle:

New Species: Northern Goshawk

September 2020:

Fantastic record of a 2nd or 3rd year Iberian Imperial Eagle from February 2020. A very rare bird and an Iberian endemic. IUCN rating is "Vulnerable"

Number of Species Recorded on the Reserve

Sad news. The European Rabbit's Red List status was downgraded in August 2018 from "Near Threatened" to "Endangered" - in both instances with a Decreasing population.

The European Rabbit is a keystone species within the Mediterranean ecosystem as so many predators rely on it including the "Endangered" Iberian Lynx.

We need to do what we can to make sure Rabbits continue to have appropriate habitats to live and thrive in. This year our reserve appears to have good numbers of Rabbits.

The European Rabbit is the reserve's first resident "Endangered" species. The other "Endangered" species is a migrant bird, the Egyptian Vulture.

June 2020:

My Melanistic Genet record has now been published online in Small Carnivore Conservation, the journal of the IUCN Small Carnivore Specialist Group (SCSG).

Three abandoned Barn Owl chicks were released back onto our reserve after they had been reared to maturity at RIAS in Algarve.

Amphibian & Reptile European distribution maps are now available on this website: Reptile and Amphibian Maps

Coming Soon: A page showing all the reserve's Red Listed species (IUCN). As soon as the page is loaded the link in the above menu will work. Check back soon!

February 2019:

New Mammal Species: European Wildcat !

As opportunities arise a variety of bird songs and calls will be posted to the website, especially for species that have not yet been photographed. All such recording will be made on site on the nature reserve.

Other animals, such as frogs, may also be recorded over time and sound files loaded. The first sound file to be loaded is the song of the Common Quail on the Bird Field Guide page.