Breeding Season 2020

Portugal Wildlife

Breeding Season 2020:

Very young Western Montpellier Snake in Bulrush Pond.

Juvenile Blackshouldered Kite - possibly from a nearby nest site.

Wood Mouse carrying baby mouse to new home in nest box.

Baby Moorish Gecko hunting at night. This will have hatched from its egg quite recently.

Female Blue Emperor ovipositing.

Mating Pair of Goblet-marked Damselflies.

Tandem mating pair of Epaulet Skimmers.

First proof of breeding for Crested Lark: An Immature drinking at Bulrush Pond.

Three fledgling Barn Swallows at Bulrush Pond.

Fledgling Barn Swallow at Bulrush Pond.

Fledgling Barn Swallow food begging.

Adult flying in to feed fledgling Barn Swallow.

Mating pair of Goblet-marked Damselflies.

Mating pair of Iberian Bluetails.

One of at least two Little Owl fledglings at entrance to nest hole.

Seven Gadwall ducklings on Windmill Pond.

May 17th: The owlet has now lost most of its downy feathers and is almost ready to fly.

April 16th: 6 or 7 eggs hatched. Difficult to tell how many chicks there still are. Judging from this photo perhaps as few as four or as many as six.

April 19th Barn Owl Update: There is now only one surviving Owlet. And the adult Female. But no sign of the adult Male. No signs of food being brought in. Possibly this is a young pair of Barn Owls that are still learning. But the signs are not good. Unless the Female starts to bring in food then the remaining chick will die. Likewise if she abandons the nest and her last chick. We will have to wait and see what happens.

April 24th Barn Owl Update: Male still absent. But Female still attending the sole remaining Owlet which is looking fine.

April 7th: Four Barn Owl chicks and three eggs.

Newly emerged Violet Dropwing - probably a male.

April 11th: Six or Seven Barn Owlets have now hatched. Possibly one egg did not.

April 3rd: The first two Barn Owlets have hatched.

27th February 2020: The first egg has now been laid by our Common Barn Owls in the Barn Owl nestbox on the Windmill. It is just visible in the centre of the photograph as the female owl stretches her wings.

29th February 2020: Two Common Barn Owl eggs now laid.

23rd March 2020: The full clutch this year is seven eggs. The last one was laid on 14th March.

Female, on left, incubating their full clutch of seven eggs.

31st January 2020: Little Owl checking out the new Little Owl nest box.

31st January 2020: Barn Owl in the Barn Owl nestbox on the Windmill.

1st February 2020: Pair of Common Barn Owls. The unringed bird top right is likely the same Female as nested last year. But the male will be a new bird as last year's male died. The three owlets that were raised all have leg rings so they have presumably moved elsewhere.

Iberian Water Frogs Mating (Amplexus).

Previously installed Nest Boxes and Nesting Sandbank:

Solar-powered Wifi Camera and Little Owl Nestbox in Iberian Holm Oak. View of Little Owl nestbox location. In previous years the Little Owls have nested in a pile of rocks, hole in Olive Tree and hole in Iberian Holm Oak. But all these sites are no longer suitable due to being too wet, a Black Rat moved in, or the tree died. So a nest box designed for Little Owls was put up to give them a suitable alternative in their territory.

Bat Box installed late November 2019 ready for colonisation in 2020. The box is suitable as a bat breeding colony as well as a roost. Aimed at any bats, but especially the reserve's three species of Pipistrelles.

Second Barn Owl Nestbox with wifi camera system.

Garden Dormouse at Garden Dormouse Den Box.

A Trail Camera has been set up at Den Box. The target species is the Beech Marten (or maybe even a Common Genet).

Nest Sandbank: With holes leading to embedded Sand Martin nestboxes and plastic pipes for birds such as Bee-eaters. The rest of the sand bank can be tunneled into by any tunnel-nesting

birds such as Common Kingfishers.

Pre-fabricated Sand Martin Nest Boxes being incorporated into the Nest Bank ; And Nesting tubes for species such as European Bee-eaters (with floor cut out for drainage)

Pole-mounted Kestrel Nestbox with wifi live Video Camera feed to office:

Wall-mounted Blue Tit/House Sparrow Nestbox with wifi live Video Camera feed to office:

White Stork Platforms:

On Office Roof:

A second White Stork nest platformhas been mounted ontop of the reserve's ruined windmill.

Various other Wooden Nest Boxes mounted on Office wall. Originally intended for a variety of species, including Common Kestrel, Common Barn Owl and Common Swift, most of the nestboxes have been occupied by House Sparrows and Spotless Starlings.