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PT034
Castro Marim
Location Portugal, Algarve
Central coordinates 7o 26.00' West  37o 12.00' North
IBA criteria A4i, B1i, B2, C2, C6
Area 2,147 ha
Altitude 0 - 42m
Year of IBA assessment 2002

Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves



Ornithological information Important numbers of breeding, wintering and migrating waterbirds use this site, as do some steppic species such as Tetrax tetrax, Burhinus oedicnemus, Glareola prantincola and Melanocorypha calandra. This is the only portuguese site where Calandrella rufescens breeds. Untill 1999 Falco naumanni bred at this site.

Site description The Portuguese side of the Guadiana estuary, at the country's south-east corner. There is an extensive area of saltpans and of claimed land (used for cattle and sheep-grazing) that was formerly saltmarsh.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus winter  2000  350-1,180 individuals  good  A4i, B1i, C2  Least Concern 
White Stork Ciconia ciconia resident  1996  100-150 individuals  medium  B2, C6  Least Concern 
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia winter  1996  200-500 individuals  medium  A4i, B1i, C2  Least Concern 
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax breeding  2002  10-20 individuals  good  C6  Near Threatened 
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax winter  2002  90-100 individuals  good  C6  Near Threatened 
Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus breeding  2002  common [units unknown]  -  C6  Least Concern 
Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus winter  2002  200-300 individuals  good  C6  Least Concern 
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus resident  2001  200 breeding pairs  good  A4i, B1i, C2, C6  Least Concern 
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta winter  1996  400-560 individuals  good  B2, C6  Least Concern 
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta breeding  2001  121-198 breeding pairs  good  B2, C6  Least Concern 
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola breeding  2000  rare [units unknown]  -  C6  Least Concern 
Little Tern Sterna albifrons breeding  2001  50-90 breeding pairs  good  B2, C6  Least Concern 
Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra breeding  1996  rare [units unknown]  -  C6  Least Concern 
Thekla Lark Galerida theklae resident  2001  frequent [units unknown]  -  C6  Least Concern 

Protected areas

Protected area Designation Area (ha) Relationship with IBA Overlap with IBA (ha)  
Ria Formosa/Castro Marim - PTCON0013 Habitats Directive 17,520 protected area contains site 2,147  
Sapais de Castro Marim Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar) 2,235 protected area overlaps with site 2,235  
Sapais de Castro Marim - PTZPE0018 Birds Directive 2,147 protected area overlaps with site 2,038  
Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo António Nature Reserve 2,308 protected area overlaps with site 1,876  

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Wetlands (inland) Standing brackish and salt water  -
Artificial landscapes (terrestrial) Arable land; Forestry plantations; Perennial crops, orchards and groves  -
Coastline Mud flats & sand flats; Salt marshes; Tidal rivers & enclosed tidal waters  -

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
water management -
fisheries/aquaculture -
nature conservation and research -
tourism/recreation -
agriculture -

Management considerations There is a proposal of management plan for Natural Reserve but it was not disccussed in public. Like other litoral sites in the area, Castro Marim suffers high disturbance from tourism and urbanization. Two SPEA conservation projects were fisnished in 2002. One aboutwintering waders population in the saltmarshes, and other about secondary saltmarshes populations. These projects deffined management measures for bird conservation in the area.

Protection status National Nature Reserve Sapal de Castro Marim e de Vila Real de Santo António; Special Protection Area Sapal de Castro Marim; SCI proposal Ria Formosa/Castro MarimInternational Special Protection Area Sapal de Castro Marim; Ramsar Wetland Site (7PT010)

References Farinha & Trinidade (1994), Mendes (1995), Costa & Rufino (1997), Leitão & Farinha (1998), Dias (1999), Costa et al. (2000), Leitão (2002a, 2002b).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Castro Marim. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013

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