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close| Location | Cape Verde, Santiago |
| Central coordinates | 23o 32.00' West 15o 8.00' North |
| IBA criteria | A1, A2 |
| Area | 200 ha |
| Altitude | 0 - 15m |
| Year of IBA assessment | 2001 |
Ornithological information See Box and Table 2 for key species. About 20 species of wader have been recorded, numbering up to c.300 birds, exceptional in the Cape Verdes. The lagoons are also regularly visited by herons (eight species recorded—both migrants and residents—including Ardea (purpurea) bournei), and small parties of Platalea leucorodia are observed annually. Acrocephalus brevipennis is rather common in the cultivated areas. Other breeding species include Halcyon leucocephala, Sylvia conspicillata and S. atricapilla. Gallinula chloropus formerly bred, but has not been recorded since the late 1960s; this is, with site CV002, one of only two places in the Cape Verdes where the species has been known to breed.
Site description The site comprises two lagoons and the surrounding area, situated south of the town of Pedra Badejo on Santiago, in an intensively cultivated area. Banana, sugar-cane, manioc and various vegetables are grown; there are also extensive stands of coconut-palm. The brackish lagoons, which hold water all year-round, lie at the mouth of three major watercourses (Ribeira dos Picos, Ribeira Montanha and Ribeira Seca), which are dry most of the year but may swell to violent torrents during the rains. Large quantities of mud and debris are then deposited in the lagoons and surrounding areas, attracting many waders and herons.
Populations of IBA trigger species
| Species | Season | Period | Population estimate | Quality of estimate | IBA Criteria | IUCN Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Verde Warbler Acrocephalus brevipennis | resident | 1996 | present [units unknown] | - | A1, A2 | Endangered |
Land use
| Land-use | Extent (% of site) |
|---|---|
| agriculture | - |
Other biodiversity None known to BirdLife International.
Management considerations In view of the location of the site and its heavy use by local people and domestic livestock, protection of the lagoons will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to implement. In the past, the edges of the lagoons were lined with reedbeds, but these have apparently been cleared during the last decades—presumably a (or the) reason for the disappearance of Gallinula chloropus.
References Hazevoet (1992a, 1993, 1995).
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Recommended citation BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Pedra Badejo lagoons. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013
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