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close| Location | Portugal, Algarve |
| Central coordinates | 8o 20.00' West 37o 6.00' North |
| IBA criteria | B1i, B2, C6 |
| Area | 149 ha |
| Altitude | 2 - 16m |
| Year of IBA assessment | 2002 |
Ornithological information Lagoa dos Salgados is one of the only fenny humid zones of Algave's windward. At this moment, near 150 species have been here registered, like Porphyrio porphyrio and Himantopus himantopus. About P. porphyrio, 86 individuals have been here reported out of breeding season. This site holds a valuable heronry represented by seven species, three of them are nesting (Ardea purpurea, Ixobrychus minutus and Egretta garzetta), two are migratory (Ardeola ralloides and Nycticorax nycticorax) and two are typically wintering (garça cinzenta and Bubulcus ibis). This is the only national site with nesting records of Aythya nyroca. During migratory season, this area is very important for ciconeiforms like Platalea leucordia, several waders and for passerines too, especially for swallows that feed here in thousands.
Site description Fenny humid zone formed by a main water area in the confluence of two rivers, and a large marshy zone extended to North-West. The lagoon is isolated from ocean by a continuous sandy barrier, that only opens when high precipitations or human intervention. Western and Northern surrounding areas are mainly agricultural, beeing constituted by crop-lands, traditional dryer orchards (figs, almonds and olive trees), and small vineyards. At the East, lagoon is limited by a golf course that holds artificial lakes with marshy vegetation. And at the South we find the robust sand-dune string that extends 4 kilometres to the West. The prominent vegetation is holphyte, formed by extensive patches of rush and reeds beds.
Populations of IBA trigger species
| Species | Season | Period | Population estimate | Quality of estimate | IBA Criteria | IUCN Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca | breeding | 2002 | 1-2 breeding pairs | good | B2, C6 | Near Threatened |
| Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia | passage | 2001 | 30 individuals | good | B1i, B2, C6 | Least Concern |
| Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia | winter | 2001 | 30 individuals | good | B1i, B2, C6 | Least Concern |
| Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus | breeding | 2001 | 4-6 breeding pairs | medium | C6 | Least Concern |
| Purple Heron Ardea purpurea | breeding | 2001 | 3-7 breeding pairs | good | C6 | Least Concern |
| Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio | resident | 2000 | 6-10 breeding pairs | medium | C6 | Least Concern |
| Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus | resident | 2001 | 300 breeding pairs | medium | C6 | Least Concern |
Habitats
| IUCN habitat | Habitat detail | Extent (% of site) |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands (inland) | Water fringe vegetation | major |
| Artificial landscapes (terrestrial) | Arable land; Other urban and industrial areas; Perennial crops, orchards and groves | - |
| Coastline | Sand dunes & beaches | - |
Land use
| Land-use | Extent (% of site) |
|---|---|
| agriculture | - |
| fisheries/aquaculture | - |
| tourism/recreation | - |
| urban/industrial/transport | - |
Management considerations Though beeing protected by the Management Plan of Orla Costeira de Burgau-Vilamoura and by Ecologic Natural Reserve, the lagoon is threatened by urbanistic and turistic projects. It also suffers eutrophication process, accented by sewage-farm emptying and flowage from agriculture and from the golf course. This recreation structure, situated at lagoon's inundation area, reduces its retention capacity increasing the frequence of floods and bar opening. Tourism provokes deep system disturbance, mainly durin summer. There are projects from the Reginonal Direction of Planning of algarve (DRAOT) and the University of Algarve to improve lagoon's enviromental heritage.
Protection status National noneInternational none
References Kelsh (1987), Bolton (1988), Ministro (2001), Ministro & Fernandes (2002)
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Recommended citation BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Pera marsh. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/05/2013
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