This breeding season, the LIFE Cerceta Pardilla project, coordinated by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has reached a milestone. With the sighting of at least 5 different females with chicks, the reproduction of this critically endangered species has been confirmed in El Espigar, a farm located in the Natural Park of El Hondo (Alicante). This is the first confirmed reproduction on land acquired within the framework of LIFE, specifically in a wetland purchased by the ANSE and SEO/BirdLife associations, partners in the project.

The breeding has been possible thanks to the improvement of the ecological conditions of the farm, which has been adapted to the needs of the brown teal. Water and vegetation management actions, through the repair of sluice gates, dredging of canals and thinning of vegetation to widen the water sheets, have achieved constant flooding throughout the breeding season, and the creation of an attractive habitat for the species.

Specifically, the five females were accompanied by 36 chicks. Three of the females occupied the salt marsh area, with 10, nine and four chicks, respectively. This salt marsh, which remained dry in the years prior to the purchase of El Espigar, has been recovered thanks to the works carried out by the project, and now maintains adequate water levels for the species. The reservoir has been enlarged thanks to the integration of part of the area corresponding to an old irrigation pond. These works have allowed the flooding of 4.5 hectares of salt marsh and, with it, the expansion of the species’ habitat. A fourth female with seven chicks has been sighted on the remaining surface of the old irrigation pond, and finally another female with six chicks has been observed in one of the adjacent ponds.

Among other actions, and with the aim of contributing to the growth of brown teal populations, 64 specimens bred in captivity by experts of the Generalitat Valenciana at the Fauna Recovery Center La Granja de El Saler have been released in El Espigar. A pre-release cage and five nest boxes have also been installed to facilitate the adaptation of the released specimens to the wetland and to encourage their reproduction.

El Espigar consists of four lagoons and two salt marshes, which contain several sheets of brackish water populated by aquatic plants. It is, therefore, a very favorable habitat for the marbled teal, as well as for many other aquatic birds, such as the white-headed duck, the common coot, the common pochard or the kentish plover.

THE PROJECT

The LIFE Cerceta Pardilla project aims to improve the conservation status of 3,000 hectares of wetlands to reverse the risk of extinction of Europe’s most endangered duck, which is in a critical situation in Spain. For this reason, it has undertaken a series of actions to strengthen the status of its populations in the natural environment, improve the state of wetlands and scientific knowledge of the species.

The project, which is coordinated by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, involves as partners the Ministry itself, through the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura and Tragsatec; the Junta de Andalucía, through the Consejería de Sostenibilidad, Medio Ambiente y Economía Azul and the Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua; the Generalitat Valenciana; the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, through the Regional Ministry of Environment, Mar Menor, Universities and Research, as well as the organizations Sociedad Española de Ornitología/BirdLife and ANSE/Asociación de Naturalistas del Sureste. It is supported by the LIFE Program of the European Union and the Directorate General for Water.