The initiative gives continuity to the work of the TRENCA association, which has been working since 2007 in the control and reinforcement of the lesser grey shrike in Catalonia and Aragon.

The Lesser Grey Shrike, a species in “critical danger” of extinction according to the Red Book of Birds in Spain, is the most endangered vertebrate species in the Iberian Peninsula and the disappearance of its population in Lleida would mean its extinction at the state level. This project gives continuity to the work of the TRENCA association, which has been working since 2007 to control and strengthen the populations of lesser grey shrikes in Catalonia and Aragon, concentrating efforts on the Torreribera farm (Mas de Melons-Alfes Nature Network area).

The estate is one of the few agricultural areas where there has not been a large-scale land concentration and in most of its extension the boundaries that separate the fields are preserved, providing shelter for insects and offering hunting watchtowers for the shrikes. The indiscriminate use of insecticides and the variety of crops (alfalfa, pastures and cereals), together with grazing with sheep, offers an ideal mosaic for insectivorous birds such as the lesser shrike.

Among the tasks carried out within the framework of the project are the support for captive breeding at the Vallcalent Wildlife Recovery Centre (in Lleida), the release of chicks born in captivity, the rescue of chicks and monitoring in the field.

Supplementary feeding, predator control and habitat improvement tasks have also been carried out, as well as the placement of forty geolocators on released chicks to monitor the species.

Special actions have been carried out in the nests to improve the captive stock of the breeding center and the chicks of the three nests of Torreribera were ringed. In addition to the habitat improvement that has been carried out, an agreement has been signed for the stewardship of the territory in Torreribera.

Within the initiative, 58 chicks have been released through hacking, a record for this species. And 264 magpies have been captured, which is one of their main predators.