The Trenca Association is carrying out a project to protect the Lesser Grey Shrike, the most endangered vertebrate species in the Iberian Peninsula.

“Conservation Actions of the Lesser Shrike in Spain 2016” is a project of the Trenca Association that has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment.

The Lesser Shrike (Lanius minor), “critically endangered” according to the Red Book of Birds of Spain, is the most endangered vertebrate species in the Iberian Peninsula. The disappearance of the population of Lleida would mean a new extinction at the state level. The Trenca Association, in collaboration with the Generalitat de Catalunya, has been working with the species since 2007, with encouraging results in recent seasons. The project develops, among other activities, population control, support for captive breeding at the CRFS Vallcalent, rescue of chicks, monitoring in the field, supplementary feeding, predator control and habitat improvement.

The project is being carried out on the Torreribera estate (Lleida), in the Mas de Melons-Alfés Nature Network area with high ecological value. To carry out the actions, the Trenca Association has a custody agreement with the property of Torreribera and Alfés. So far, and for the first time, great success has been achieved in the captive breeding of chicks of this species as well as the release of chicks in the field, a technique that is not usual with passerines and unprecedented with this species. The results obtained in this project and the accumulated experience may serve as a basis for other projects with similar species that require ex situ and in situ conservation actions.