He Ordinary Alcaravan (Burhinus Oedicnemus) is a fairly widespread steppe bird in Spain But that is not easy to observe because of its discreet colors, who make a high degree of imitation and their elusive and night habits possible.
It is during the Breeding time when the normal alcaavan is detected with less effort because of the characteristic and unmistakable claim, That radiates in crepuscular hours. It covers a wide range of open habitats in dry climate Spain, whether it is seasons, steppes, sand or agricultural land.
Given the fault Information owned by the regular Alcaravan, it has been decided This allows experts to learn more about this elusive Avecilla.
GPS technology for the knowledge of the normal alcaavan
In a moment of global crisis such as the current one, Birds allow to know the health status of the planet. Have information about the vital space they need during their playback timeKnowing their migration routes and having accurate information from your winter areas offers very valuable information to contribute to your preservation.
Thanks to various programs, It collects a lot of information and data about birds, because it is the marking with GPS devices, an action that has been developing for twelve years Within the Migra program that the NGO is developing with the support of the Iberdrola Spain Foundation. The NGO considers scientific knowledge of fundamental importance for dealing with climate emergency and loss of biodiversity.
The purpose This year, Marking with GPS is different specimens of common alcaavan, a species that is closely linked to the agricultural, steppe media and herbaceous trees/treesTo learn more about their space and habitat needs during playback, as well as their movements outside the era of reproduction.
So far, There is very partial information about the use of space, types of habitats and environmental needs during the vital cycle of the normal alcaavanAs well as the problems they have in their breeding and wintering areas. It is believed that promoting the improvement of the knowledge of these aspects will have a positive influence on improving the state of preservation of these birds.
Know the migration movements
“Loose Common Alcaravan movements are completely unknown, although some copy has already been marked in 2024, because a test starts to offer surprises about the different types of migration Of the species according to his peninsula populations of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic region and, of course, of the Canary and Balearic population, where the species is also reproduced, ”explains Juan Carlos del Moral, responsible for the monitoring area of the environmental organization.
“These differences will be well documented with the figures that will be made this year and will provide The most important information about use makes the territory during reproductive, winter times and during the journeys outside those two periods. Knowing in detail that the use of the territory is the key all year round to manage it well and to make biodiversity compatible with the energy needs of a population of growing people, “concludes of morality.
He Marking of the copies of Alcaraván will be carried out in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Madrid and the involvement of research centers Such as the CSIC Hunting Resources Institute, the Technology and Forestry Center of Catalonia and the Miguel Hernández University.
Is Entities that have already carried out earlier marking tests in the common alcaravan species and will provide information With which the results are generated this year within the Migra program. During this season it is planned to mark 15 copies in various autonomous communities, including Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla Y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid, next to the Canary and Balearian Islands.
The size of The world population of Alcaraván Common is estimated at 360,000 – 590,000 copies. 123,000 – 193,000 would correspond to Europe, of which, according to the last esteem in 2024, between 74,273 and 110,293 would be in Spain. Thanks to the data that has been facilitated by the Common Bird Monitoring Program (SACRE program), it can also be said that in the last 25 years the fall in the population has been 46 %.
These population sizes and The evolution of his troops ensures that Alcaravan qualifies itself in the vulnerable category according to the international criteria established by the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN). In the Canary Islands, the species is divided into two subspecies. The population of the Eastern Islands is considered vulnerable and the central Western population in danger of extinction.
Study of migration routes
For 15 years, the NGO and the Iberdrola Spain Foundation are working together on the development of the Migra program To study migration and spatial behavior of birds By marking with external tracking devices.
In total, 1,446 birds of 41 species have been marked during all this time differentWith a database with millions of locations, obtained thanks to hundreds of cooperating people and entities, both Spanish and foreign.
The knowledge acquired through the Migra program has permitted and will allow, Know the spatial behavior of many bird species to keep them in the future and to evaluate the effect And the management of the territory carried out by the human population has over them.
These works are registered with current migrant behavior, which also makes it possible to make comparisons with his behavior in the future, an excellent indicator of the changes generated with The effects of climate change, that because of the change and disappearance of habitats and the various effects that people have on nature, And that they ensure that their migrations change.
Changes in The wintering areas, shortening of migration routes, sedentarization of species or variations in immigration nodes are some of the changes They have been detected in the past decades at migratory birds, a lot because of the extremely fast transformation of the territory and the climate generated by human activity.