The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) has stated that a new colony of black vultures was found on a farm in the municipality of Vidigueira, Beja’s district, bringing the total number of known colonies in Portugal to five. Ten mature black vulture (Aegypius monachus) individuals make up this new colony, which the ICNF discovered during monitoring operations.

As ICNF explained, “The colony was identified during the breeding season, a particularly sensitive period for this species, with reproduction confirmed in at least one of the nests, in which it was possible to observe a young individual already fledged”. For this species, the breeding season lasts from February to August, and each pair lays one egg annually. The Regional Directorate for Nature Conservation and Forests of Alentejo has already “initiated the necessary procedures to monitor and safeguard this colony, in collaboration with the owners of Herdade do Monte da Ribeira”.

As a scavenger, the black vulture is listed as “Critically Endangered” in Portugal. In the framework of the ‘Birds Directive’, it is also prioritised and deemed to be of communal importance. As the ICNF added, “After more than half a century of demographic decline and absence as a nesting species in the country, the black vulture re-established its status as a nesting species in Portugal in 2010, with several small colonies”.

Known to be “the largest bird of prey in Europe” this species is mostly found in protected regions in Portugal, including the Parque Natural do Tejo Internacional, Serra da Malcata, and Parque Natural do Douro Internacional. With this new colony in Alentejo, the number of known black vulture colonies in the country has increased to five.