Good news for wildlife lovers and ornithologists was the release of two rehabilitated birds back into the wild at the end of January, after being found injured and debilitated in the region.
A common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and a mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) were rehabilitated by the RIAS wildlife rehabilitation and study centre in Ria Formosa (Olhão) after being found injured in Sagres and Armação de Pêra respectively and rescued by the GNR’s nature protection force SEPNA.
On Sunday, January 24, the common buzzard, which was named Sagres, was released back into the wild in that location after being treated at RIAS for an injury to the head and being trained to develop its flight and hunting skills with other birds of the same species.
The mallard was released at the Lagoa dos Salgados in Armação de Pêra on Saturday, January 30 and named Escuteiro (scout) by a group of young scouts who attended the release to learn about wildlife preservation.
The duck was found debilitated and undernourished and underwent training to develop its natural flight skills with other mallards before being released at the Lagoa dos Salgados, which is described by members of RIAS as “an ideal natural habitat for this species”.
For more information about RIAS, which studies, preserves and rehabilitates wildlife in the region, please visit http://rias-aldeia.blogspot.com (in Portuguese only).
