Nest Registration Campaign

During the first month of the andorin campaign, more than 500 structures where swallows, martins and swifts nest were identified and in these structures exists more than 4500 nests! It is still a very small fraction of the nests and colonies we have in Portugal, but it is an important start and a huge responsibility!

We want to thank very much to everyone who was kind enough to register nests on our page but above all ask you to continue registering all the nests you find and help us spread this citizen-science initiative!

And have you helped a swallow today?

If migratory birds are bad...swallows are worse!

According to a study on the reproduction of 104 bird species from around the world, the average increase in global temperatures, the result of climate change, has compromised the reproduction of migratory species!

Among the species affected, the House Martin Swallow (Delichon urbicum), is among the five species with a greater decrease in the average number of young per female.

Long-distance migrants are particularly vulnerable to these environmental changes, since they depend on a widely distributed and sustainable network of breeding, migration and wintering sites.

At breeding sites, in addition to the mismatch between the nesting period and the peak of maximum food availability, these birds are also subject to the loss of their nesting sites, which are destroyed by the nuisance they may cause or in the course of building renovations and demolitions.

To play an active role in the conservation of terns, as well as other swallows and terns that nest in Portugal, we ask everyone to register the nests and nesting colonies you find!

May the swallows save us!!!

During the opening session of the Sixth Congress on Tropical Medicine and Sustainable Development, Filomeno Fortes, Professor at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the Universidade Nova, warned about the imminent possibility of outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases such as Dengue or Zika.

Since the presence of the mosquito vector of these diseases (Aedes albopictus) has been recorded in our country, the professor warns health professionals to be alert to possible cases, especially since the symptoms can be confused with the flu. Knowing the seriousness of these diseases and even counting on the care of our doctors, the best prophylactic measure is to look after the swallows and see if they look after us!