/ Town Hall
Tuesday 11th May 2021
CALVIÀ TOWN HALL INSTALLS BIRD-SAVING DEVICES IN THE GALATZÓ PUBLIC ESTATE OPEN WATER TANKS
This action is carried out in collaboration with the Aquila a-Life Project, on the occasion of World Migratory Bird Day, for the awareness raising that underlines the need to conserve migratory birds and their habitats
Last weekend, technicians from the Aquila a-Life Project and the Environment area of Calvià Town Hall placed bird-saving devices in the different safareigs (open water tanks) at the Galatzó Public Estate, with the aim of reducing dangers to those faced by birds that come to drink and cool off.
The safareigs and the irrigation bases are a claim for the fauna and often, especially the exhausted or injured birds, cannot get out of the water and end up drowning. For this reason, systems have been devised to avoid or, at least, reduce the chances of accidents of these birds that, whether they are passing through or continuously transit through a specific area.
Every year, more than 150 million migratory birds of more than 235 different species come and go from the Balearic Islands, in their pre-nuptial (spring and pre-breeding) and post-nuptial (in autumn and after breeding) migration. Protecting species and habitats allows this long journey to come to fruition. There are some that stay for seasons, others are just passing through, or even some fly over the islands without stopping.
The Deputy Mayor for Environment of Calvià Town Hall, Rafel Sedano, who participated in the action, explained that these days of celebration contribute to creating greater awareness at the social level, and that in the case of the Balearic Islands due to their geographical location it is a strategic area for birds and this volume of migratory birds "highlights the need to establish protection initiatives to help these migration patterns continue to occur and do so safely." In this sense he ensured that "the Town Hall has a sensitivity for the protection of birds but is also committed to the protection of habitats that accommodate different species."
The action was carried out with technicians from the Aquila a-Life Project, whose general objective in Mallorca is to guarantee the natural evolution of the Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata) population, considered a medium-sized eagle, reintroduced in Mallorca after disappearing due to the direct persecution to which it was subjected in the sixties and seventies.
In order to reduce the threats faced by Bonelli's eagle, along with other species, the Fundación Natura Parc, within the framework of the European project AQUILA a-LIFE, facilitates the possibility of placing bird-saving platforms in Mallorca, built entirely of recycled material. This offers the fauna that has fallen into a safareig the possibility of getting out of the water, drying up and taking flight again, thus favouring the survival of the species.
The Fundación Natura Parc is one of the (LIFE16 NAT / ES / 000235) AQUILA a-LIFE Project collaborators with the contribution of the LIFE programme of the European Union and the support of the Fundación Biodiversidad and Red Eléctrica España.
