Costa del Sol
Junta de Andalucía releases birds into the wild
By h.b. - Aug 20, 2007 - 4:59 PM
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The Junta de Andalucía has released 215 Montagu's Harriers into the wild in Málaga and Granada in an attempt to strengthen their numbers in the region. This is a migratory bird of prey from the Harrier family and the number dates from 2004 when the program was started.
The numbers of the bird, known in Spanish as Aguilucho Cenizo, have been reduced by hunting, to an extent that only 130 pairs are thought to remain in the region, most of them in the province of Málaga.
The repopulation program is organised by the CREA, The Network of Centres for the Recovery of Threatened Species, and will be carried out by the process known as ‘hacking’. Here eggs are left in nests based in chosen areas with extra food, and although the young birds note the presence of humans they return to the same area as mature birds as it is the place of their birth.