In 2020, Endesa, through its renewables division Enel Green Power Spain, with the technical management of the NGO Defence and Study of the Environment (DEMA in Spanish) and the support of the Government of Aragon, launched an initiative to support the conservation of the population of lesser kestrel by employing new techniques with regard to the introduction and monitoring of birds for the installation of colonies.
Within the framework of this action, 22 lesser kestrel chickens were released today, in an act that involved the General Manager of Endesa for Aragón, Ignacio Montaner, technicians from Endesa and the Government of Aragón.
The main objective of this action is to contribute to strengthening the population of this small insectivorous falcon whose population in Aragon has suffered a significant decline in recent years. The pioneering initiative in our Community involves the application of compensatory measures included in the declaration of environmental impact in the wind project promoted by EGPE, Campoliva II and Primoral, located in the town of Villamayor de Gállego, in the province of Zaragoza.
It consisted of the construction of a new building for lesser kestrels with enough artificial nests inside, from which chicks of this species will be released over four consecutive years. These chicks, born in captivity at the DEMA Lesser Kestrel Breeding Centre located in Extremadura, will be strong candidates to form a new colony in the area and at the same time revitalise the small colonies that already exist in the area.
The new building for lesser kestrels represents a novel design, tested for the first time within the framework of this project and its main feature is that it does not have a roof. The nests are located in an interior yard in order to avoid the discomfort they may suffer outside and to prevent the chicks from falling to the ground and being captured by predators. The outer walls and upper area of the building contemplates anti-predation measures for terrestrial predators that could attack the kestrels, (beech martens, rats, genets and domestic cats) and aerial predators (black kites, golden kites, booted eagles, goshawks and eagle owls). These anti-predation systems need to be very effective to ensure the survival of the kestrels that occupy the new colony. The technical characteristics of the building's design building make it very secure.
This project contemplates the ringing and subsequent monitoring of a number of specimens of the species using GPS transmitters, for the purpose of achieving three specific objectives: To identify the territory of adult lesser kestrels, to detect mortality during the breeding season and to obtain data on postnuptial concentrations, migratory routes and wintering areas in the African continent.
The 2022 season began in the building located in Vedado de Zuera, Zaragoza, on 4 March with the transfer of two females who were installed in the release module (a large cage where they will remain throughout the season), and whose mission is to receive the chicks returning from their migratory journey to Africa after being released from the area in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, as well as to accompany the 40 chicks that will be released this year, helping to raise the chicks within the release module. These individual females will remain in the building to attract other members of the species and care for the chickens throughout the breeding season.