Census-counting of cranes in the wetlands of a small village in central Spain
Victor Andrés Coello Cámara, Environmental Officer in Ávila for the Junta of Castile and León.
Juan Carlos Rico Jimenez, Environmental technician of the El Oso.
In El Oso, a small municipality in the province of Ávila, in the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, census-counting of Common Cranes has been carried out more or less regularly since 1977.
Located in the north-western quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula, between the penillanuras south of the river Douro and the foothills of the Mountains of Ávila and the Gredos Mountains on their northern side, at an altitude of 884 meters, the area has an average annual rainfall of about 411 mm. The average temperature ranges from – 2,1º C to 32,1º C.
It is a mainly agricultural commune although there are also some steppe lagoons, especially from the autumn months until spring. One of the species that land in these lagoons is the Common Crane. Currently, part of this wetland is included in the Regional Catalogue of Wetland Areas of Special Interest, declared and registered by the Regional Government (Junta) of Castile and León, which has the full competence for the management of the natural resources in the region. The area covered by standing water may vary from one year to another, but amounts on average to about 30 hectares (about 75 acres). Since the year 2001, 15,88 hectares are protected area. However, in spite of its importance, this wetland area is not included in the Natura 2000 network.
The first census-counting of cranes was carried out in 1977, and its data included in the first national census of 1979-80 (Fernández Cruz et al., 1981).
So far 250 references to the presence of the Common Crane in El Oso have been compiled, which we take as evidence for El Oso being a regular landing place in the cranes’ migration. Moreover, older people in the village acknowledge having seen cranes in their childhood, although the official count did not start until the year mentioned above.
In 2010-2011 another important step forward was taken in studying and tracking this species, when the collaboration with the platform iCORA started. Since then, 25 birds have been identified and their corresponding ring combinations sent. Most of these cranes had originally been marked in Germany.
Both the Town Council of El Oso and the group of collaborators take part in the gathering of data out of complete altruism.
In the wetland area public infrastructure exist in the form of access roads, two wooden observatories, and informative posters. In the village is also found La Moraña Lagoons Center, with several exhibition rooms and the possibility to watch live what is happening at the lagoon through digital cameras.
Keywords: El Oso, Census-counting