CV_N_5
Cruzinha Natural Park


Site description (2022 baseline):

Site location and context
The Canto Cagarra Dam is located in Garça. It was built in Ribeira da Garça covering 50 hectares of land and with the objective of helping the farmers of the region. The name is due to the presence of shearwaters and other bird species, mainly shorebirds. A few kilometres away we can find the Cruzinha area where we can find the Cruzinha Natural Park having later been classified as a Marine Natural Park in 2014. It is located in the municipality of Ribeira Grande and has a total area of 10055 ha, of which 2976 ha is on land. 

Key biodiversity
  In the Garça Dam it is possible to observe nests of Calonectris edwardsii and at night to also listen to Puffinus lherminieri boydi while in the Cruzinha, more precisely in the riverside, the presence of Hydrobates jabejabe, Calonectris edwardsii, Puffinus lherminieri boydi, Pterodroma feae and Phaethon aethereus (coastline) was noted. 

Acknowledgements
MAVA Foundation, BirdLife International, DNA, SPEA, University of Coimbra. . Site identified during the MAVA funded project: "Conserving the seabirds of Cabo Verde" (2020 - 2022). Partner consultation supported by Ana Veiga (BirdLife Project Manager, Cabo Verde) and Jonathan Handley (BirdLife, UK). Site identification supported by: Samir Martins (BIOS.CV), Herculano Dinis (Projecto Vitó), Albert Taxonera (Associação Projeto Biodiversidade), Marcos Hernández (Associação Projeto Biodiversidade), Isabel Fortes (Biosfera), Catelene Monteiro (Biosfera), Pedro Geraldes (SPEA), Ariana Cabral (Lantuna), Jacob González-Solís (University of Barcelona), Teresa Militão (University of Barcelona), Vitor Paiva (University of Coimbra).


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cruzinha Natural Park (Cape Verde). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cruzinha-natural-park--iba-cape-verde on 23/11/2024.