• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2002 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Common Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus	LC	breeding (2001)	frequent	C6
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	LC	breeding (2001)	1–2 pairs	C6
Western Marsh-harrier Circus aeruginosus	LC	resident (2001)	1–2 pairs	C6

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2002. The most recent assessment (2005) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Transportation and service corridors	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	-	Arable land
Forest	-	Broadleaved deciduous woodland; Mixed woodland; Alluvial and very wet forest
Grassland	-	Humid grasslands
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	-
Marine Intertidal	-
Marine Neritic	-
Shrubland	-	Scrub

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
fisheries/aquaculture	-
forestry	-
hunting	-
tourism/recreation	-
urban/industrial/transport	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Minho and Coura estuaries (Portugal). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/minho-and-coura-estuaries-iba-portugal on 27/12/2024.