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Site description (2002 baseline):
Site location and context
Freshwater marshes with alluvial forest and other water-fringe vegetation, located in the centre of the country, c.90 km north-east of Lisbon. The site is drained every year so that the outer areas can be cultivated but the core area is left flooded in most years. This IBA is located very close to the expanding town of Golegã.
One of the largest heronries in Iberia, also holding important numbers of breeding
Platalea leucorodia,
Milvus migrans and
Chlidonias hybridus, and nationally important numbers of wintering duck.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The presence of the introduced and highly invasive water- hyacinth
Eichhornia crassipes causes a certain degree of ecological disruption. The site is also subject to pressure from farmers who want to intensify farming practices and increase the extent of cultivation (e.g. by further drainage). Urban expansion (Golegã) also causes problems.
National Partial
International High369 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Paul do Boquilobo, 553ha). 433 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Paúl do Boquilobo, 433 ha). 395 ha of IBA covered by Biosphere Reserve (Paul do Boquilobo, 395 ha). IBA also overlaps with Ramsar Site (Paul do Boquilobo, 529 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Paul do Boquilobo (Portugal). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/paul-do-boquilobo-iba-portugal on 22/12/2024.
