Portugal Wildlife

A fully Illustrated Wildlife Biodiversity Catalogue for a

86 Hectare (213 Acre) private Nature Reserve in

Baixo Alentejo, Southern Portugal

We practise Ecological Restoration and Rehabilitation rather than Rewilding. One key element to Ecological Restoration is a Keystone Species. Our Keystone Species is the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) {Javali}. Wild Boars have a beneficial impact on their environment that allows other species to flourish and biodiversity to increase.

A "Blog" page shows all recent sightings: Recent Sightings 2025.

Links to Portugal Nature Reserve webpages:

Most Recent Sightings

Reptiles and Amphibians

Conservation and Management

Reptile and Amphibian Maps

Colour Ringed and Tagged Birds

Fox Gallery

Links to Photo Galleries from other countries:

Species Counts June 2024:

Number of Species Recorded on the Reserve

Flowers	202

Birds	141

Insects	43

Dragonflies	28

Butterflies	28

Mammals	24

Fungi etc	15

Reptiles	10

Trees	10

Amphibians	8

Spiders	8

Moths	6
Other	3


TOTAL	522

February 2023: Awesome visitor. An Iberian Imperial Eagle:

New Species: Northern Goshawk

Number of Species Recorded on the Reserve

Sad news. The European Rabbit's Red List status was downgraded in August 2018 from "Near Threatened" to "Endangered" - in both instances with a Decreasing population.

The European Rabbit is a keystone species within the Mediterranean ecosystem as so many predators rely on it including the "Endangered" Iberian Lynx.

We need to do what we can to make sure Rabbits continue to have appropriate habitats to live and thrive in. This year our reserve appears to have good numbers of Rabbits.

The European Rabbit is the reserve's first resident "Endangered" species. The other "Endangered" species is a migrant bird, the Egyptian Vulture.

June 2020:

My Melanistic Genet record has now been published online in Small Carnivore Conservation, the journal of the IUCN Small Carnivore Specialist Group (SCSG).

Three abandoned Barn Owl chicks were released back onto our reserve after they had been reared to maturity at RIAS in Algarve.