Coming from Finland and Sweden, the birds are destined for Alqueva Reservoir in Alentejo. Over the next few weeks, they will be placed in the care of a team of biologists from the University of Porto's Biodiversity Research Center (CIBIO). In the late summer, as young adults already capable of long flights, they will migrate south towards Africa. This will complete the 5th and last year of the project funded by EDP for the reintroduction of osprey to Portugal.

With these new arrivals, the number of osprey raised in Portugal through this project rises to 56. The probability of some returning to reproduce here grows stronger each year. Osprey have stopped nesting in the country for nearly two decades which sees the species classified as endangered.

Of the Nordic eagles which grew up in Herdade do Roncão, three have already been sighted in the vicinities of the reservoir, most likely returning from the areas where they remain until their reproductive age, which are usually located in West Africa, especially in the coastal areas of Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau. The last stage of nesting still has to be accomplished before the project will have fulfilled the full extent of its goals.
Even so, noticeable positive effects already exist. On the cliffs of Arrifana, there is a pair of the birds with two young, something that had not happened since 1996. According to experts, this is a result of the reintroduction projects in the Iberian Peninsula which started in Andalusia in 2003, and then were taken up in Portugal in 2011 and the Basque Country in 2013. The large number of eagles released in all of these programs ultimately draws the attention of eagles from other regions, particularly from North Africa, to the Iberian Peninsula, attracting birds of breeding age.

For EDP, this reintroduction project is a milestone in the company's sustainability policy. Investing in the protection of biodiversity has been one of its priorities converted into programs for the compensation of impacts caused by its operations, with special focus on the location of new hydroelectric plants, as well as on the funding of development projects by reputable academic, scientific and non-governmental organizational (NGOs) entities.

For more information about this project, its previous editions, and the experiences of biologists and volunteers in Alqueva, go to: aguiapesqueira.org