Spanish Pyrenees bird conservation project
| country: | Spain |
| location: | Spanish Pyrenees |
| departures: | Please contact us for departure details |
| price: | From £590 (7 days) excluding flights. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This volunteer project will take you to the high mountains of a UNESCO World Heritage national park site in the Spanish Pyrenees to survey Eurasia’s largest bird of prey, the lammergeyer, and to monitor capercaillie and ptarmigans (or snow partridges) as indicators of climate change.
You will be working as part of a small international team from a remote research station base set high in the mountains and overlooking a landscape of spectacular peaks and gorges. You will survey lammergeyers by direct observation and radio tracking. You may also help with capturing and marking individual birds. Above and below the tree line you will look for capercaillie and snow partridges as indicators of climate change because strategies for their conservation in the Pyrenees need to be developed in the face of changing weather patterns.To study lammergeyer population dynamics by radio telemetry, recording marked birds in the field and from hides, and capture-recapture activities. To survey for potential areas in which new nesting sites of lammergeyers can be located and study the annual productivity of some of these sites. To obtain baseline data on snow partridge and capercaillie as indicators of climate change.
Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges of our time. Recent events have emphatically demonstrated our growing vulnerability to climate change. Climate change impacts will range from affecting agriculture, sea level rise and the accelerated erosion of coastal zones, increasing intensity of natural disasters, species extinction and the spread of vector-borne diseases. Capercaillie and ptarmigan all serve as indicators of an intact ecosystem and information on the distribution of ptarmigan is particularly useful as a local indicator for climate change in the Pyrenees. Cold winters and snow partridges go hand in hand and as such it is important to record any reduction in their numbers so that adequate conservation measures can be taken. The lammergeyer population was decimated in the 20th century by poisoning, hunting, electrocution from power lines and habitat destruction.
Much of the local persecution was due to the totally mistaken but incredibly widespread belief that lammergeyers take young lambs. Lammergeier or lammergeyer (both correct) comes from the German Lämmergeier, meaning "lamb-vulture", presumably for the same reason.
Activities are usually decided the night before and then confirmed in the morning, depending on the weather and other local conditions. The whole set-up of the expedition is quite flexible so that you can participate according to the weather conditions, your skills and general fitness and how you feel on the day.
In the morning the expedition team will divide into sub-teams of two or more people, who will be assigned a section of the mountains to work in during the day. You will then walk or drive to your research area and cover it through a combination of walks and observation stops, recording the presence of study species, either by direct observation or by radio tracking them.
You will be using binoculars, spotting scopes, radio tracking equipment, GPS, cameras and notebooks to record your findings. You will return to base in the evening to log our results and discuss findings. Those who would like to can also venture out to advanced research camps, spending the night in a high mountain shelter.
You will be working as part of a small international team from a remote research station base set high in the mountains and overlooking a landscape of spectacular peaks and gorges. You will survey lammergeyers by direct observation and radio tracking. You may also help with capturing and marking individual birds. Above and below the tree line you will look for capercaillie and snow partridges as indicators of climate change because strategies for their conservation in the Pyrenees need to be developed in the face of changing weather patterns.
the project
Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges of our time. Recent events have emphatically demonstrated our growing vulnerability to climate change. Climate change impacts will range from affecting agriculture, sea level rise and the accelerated erosion of coastal zones, increasing intensity of natural disasters, species extinction and the spread of vector-borne diseases. Capercaillie and ptarmigan all serve as indicators of an intact ecosystem and information on the distribution of ptarmigan is particularly useful as a local indicator for climate change in the Pyrenees. Cold winters and snow partridges go hand in hand and as such it is important to record any reduction in their numbers so that adequate conservation measures can be taken. The lammergeyer population was decimated in the 20th century by poisoning, hunting, electrocution from power lines and habitat destruction. Much of the local persecution was due to the totally mistaken but incredibly widespread belief that lammergeyers take young lambs. Lammergeier or lammergeyer (both correct) comes from the German Lämmergeier, meaning "lamb-vulture", presumably for the same reason.
a day in the life of a volunteer
Activities are usually decided the night before and then confirmed in the morning, depending on the weather and other local conditions. The whole set-up of the expedition is quite flexible so that you can participate according to the weather conditions, your skills and general fitness and how you feel on the day. In the morning the expedition team will divide into sub-teams of two or more people, who will be assigned a section of the mountains to work in during the day. You will then walk or drive to your research area and cover it through a combination of walks and observation stops, recording the presence of study species, either by direct observation or by radio tracking them.
You will be using binoculars, spotting scopes, radio tracking equipment, GPS, cameras and notebooks to record your findings. You will return to base in the evening to log our results and discuss findings. Those who would like to can also venture out to advanced research camps, spending the night in a high mountain shelter.
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
Award winnerThis tourism business won an Award in our 2006 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society
how this holiday makes a difference
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Although these days the term 'expeditions' is much used and abused this operator is committed to running real wildlife conservation research expeditions to all corners of the Earth. Our projects are not tours, photographic safaris or excursions but genuine research expeditions, promoting sustainable conservation and preservation of the planet's wildlife by forging alliances between scientists and the public. Our goal is to make, through our expedition work, an active contribution towards a sustainable biosphere. We believe in empowering ordinary people by placing them at the centre of scientific study and by actively involving them out in the field, where there is conservation work to be done.
 We always work in close conjunction with local people and scientists and try our best to ensure that the fruits of our expedition work benefit our local helpers, their society and the environment they live in. Adventure, remote locations, different cultures and people are part and parcel of our expeditions, but also the knowledge that you will have played an active role in conserving part of our planet's biosphere. We exist for those who, through their hands-on work, want to make a difference to the survival of the particular species or habitat under investigation, and to the world at large. We invite everyone to come and join us out in the field, at the forefront of conservation, to work, learn, experience and take responsible guardianship of our biosphere. To achieve this we will wherever possible, collaborate with reputable scientists, research institutions and educational establishments (wherever possible from the host nation) who are experts in their field, collaborate with organisations and businesses which operate in an ethical and/or sustainable way, operate in an ethical and sustainable way, minimising negative impacts on local cultures, environments and economies and publish results and recommendations based on collaborative work together with those who helped gather data and draw conclusions. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |