On 27th of May 2016 the TytoTagus Project team visited the EVOA with the aim of ringing the juvenile barn owls at the nest box located on the roof of the Interpretation Centre. The nest box was installed in 2014 and was first occupied in the same year. In 2016 there were 4 juveniles.
At the time of ringing the owls showed physical strength and flight experience. After the visit, the juveniles dispersed and the parents started a second clutch. During the breeding season, the visitors of EVOA have the opportunity to spot inside the nest box in real time via a video camera. LabOr and EVOA have collaborated on several initiatives, particularly through nocturnal field trips in the scope of the activities of EVOA and also of ICAAM, in particular the action Live Science in Summer “Antennas in the air: how to track the owls”. Integrated in Companhia das Lezírias (CL), the EVOA operates in the area of nature tourism and its main motivation is the conservation of the avifauna of the Tagus Estuary and floodplain of Vila Franca de Xira, framed in natural and agricultural habitats that it depends.
The CL supports the TytoTagus Project since 2007 and has adopted the barn owl as one of its brands. At a time when the species shows a negative trend in Portugal (and also Spain), time series of ecological data are of great importance for conservation.