Birds of Prey

Brinzal is an organization focused on the conservation of nocturnal birds of prey, especally species that are indigenous to the Madrid mountain range area. Their Recovery Center is located in the Casa de Campo de Madrid and is the only facility in Spain that is specialized in the conservation of these kinds of birds.

The Parques Reunidos Foundation and Zoo-Aquarium de Madrid collaborate with Brinzal since 2017 providing technical and financial support and lending the Zoo’s facilities when needed. Through this relationship, both entities contribute to achieving Brinzal’s objectives to reintroduce threatened birds of prey.

In 2020 Brinzal managed to reintroduce two chicks of Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) and five chicks of Common barn-owl (Tyto alba) that were born in the Zoo of Madrid’s facilities. The eagle-owl chicks were born from a couple of unrecoverable individuals, and the barn-owl chicks came from the Madrid Autonomous Community’s Animal Recovery Center. After five months of training at the organization’s facilities, Brinzal could reintroduce these birds successfully to their habitat in the Madrid mountain range area.

CONTEXT

In March 2017, the Parques Reunidos Foundaction signed an agreement with Brinzal, an non-profit organization devoted to protecting the environment and studying the conservation and recovery of protected noctural birds of prey.

Brinzal managers a recovery and rehabilitation center for these species located at the Casa de Campo de Madrid. A big portion of their work involves rescueing wounded birds that have fallen from their nests, providing recovery treatment and reintroducing them in their natural habitat.

The Zoo-Aquarium de Madrid collaborates directly with Brinzal to repopulate the Madrid mountain range area of these threatened species. Since 2017, many chicks born in the Madrid Zoo have been transferred to the Brinzal facilities, where they received training to learn how to survive in their natural habitat before being reintroduced.

THREATS

Every year, thousands of birds are found hurt or orphaned because they have fallen from their nest at the chick stage or because they crash into cars in the country while flying.

Other threats faced by these birds are related to human presence in the areas where they live. Environmental thereats like wire fences or unmarked widows, as well as the use of rat poison in agriculture can harm these birds survival in the wild.

OBJECTIVES

The Parques Reunidos Foundation contributes to Brinzal work with a 5.000€ annual donation in 2019. Brinzal invests this donation in its recovery and rehabilitation activities.

Since the beginning of the Foundation’s collaboration with Brinzal, a total of 3,872 birds have been assisted, reaching a 56% successful recovery rate.

As a part of this collaboration, Zoo Aquarium de Madrid took two Eurasian Eagle-owls born at their facilities to the Brinzal center. After successfully releasing one of them into its natural habitat, the remaining owl is in the last stages of recovery before also being released.