Within the scope of the actions C6.1 โ Restoring islet seabirds’ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต; C8.1 โ Control and eradication of IAS plant species in terrestrial restored ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต; and C8.2 โ Control and eradication of IAS animal species in terrestrial restored ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต, the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, visited the Ilhรฉu do Topo (islet). The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) and the Regional Directorate for Maritime Policies (DRPM) also participated in the visit.
SPEA installed an ARU (autonomous recording unit) on this islet on Sรฃo Jorge, which will record the vocalizations of seabirds, thus allowing to determine which species frequent it.
A survey of the flora present on the islet has also been carried out, with only one native species recorded, namely ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด. Otherwise, the vegetation is dominated by pasture species.
With the information gathered during the visit, the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change will now proceed to plan measures to recover this ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต.
With the financial support of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.