From 29th of January to 1st of February in the city of Binaced, Spain, the next, 4th international symposium on research and conservation of the Red Kite Milvus milvus took place. The attendees were specialists specialising in the species and conducting various conservation programs in their regions. The conference venue was not accidental, as the region is famous for hosting thousands of these beautiful birds during winter. The area is subject to active protection, the main goal of which is to provide the birds with peace and an adequate food base, which is to guarantee the best possible wintering conditions.
It has been ten years since the previous symposium was held also here and the experiences gathered during that period on life and threats of the species have grown considerably. The advantage for the conservation efforts seems to be the fact, that main of the species' distribution territories are located within the EU, which makes the cooperation on international level easier. The species' monitoring enables rather adequate population trends and effectively document illegal activities of human persecution, including poisoning or shooting. Unfortunately questionable handling of such cases by justice courts, treating this type of crime with extremely leniency, leave much ground for improvement.
Aquila company was honored to support the organization of the symposium.