- Fundación Cepsa and Ornitour highlight the recovery of habitats such as wetlands, wild olive groves, and grasslands at the Madrevieja Environmental Station.
- The banding program identifies Madrevieja birds in countries such as the United Kingdom and Finland.
The bird banding and sighting program carried out by Ornitour at the Madrevieja Environmental Station, owned by Fundación Cepsa, shows that a total of 148 different species have been sighted in this environmental area since its creation in 2009.
The presence of birds in this area is possible thanks to the recovery of the natural space where the old Madrevieja stream used to run and the creation of the Madrevieja Environmental Station by Ornitour, initially with Cepsa and then with its Foundation. To this end, several natural habitats were recovered in the area, such as freshwater wetlands, wild olive groves, and grasslands, and a scientific banding program was started. This has also allowed banded specimens to be monitored, and the presence of France, the United Kingdom and Finland birds has been determined in Madrevieja.
Ornitour notes that the most common species to see at the Madrevieja Environmental Station are those that spend the winter in the area and feed on fruit, such as the blackcap, robin, and thrush. In addition, more elusive species that live in wetlands with dense vegetation and scrubland, such as woodcocks and other species of warblers, have also been seen. The Madrevieja Environmental Station is also a resting place for migratory birds.
The head of Fundación Cepsa in the Campo de Gibraltar, Estrella Blanco, emphasized that "thanks to the banding and bird watching program, we have data that support the importance of the recovery of natural areas for biodiversity and the important turning point that the recovery of the Madrevieja Environmental Station represents for bird migration in the area."
The Madrevieja Environmental Station is a research center and nature reserve owned by Fundación Cepsa, which has worked to restore the wetland since 2009. Since its inauguration in 2014, Ornitour has been working not only to conserve the area, but also to recover species and the passage of birds in this corner of Campo de Gibraltar, which is open to the public to enjoy and learn from.