Freira’s Pterodroma madeira op het randje van de afgrond?

On 13 August 2010 a forest fire destroyed world's single breeding colony of Zino's Petrels in Central-Madeira. Wardens found 25 large chicks and three adults, all dead in the burrows, a severe blow to the tiny world population of a mere 60-80 breeding pairs. Restoration work after the fire had ceased involved placing blankets of coconut fibre on the steep cliffs, to retain the soil from being washed away by the winter rains, and placing artificial burrows from metal and earthenware dishes. Seeds of local plants have been sown in December 2010, to speed up the vegetation's regeneration. Zino's petrels are not only threatened directly by predating cats and rats, but also indirectly by the grazing of goats and sheep, which destroy the natural vegetation on potentially new breeding locations. A new threat has come from a NATO-radar, which has recently been erected exactly on top of the very mountain where the single colony resides. Money was raised by BirdLife and local authorities, but donations will probably still be welcome (see www.justgiving.com/zinos-petreldisaster). Returning adults in spring 2011 shows that the species is not yet exterminated.