Ornithologists from across Catalonia gathered in Salou, Tarragona, on 18 and 19 April 2026 for the second general meeting of the Catalonia Marine Bird Monitoring (SAM) programme, observing a diverse range of marine birds, including rare pelagic species, from the Cap de Salou.
The event at Punta del Cavall, described by ornithologist Eugeni Capella as "the best area in the Camp de Tarragona region for seeing marine birds", saw participants identify 179 individual birds from 13 species. Among the notable sightings were two European storm petrels, which are rarely seen from land due to their pelagic nature, spending most of their lives at sea and only coming ashore to lay eggs.
Common sightings included Audouin's and European herring gulls, gannets, and shearwaters. Participants also observed a Eurasian curlew, a species of which one individual consistently overwinters at Cap de Salou, according to Capella. The monitoring efforts also recorded 57 sandwich terns, 21 Balearic shearwaters, 30 European shags, 12 Mediterranean gulls, five Cory's shearwaters, and three parasitic jaegers.
Boosting Marine Bird Conservation
The SAM programme, responsible for organising the gathering, was launched in 2023 by the Catalan Institute of Ornithology (ICO) with support from the Alive Foundation. Its inception followed a European Union finding that there was a scarcity of data on marine birds, explained Eugeni Capella, who was also responsible for the event.
The project's primary objectives include estimating marine bird populations along the Catalan coast, collecting long-term monitoring information, and detecting changes over time. Capella emphasised that "all of this can contribute to the conservation of the different species." These general meetings are held biennially, with the first taking place in Tordera in 2024.
The 2026 event at Punta del Cavall brought together approximately twenty participants from the six Marine Bird Monitoring groups across Catalonia: Cap de Creus, Cap de Begur, Tordera Delta, Llobregat Delta, Garraf, Ebro Delta, and Cap de Salou. The weekend combined scientific dissemination with practical fieldwork.
Combining Science and Fieldwork
Activities commenced at the Atenea training centre in Salou with a presentation on gulls by biologist Albert Cama, which covered key aspects of marine bird identification. Following the talk, participants moved to Punta del Cavall, equipped with telescopes and binoculars, to conduct an extraordinary bird monitoring session.
The knowledge gathered by these observers is uploaded to a dedicated web portal, dades.ornitho.cat, and then converted into statistics accessible via a viewer. This system allows users to ascertain, for example, that Cory's shearwaters are most frequently observed between April and May, while Balearic shearwaters are more common from January to June.
Beyond the biennial meetings, the SAM programme conducts monthly bird censuses from Cap de Salou every second Saturday. Punta del Cavall also offers opportunities to observe other marine wildlife, with ornithologists reporting sightings of dolphins, sunfish, tuna, and swordfish during the event, highlighting the area's rich biodiversity.
