Algerian Radio
The 2026 national census of breeding waterbirds recorded 2,560 individuals belonging to 28 species in the wetlands and water bodies of the Relizane wilaya, the local Forestry Conservation announced.
The head of the flora and fauna protection service at the Forestry Conservation, Yacine Boulenouar, specified to APS that this operation was carried out during the month of June by the commission in charge of monitoring and counting migratory and breeding birds.
The results detail the following distribution: 1,707 birds belonging to 23 species in the Daya Oued Djemaa wetland, 446 birds of 17 species at the Gargar dam, 228 birds of 10 species at the Es Saâda dam, 95 birds of 7 species at the Benziane sebkha, and 84 birds of 5 species in the Merdja Sidi Abed wetland.
The protected species recorded notably include the greater flamingo, the Eurasian spoonbill, the ruddy shelduck, and the ferruginous duck, alongside several other aquatic bird species.
According to the same official, this number is an increase compared to 2025, a year during which 1,472 birds belonging to 31 species were recorded.
The Forestry Conservation services attribute this progression to improved climatic conditions and rising water levels in the dams and water bodies, which favored the settlement and nesting of migratory birds.
These data will help enrich the national wetlands database, monitor the evolution of waterbird populations, and strengthen actions to protect these species and their habitats.
As a reminder, nearly 3,300 migratory birds were recorded last January during the winter inventory in the wetlands of the wilaya, Mr. Boulenouar concluded.
