Ilheu da Praia

Ilheu da Praia
	View from Graciosa to Ilhéu da Praia
Waters	Atlantic Ocean
Archipelago	Azores
Geographical location	39 ° 3 '25 " N , 27 ° 57' 19" W Coordinates: 39 ° 3 '25 " N , 27 ° 57' 19" W.
length	490 m
width	270 m
surface	9.98 ha
Highest elevation	52 m
Residents	uninhabited
	Ilhéu da Praia as part of the municipality of Praia (São Mateus)

Ilhéu da Praia is an uninhabited island a good kilometer off the northeast coast of the Azores island of Graciosa . It is known for its wealth and diversity of sea birds and is therefore a nature reserve.

geography

The 10 hectare island is a good kilometer from Praia , Graciosa's most important port. Its highest point with 52 m is in the north, where the island drops steeply into the sea. On the other hand, the slope towards the south is slight. The almost 500 m long, basaltic island is of volcanic origin.

flora

The island is partially overgrown with trees and bushes. In addition, it also has sandy and rubble-covered areas. Plants endemic to the Azores or Macaronesia are the Azores bellflower ( Azorina vidalii ), the rock fescue ( Festuca petraea ), the tree heather ( Erica azorica ), the Azores chickweed ( Spergularia azorica ), the Azores bearded pippa ( Tolpis succulenta ) , the Gagelbaum ( Morella faya ) and an Azorean subspecies of the wild carrot ( Daucus carota subsp. azoricus ).

fauna

Ilhéu da Praia is the breeding area of a species-rich community of sea birds and is therefore designated by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area PT060. Here is the largest breeding colony of the Monteiro wave runner ( Oceanodroma monteiroi ) , which only occurs in the Azores . Other birds that can be encountered are the sepia shearwater ( Calonectris diomedea ), the rose tern ( Sterna dougallii ), the common tern ( Sterna hirundo ) and the Barolo shearwater ( Puffinus baroli ).

natural reserve

According to the Birds Directive , the Ilhéu da Praia and 208.63 hectares of its marine environment are under strict nature protection as Special Protection Areas ( SPA) of the Natura 2000 network . Visiting the island is only allowed for 20 people a day and only two days a week from July 1st to November 15th and five days a week between November 16th and April 15th. The duration of the visit must not exceed 1.5 hours and is only allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Visitors must be accompanied by a nature park guide and a nature observer.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Nature Reserve of Ilhéu da Praia on the website of the Government of the Azores, accessed on June 15, 2019 (English)
↑ Data sheet for the Important Bird Area PT060 (PDF; 99 kB), accessed on June 15, 2019 (Portuguese)

Web links

Commons : Ilhéu da Praia - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[Nature_Reserve-1] Nature Reserve of Ilhéu da Praia on the website of the Government of the Azores, accessed on June 15, 2019 (English)

[2] Data sheet for the Important Bird Area PT060 (PDF; 99 kB), accessed on June 15, 2019 (Portuguese)