Herdade do Pinheiro, as a vast natural area composed of maritime mudflats, rice fields, reed beds, micro-cliffs of sand, prairies, ponds and tree plantations, is managed in an exemplary fashion to protect the fragile balance between economic production and biodiversity. An important part of the Herdade do Pinheiro is situated within the perimeters of the Natural Reserve of the Sado Estuary (RNES) where there is a protected area of 700ha as a dormitory for wood pigeons.
Studies carried out over a number of years and seasons have led to determine 161 species of birds of which 90 nest on the Estate including the Bonelli Eagle, the Eagle Owl, White Spatula (spoonbill), Glossy Ibis, the European Bee-eater, White Storks, Purple Gallinules and 44 winter birds of which ducks, shore birds, flamingos, herons and egrets make up the core. Many migrating birds take advantage of the abundance of food and the tranquility of the place to stopover for a few resting days during their long perilous migrations in the Spring and in the Autumn.
