Back from the brink: new LIFE for Spain’s Marbled ducks

Less than 2 decades ago, the future was looking bleak for the Marbled duck. Once plentiful across the Mediterranean basin, in 2009 the species was down to just 20 breeding pairs in Spain, with extinction being a very real possibility.  

Fast forward to 2025, Europe’s most endangered duck is making a comeback, with 131 breeding pairs recorded last year. The species received a major boost in 2024 when the LIFE project responsible for this remarkable success story — LIFE Cerceta Pardilla — acquired the 90 ha La Raja rural plot located within the Natura 2000 El Hondo Nature Reserve and added it to 2 other plots bought earlier in the project.  

Together, the 3 rural plots include more than 141 ha of wetlands, which are essential breeding grounds for the Marbled duck, as well as for other endangered species, including the White-headed duck, Western swamp hen, Pied avocet, Common tern, Little tern and Black-haired owl. Altogether so far, LIFE Cerceta Pardilla has restored more than 2 300 ha of habitat suitable for the target species, nearly 3 000 captive-bred Marbled ducks have been released into the wild and 13 ‘Land Stewardship agreements have been signed with local land owners. 

‘Land Stewardship agreements have been legally recognised in Spain for almost 20 years as an essential conservation tool,’ explains Ángel Sallent, a biologist with the Association of Naturalists of the Southeast (ANSE), one of the project partners. ‘They allow land owners and users to become involved in the conservation and use of natural, cultural and landscape values and resources. They are based on voluntary agreements and collaboration, providing added value that has proven to be very effective in species and habitat conservation projects.’ 

Last year also saw the project record several significant firsts: the first successful Marble duck reproduction seen in Murcia for 15 years; the first in the “Tancat de la Pipa” bird reserve in Valencia; and the first in Paraje Natural del Río Guadalhorce (Málaga) since 2004, where in 2024 13 pairs where detected. By the time the project closes at the end of 2025, it hopes to  reach at least 125 breeding pairs across Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia regions. 

‘Wetlands are impacted by droughts, pollution, the proliferation of artificial barriers and other threats caused by human activities,’ says the project coordinator Yolanda Cortés of Fundación Biodiversidad. ‘But there is still time to reverse the situation. LIFE Cerceta Pardilla will conserve not only one of the most emblematic ducks in Spain, but also wetlands, which are one of the most important ecosystems in the fight against climate change.’ 

LIFE Cerceta Pardilla contributes to the implementation of the EU Directives on Birds, Water and Habitats, as well as the EU Nature Restoration Law and the European Green Deal.