João Salvador Falé

Nature is an important part of me. Therefore, since young, I decided to study all its complexity, and so I became an ecologist. Later, I discovered a profound passion for birds of prey, especially for owls.

This passion was developed over six years of rehabilitation of these species. This volunteering started during high school, continued during the Bachelor in Biology from Lisbon University (2017-2020), and finished with the Master in Forest and Nature Conservation from Wageningen University and Research (2020-present).

In the Master, I focused on understanding the niche ecology of wintering Short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) in Portugal. To achieve this, I studied the threats and the diet of this owl and compared it with other sympatric species. On top of that, I was one of the national coordinators of the 1st census of this species, which allowed us to understand their distribution, population size and habitat selection. This knowledge made me a co-coordinator of a region during the 1st census of breeding Barn owls in Portugal. In some of my free time, I am a bird ringer and an environmental educator. 

Now, I am ready to learn and apply my knowledge in the Group BIODESERTS - Biodiversity of Deserts and Arid Regions, to improve our understanding of the ecology of raptors in arid environments.