10 wetlands in Spain to quench your ornithological thirst

If you are thinking about starting bird watching, fortune is on your side: birds are one of the most abundant faunal groups and occupy almost all of the ecosystems in our country, considered by experts to be the best destination in the world. European Union to bird. There are records of more than 450 species of birds, in addition to an exceptionally high number of endemisms and rarities, which can be seen in the wetlands of Spain.

When the summer solstice gives way to the shortening of the days and the drop in temperatures sets the guidelines for wildlife to follow, many birds begin their annual tour in search of quarters where they can spend the fall, winter and the beginning of spring. It is then that many territories of the Peninsula welcome these travelers, turning them into a stopover and inn. wetlands and deltas where they find shelter and rest, food or simply the finishing touch to their pilgrimage.

Pay attention to the ecotourism destinations that we propose to enjoy the unique spectacle that birds offer us.

1) The triumph of the first Spanish environmental activist: the Doñana National Park

From a royal hunting ground for several centuries to the ducal residence of the Pérez de Guzmán family, Doñana had many suitors before being declared a National Park thanks to the illustrious José Antonio Valverde. Today, It is one of the most important wetland reserves in Europe and it is a place of pilgrimage for lovers of birds in Andalusia.

Located between the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Cádiz, the Guadalquivir delta has become a unique mix of ecosystems recognized throughout the world for its great ecological wealth. Especially for the more than 120 species of birds that inhabit it, such as flamingos, different types of geese or one of the largest populations of the Iberian imperial eagle in the world. But also, Doñana is key crossroads for bird migration routes that come from northern Europe in winter.

You have many options to discover all the fauna that hides in these places, since the network of trails that extends through the Park is important. Starting from the Acebuche or the Ice Factory visitor centers, you can take cycling routes through Matalascañas, access riverside forests on the Acebron trail or spot birds from one of the observatories along the La Rocina route. .

Don't miss any of these points, enjoying this for a full day. ornithology activity in Doñana.

2) Ebro Delta, the perfect plain between sea and land

Located in the south of Catalonia, the second most important wetland on the peninsula after Doñana, it is the result of a historical struggle between the river and the sea. Also between nature and man; since much of the landscape is dominated by rice fields, the economic pillar of the region.

But far from detracting from its value, these crops help make this delta one of the wetlands richest in flora and fauna in the Mediterranean. Within the Natural Park you can find different habitats, such as lagoons, dunes, beaches and, of course, the river that transports the sediments that make up the deltaic plain through the riverside forests.

To get to know the different environments, you can take tours on foot or by bicycle that, leaving from Deltebre, cover the main protected areas of the Park. The Garxal, the Goleró, the Gola de Migjorn, the Alfacada and the Encañizada lagoon should appear in your route book. If you visit in autumn you will have the opportunity to see from the viewpoints the thousands of water birds that during their migration colonize the rice fields, already harvested.

You can also take kayak tours that are organized from the Ebro Delta Ornithological Center, located in Casa de Fusta, in the town of Amposta.

3) The continental wetland of The Wet Spot

The paradise of aquatic birds is in Castilla-La Mancha. This Biosphere Reserve includes such significant places as Las Tablas de Daimiel, the Lagunas de Ruidera Natural Park or the lagoon complexes of Alcázar de San Juan, Villafranca de los Caballeros or Pedro Muñoz. In total, 400,000 hectares to quench your ornithological thirst.

Daimiel's Tables

This is located in the province of Ciudad Real. unique wetland in Europe, for being the last known river table ecosystem. It combines the waters from the floods of the Guadiana and Cigüela rivers with the groundwater from nearby aquifers, which has created a very unique habitat in which you can see all types of aquatic fauna. In particular, birds use this area for wintering, molting and nesting.

From the visitor center, which is reached directly from Daimiel, three itineraries start that you can do on foot and that will take you to the different observatories scattered throughout the Park. A fourth itinerary is enabled to be traveled by off-road vehicle. On your way you will be able to observe the red duck, the mallard, the purple heron, the little egret, the crab-eating egret, the great crested grebe or the European pochard, among others.

Join this activity to visit the Tablas de Daimiel in 4×4, passing through the Navaseca lagoon, and you can enjoy all of this.

The Ruidera Lagoons

Straddling the provinces of Ciudad Real and Albacete, the Ruidera Lagoons make up a characteristic landscape of calm waters, flows and waterfalls. Routes depart from the towns of Ruidera and Ossa de Montiel that you can take both on foot and by bicycle to get to know the 15 lagoons that make up this landscape and the different species of aquatic birds that inhabit it, such as ducks, coots, pochards and teals. You will also find some birds of prey, such as the marsh harrier.

If you want to get to know this Natural Park in the most complete way possible, don't miss this activity to visit Ruidera through small hiking routes.

4) Santoña, a marsh at the whim of the tides

The Santoña, Noja, Joyel and Victoria Marshes Natural Park is a spectacle of beauty and is one of the most impressive seascapes on our coasts. The close link between the terrestrial and aquatic environments provides extraordinary biological richness, with more than fifty species and a count of more than 20,000 birds being cited.

Erected as a natural paradise for ornithologists and nature lovers, the Natural Park itself offers you the possibility of taking guided ornithological tours by boat at low tide to observe aquatic birds. Species of diving ducks, seabirds such as razorbills and terns, rails, curlews or spoonbills on their stopover towards the south are observed during the last months of the year.

You also have walking routes to explore such unique landscapes as the Solija or Bengoa marshes, the Boo canal or the Sorbal lagoon, the only freshwater lagoon in the entire wetland complex, and where coots and pochards live.

5) The Albufera of Valencia or the pleasant pond

Named like this by some ancient historians, the Albufera is a extensive wetland located south of Valencia which was originated by the fluvial contributions of the Turia and Xúquer rivers.

It is made up of a large coastal lagoon surrounded by marsh (rice field area) and was declared a Natural Park in 1986 to alleviate the degradation process resulting from human action. In recent years, great efforts have been made for its conservation and, despite the problems that have threatened it since the 1960s, it still preserves many natural values, being an important enclave for many waterfowl populations.

You can take a walking tour from the Racó de l'Olla Visitor Center that will take you to the most important observatories. However, the most popular visit is the Albuferenc ride (typical boat of the area) through the Albufera canals. In the past, they were used to reach the island of El Palmar, inaccessible on foot. Today its use is fully touristic and allows you to enjoy all the charms of this Natural Park.

Among the birds that live there, the red duck, the gray heron, the Moorish coot, the stilt, the grebe and the grebe stand out. How many of them would you be able to observe in this visit to the Albufera Natural Park in Valencia?

6) Gallocanta: cranes and much more

For a Japanese origamist Gallocanta would be a source of inspiration. For you, who are looking to watch real birds, it is a spectacle of nature in which you can enjoy the striking flocks of cranes that stop by these lands every year.

The Gallocanta Lagoon is the largest saline wetland in Spain and one of the best preserved in Europe. Located southwest of Zaragoza, on a plain at 1,000 meters above sea level, its waters are the resting area for thousands of cranes during their migrations, as well as a habitat or passage area for another 200 species of birds.

If you want to go after the queen of the place, you can take a tour from the town of Gallocanta, where some dirt tracks go into the lagoon. At the observatory of the Hermitage of Good Agreement you can observe the arrival of flocks of cranes at dusk during November and December. Then head to Berrueco, because from the Castle viewpoint you will have a complete view of the area, which will make it easier for you to find other birds.

Trails also start from the town of Tornos that will take you to other interesting areas of the lagoon, and on the way to Bello you will find an interpretation center where you can finish with some more practical information about the wetland.

7) An oasis among dovecotes: the Villafáfila Lagoons

In the middle of the Castilian cereal steppe is located this wetland formed mainly by 3 seasonal and shallow lagoons: Laguna Grande, Barillos and Las Salinas.

Between the three, they account for approximately 400 hectares that in winter are home to almost half of the aquatic birds of Castilla y León, such as shelducks, common teals, shovelers and greylag geese, of which up to 20,000 specimens have been sighted, some years. Other species of geese such as the black-faced geese, the short-billed geese and the white-faced goose are more or less common companions in the large flocks of commons.

There is a path of about 15 kilometers to explore on foot that starts from the Casa del Parque, located on the road that goes from Villafáfila to Villalpando. You will be able to border the Laguna Grande and reach some of the most significant viewpoints of the Reserve.

Closely linked to these habitats are populations of bustard, little bustard, ortega, curlew, short-eared owl and owl, the latter taking advantage of the ruins of buildings in towns that are almost abandoned today and the remains of the typical dovecotes of these regions of Zamora built with adobe. If your visit is at the end of the year you will witness the arrival of large flocks of geese and cranes.

If you still don't have much eye for distinguishing the different species, you can first make a initiation activity to ornithology in Ledesma, very close to there.

8) Albufera de Mallorca, the great wetland of the Balearic Islands

Located between the municipalities of Muro and La Pobla and with an area of 1,700 hectares, this ancient lagoon is the most important protected space in the Balearic Islands. Every year, more than 270 species are recorded by the Park staff, making it the place with the most biodiversity of island flora and fauna and housing more than two thirds of the total bird species in the Balearic Islands.

With access completely restricted to motor vehicles and with a limited capacity for daily visits, you must first go to the Rock reception center where free permits for visitors are processed. The entrance to the Park is located behind the English Bridge and from the Can Bateman interpretation center From Muro you can make a circuit with 4 different routes, which you must do on foot or by bicycle, and which will take you through the different environments of the Park. On these routes the most unique enclaves and points of interest are perfectly identified.

Carretona teals, combatants, moritos and spoonbills will delight your binoculars.

9) The domains of flamenco: Laguna Fuente de Piedra

In the province of Malaga, near Antequera, you will find this Natural Reserve whose waters are permanently dyed pink. When you take a second look, you will discover that those spots you see in the distance are, in reality, thousands of flamingos that have made this place their breeding place. If you want to soak up all the life that flows in the wetland you have to participate as a volunteer in the ringing campaigns that take place every year between the months of July and August.

But the Fuente de Piedra Lagoon not only shelters the largest colony of flamingos in Spain. Being the largest wetland in Andalusia, with 1,400 hectares, others 170 species of birds have found their breeding, passage or wintering place in this lagoon. Anatidae such as the wigeon, the shelduck and the shoveler are very abundant. But other less abundant species such as warblers, curlews and even flocks of cranes can be within range of your binoculars.

So that you can observe them, there are two trails that start from the Laguna Interpretation Center, called Laguneto and Albinas, which take you to the Laguneto and Vicaria viewpoint respectively. In addition, you can explore the lagoon by bicycle along the roads that surround it.

Do you like flamingos? You will be able to observe many more if you join this activity to get to know the La Mancha Húmeda Biosphere Reserve.

10) From Gernika to Mundaka: the Urdaibai Estuary

In Mundaka you will not only find surf and waves to the left. Located at the mouth of the Oka River, and framed between Gernika, Cape Machichaco and the Ogoño Rock, the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve is a surprisingly varied and beautiful natural space. Its heart is the Oka River, which transforms into an estuary upon reaching Mundaka, creating spectacular marshes full of life. These present notable differences between low tide and high tide that you should not miss.

From the different viewpoints of the Bird Center, your binoculars will be delighted by the spoonbills coming from the Wadden Sea, the elegant herons, geese and waders arriving from the north and you can even spot the bittern, the wizard of camouflage.

Starting from the San Cristóbal station, a small path that surrounds an area of the marsh will take you to one of the observatory huts from where enjoyment is guaranteed. The Orueta lagoon is another observation point that you should know.

The bird that does not stop in Spain is that it has not yet found its direction. At Nattule we help you find yours. Choose your favorite destination within this ornithological paradise and tell us which species have surrendered to your binoculars.