The whole Donaña area is well-suited to outdoor pursuits, with campgrounds and hiking trails especially along the coast. Birdwatching sites are dotted around in many locations, as are museums and picnic areas. Our next port of call was the Marismas del Odiel, (Marshes of Odiel) near Huelva. We began at the visitor centre, then boarded our coaches with a local guide for an excursion into the salinas area. Spain produces large quantities of salt by solar evaporation of sea water. The sea water passes through a series of huge shallow lagoons (salinas) where the heat of the sun and the sea breezes quickly evaporate the water. As the concentration of salt rises salt crystals form. Mountains of white salt can be seen in many coastal locations all over Spain. Model ships and other artifacts are suspended in the water where salt crystals form on them, later being sold to tourists. These lagoons are a haven for water birds. As the tide ebbs and flows the birds are displaced from the coastal and estuarine areas and make their way to the lagoons where they can continue to feed. Our visit concluded with a visit to the spectacular spit of land that has formed at the Rio Tinto estuary, several kilometers long, with a road running its whole length.

 

 

as the summer weather dries up the water. Some patches of water remain all the year round and at times these are simply teeming with birds. At one time the whole Donaña area was a vast delta of the Guadalquivir river, but over time this gradually filled with sediments and formed first a shallow lagoon and now marshes. The whole area is therefore very flat. Donaña national park is home to the Iberian Lynx, a shy predator that we hoped to see. Unfortunately this was not to be, but our guides reported that it had been seen on numerous occasions. We did find wild boars. Here, in the Donaña national park we observed the Spanish Imperial Eagle to the obvious delight of the whole party. After an open air lunch served close to a former royal palace and hunting lodge we moved to one of the remaining wetland areas close to the Donaña visitor centre. The centre itself is named after Antonio Valverde whose vision and foresight ensured that the area was not drained for agricultural use. En route we passed carrion that was attracting a large number of large bird species including Griffon Vultures that circled overhead on the thermals. As the season was well advanced there were not many wet areas. This meant that on the remaining water there were large numbers of different bird species, together with dragonflies and wild plants.

 

 

Feathered World - Supplement November 2008 - Tarifa Bird Fair 2008 and Birdwatching in Andalucía :-: Page 6 of 8