Press Release (translated by Google)

The site, located in Jerez de la Frontera, will have a new environmental restoration project to boost environmental conditions and conserve the biodiversity of the wetland.

The Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of the Regional Government of Andalusia has formalized the inclusion of the wetland area known as Haza de la Torre in the Inventory of Wetlands of Andalusia (IAH), by resolution of the General Directorate of Protected Natural Areas published in the Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia (BOJA) on May 7, 2025, which can be consulted here. With this incorporation, Jerez de la Frontera now has six wetlands registered in this environmental catalogue, which currently includes 229 enclaves with relevant natural values spread throughout the Andalusian territory.

"The inclusion of Haza de la Torre in the Inventory of Wetlands of Andalusia represents a recognition of its current ecological value and a commitment to the future to guarantee its conservation, value its environmental functions and facilitate the harmonious coexistence between natural processes and the rural environment that surrounds it. With this step, the Regional Government of Andalusia reinforces its commitment to a more resilient, functional and connected network of natural spaces," said the general director of Protected Natural Spaces, José Enrique Borrallo.
The recognition of Haza de la Torre was approved at the last session of the Andalusian Wetlands Committee held in November 2024, and since then the necessary procedures have been initiated for its officialization as a unique space due to its ecological value. The wetland is located in the municipality of Jerez, in the vicinity of the rural neighbourhood of Mesas de Asta, on land that in the past housed ponds used by the sugar industry for the management of its waste. Since its abandonment, and thanks to its location and characteristics, the site began a process of natural recovery that has transformed these old artificial lagoons into an ecosystem with an outstanding wealth of fauna.

The renaturation process began in 2009, with the execution of various projects that improved the ecological conditions of the place. Part of the sediments accumulated over decades were removed and the interior walls that divided the ponds were removed, respecting the perimeter wall that currently contains the body of water. In addition, interior islands and hydraulic gates were created that allow a controlled connection with the Tabajete and Obispo pipes. Today, the water that feeds the wetland comes exclusively from rainfall, although there is the possibility of enabling additional contributions from these pipes if necessary.

Historically, this place was part of the old estuary of the Guadalquivir River, and the oldest maps identify it with names such as Laguna Grande, Laguna del Mortero or Laguna de Mesas de Asta. More than a decade after the agreements signed between the Junta de Andalucía and the company that owns the land for its restoration, Haza de la Torre has established itself as a first-rate refuge for the birdlife of southwestern Andalusia.

During the wintering seasons, more than 5,000 birds of about thirty different species have been counted. Among them, there are emblematic species such as the marbled teal, the osprey or the common crane. But what really distinguishes this enclave is its key role in the conservation of the black-billed tern, an endangered species for which Haza de la Torre has become one of the most important spaces in the entire Mediterranean basin. Notable populations of avocets and slender-billed gulls have also been detected in the wetland.

Currently, the enclave is home to the largest bird breeding community in the province of Cádiz, only behind the Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park. The uniqueness of this fact lies in the small size of the wetland, of just 39.4 hectares, compared to the more than 10,000 that the natural space of the Bay occupies. This data shows the exceptional value of the wetland and the success of the environmental recovery efforts carried out in recent years.

With the aim of continuing to make progress in the ecological improvement of the wetland, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment has planned a new restoration project financed with European funds from the Next Generation EU programme, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. This initiative will be developed in collaboration with the private property of the land, through a specific agreement.

Among the planned actions, the improvement of the water storage capacity of the wetland basin by removing new sediments, the creation of a perimeter rein to facilitate water retention and prevent the entry of predators, and the adaptation of the existing islands to favor the nesting of waterfowl are contemplated. Likewise, access to the site will be improved by adapting the path and installing a wooden pergola that will allow discreet observation of the lagoon without interfering with the ecosystem. Finally, vegetation will be planted in the immediate surroundings in order to stabilise the soil, stop erosion and prevent the arrival of sedimentary dragging into the interior of the wetland.

Laguna de los Tercios
Although only a short distance from Laguna Chica, Laguna de los Tercios (aka Las Marismas de Pozo or Laguna del Hato Carne) does not seem to be part of the Lagunas del Puerto de Santa Maria complex (Complejo Endorreico del Puerto de Santa María).  Perhaps as a result it's far less well-known (E-bird lists only 18 checklists for this site vs well over 200 for the Puerto de Santa María lagunas).  The great advantage of this site is that the views across the laguna are not obscured by tamarisks and other scrub.  I briefly visited the place in April and had more birds than my subsequent visit to  Lagunas del Puerto de Santa Maria. I had 8 Whiskered Terns (the only one of my trip to Spain this spring),5 Red-crested Pochards, 5 Shelducks, 45+ Collared Pratincoles, 12 Black-winged Stilts, 9 Avocets and 15 Yellow Wagtails

I omitted to take any photos at this site but it again came up trumps for Red-knobbed Coot - a lonely single bird.  Black-headed Weavers showed well too and I kept up my good 'hit rate' here for Little Bittern. Sadly, the heron/egret colony here is now deserted. 

Embalse de Barbate
This is a distant view of the Embalse de Barbate from Alcala de los Gazules.  Last autumn you could barely see any water in the reservoir at all but despite this a couple of pairs of Osprey still breed here.  

I made a quick stop here en route to Carmona to look for Laughing Dove which happily obliged within a few minutes.  Like other wetlands it was satisfyingly wet but it was a disappointment that the egret colony is no longer active.  I also missed Little Bittern (usually obliging here) but had plenty of sightings of Purple Herons which nest in the reeds.

When I first visited Laguna de los Tollos in 2011 my expectations were low as I'd read that the claypits here had wrecked the local hydrology and ruined what had once been a premier site in Andalucia. However, I was very pleasantly surprised to find a large if shallow lake with Flamingos, Red-crested Pochards, Purple Swamphens and migrant waders.  Admittedly, the views were distant and, without a 'scope, it wasn't easy to check the birdlife but I was delighted to find the laguna still existed and that local people were fighting to repair the damage wrought by the extraction of clay.  

It was only after several subsequent visits that I fully appreciated just how lucky I'd been in 2011.  By then there was a designated mirador over the 'laguna' (Mirador La Mina), a hide with a board walk on the southern perimeter and several noticeboards. However, no sooner had this welcome infrastructure been constructed than a long drought set in.  Photos online show it was still occasionally wet (spring 2016 & 2018) but never as full as it was when I first saw it.  The photos below, taken in spring 2024, shows just how dry the 'laguna' had become.  By then, the signage had become cracked and bleached by the sun, and what remained of the 'laguna' had become the haunt of dog walkers and, to judge from tyre tracks, off-road bikers.  Stone-curlews were still present and Collared Pratincoles hawked over what few wet areas remained but it was a sorry sight and a poor reward for those locals who had fought to preserve the laguna.  

Arriving back in the area in March 2025 and fully aware of the deluge of rain that had beset Andalucia through the autumn of 2024 and well into 2025, visiting this laguna was a high priority. I wasn't disappointed! 

The view from the roundabout at the edge of El Cuervo instantly confirmed that the laguna had reasserted itself.  Better still it looked even fuller than it had in 2011.  The necklace of tamarisk that surrounded the lake now looked more like a crown.  ​

I visited the site twice during my stay (on 20/04 see here  & on 29/04 with Nick Brown - see here) and each time was a delight even though I missed the pair of Red-knobbed Coots reported earlier this spring. The star bird was undoubtedly Ferruginous Duck which I located from the hide amongst the many Red-crested Pochard (18) and Pochard (2).  On my second visit I was pleased to relocate the Ferruginous Duck in the same area but was still more pleased to see a second more distant bird. Also bobbing about on (and under) the water were Great-crested, Little and Black-necked Grebes (6+). Gull-billed Tern, Collared Pratincole and hoards of hirundines hawked above the laguna whilst the muddy margins held 9+ Little Ringed Plover, a few Black-winged Stilts, fewer Avocets and a handful of Common Sandpipers. Fewer than a dozen Flamingos stalked though water between the drowning tamarisks reminding me how shallow this superficially extensive laguna actually was.    The scrubby margins of the laguna had Sardinian, Melodious and Reed Warblers plus half-a-dozen Bee-eaters burbling away in the sky above them.  I was pleased to later discover that the nearby clay pits hosted a small colony of this gorgeous species. 

,Although it was wonderful to see Ferruginous Duck (a scarce and endangered species in Spain), the real star of my visits was the laguna itself.  The water was so high that a section of the (new?) boardwalk just below the Mirador la Mina as flooded and impassable.  The from the mirador itself had been transformed from somewhat dull one commanding a view over a pasture dotted with puddles of differing sizes, to one showcasing a vista across a laguna roughly a kilometre in diameter. Gratifyingly, the tired noticeboards have been replaced by smart new ones.  The hide was now at the end of a pier rather than a causeway over dry land and offered a stupendous view across the water.  On the far side of the lake there was a spruce new boardwalk which permitted a better view of the northern shoreline.  A section of flooded boardwalk stymied my plans to walk around the whole lake (c6km) so that will have to wait for a future visit.  The only cloud hanging over this wonderful experience was how long I may have to wait to see it repeated. the recent drought lasted for four years and even before then the laguna never seems to have regained its full size.  This, I'm told, has been compounded  by a local landowner who has dammed a small but vital feeder create a small agricultural reservoir.  Only time will tell, but if you're visiting this area and other lagunas seem to have a lot of water, I recommend you come here and see for yourself. Like me you might be pleasantly surprised.