Laguna de los Tollos - May 2011
Imagine, if you will, a wetland of national importance populated, in part, by several critically endangered species of bird. Imagine too that it’s the second largest such wetland in its area. Imagine further that all the landslide of bird guides, trip reports and what have you over the past few decades simply ignored the site. Not possible? Think again.
Laguna de los Tollos, near El Cuervo in Cadiz province, is just such a site. In the 1970s up to 50 Marbled Teal were seen whilst White-headed Duck bred and Crested Coot was a regular visitor. Ferruginous Duck were regular and flocks sometimes exceeded 100 birds. Thousands of Flamingos, commuting between the Coto Donana and Fuente de Piedra, regularly used it as a place to rest and feed. Yet it doesn’t get a mention in the compendious “Important Bird areas in Europe” (1989) nor in any of the 4 or 5 site guides on the area in my possession.
Laguna de los Tollos, near El Cuervo in Cadiz province, is just such a site. In the 1970s up to 50 Marbled Teal were seen whilst White-headed Duck bred and Crested Coot was a regular visitor. Ferruginous Duck were regular and flocks sometimes exceeded 100 birds. Thousands of Flamingos, commuting between the Coto Donana and Fuente de Piedra, regularly used it as a place to rest and feed. Yet it doesn’t get a mention in the compendious “Important Bird areas in Europe” (1989) nor in any of the 4 or 5 site guides on the area in my possession.
Laguna de los Tollos (blue) & claypits
So what happened? Well, despite being shown on several road atlases and next to the busy A4 motorway, the laguna is inconveniently placed between two exits and getting there involves a bit of navigation. And of course, birdwatchers will always be attracted to the ‘honeypot sites’ rather than exploring unknown corners. But above all it was our demand for cat litter, that did the damage! Well, actually more our demand for something called ‘attapulgus clay’ which is not only a component for cat litter, but also ‘Fuller’s Earth’ widely used in a number of industrial processes. In 1976 a large claypit mining this mineral was opened next to the laguna and what inevitably followed has been rightly described as an ‘ecological disaster’. Even more improbable than the disappearance of this laguna from the collective ornithological consciousness, is the fact that the mining company continued to work the site until 1998 without actually bothering to obtain a proper legal licence to do so! Despite this, in 1986 it was included in the “Plan Especial de Protección del Medio Físico de la Provincia de Cádiz”and designated Special Area of Conservation.
Naturally, this did not escape the notice of the local ‘Greens’ who organised protest marches to the laguna (e.g. in March 1995). However, the battle was eventually won in the courts and the mining consortium were forced to abandon the site and the area came under the control of the Junta de Andalucia. Unfortunately, they were not forced to restore the habitat as the law, apparently demanded. Fortunately, that much maligned organisation, the EU stumped up over €3 million which was matched by nearly €5 million from the Andalucian government. The project was only started in September 2010 and will run until the end of 2014. To judge from my brief visit in May 2011, this project has got off to a great start. Not quite being sure of what to expect and with time pressing, mine was the briefest of visits, but I quickly picked up good numbers of grebes (Great-crested and Black-necked), duck (Gadwall, Red-crested Pochard and Mallard), Flamingos, waders (Black-winged Stilt and Collared Pratincole) and good numbers of coot. Having done a little research since it’s clear that I didn’t actually find the best viewing point, so I’m optimistic that a more careful exploration will yield even more promising results. Both White-headed Duck and Purple Gallinule are now present and breeding. The site also has apparently well used educational facilities which bodes well for its future, so I left the place with a certain amount of optimism. It is certainly a site that warrants visiting both for the birds and as a way of supporting this project. El Cuervo may be a little out of the way, but it is en route between the famous Guadalquivir marshes near Trebujena and less famous, but brilliant, the Lagunas de Espera. Then again in future you might not bother with Espera as you’ll get all the birds you want here!
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