i - Lagunas de Lantajuela
Laguna de Gobierno - As usual Laguna de Gobierno had plenty of birds - Flamingos, Black-necked Grebe, a good variety of ducks (inc. White-headed). Also as usual there was no access to the walkways and hides within the reserve nor even the "public" hide and viewpoint on the flat roof building nearby. Hence, visitors are obliged to peer over the wall on either side of the Observatorio Orntologico to see the birds. If there's a way to gain access then the authorities don't seem keen to share it!
Hoya de la Verde Sal - In the context of this complex a hoya is, as I understand it, a shallow depression prone to flooding but drainage (or the lowering of the water table) seems to have reduced the Hoya de la Verde Sal to just another arable field. Nothing remains of the poor tussocky vegetation that marked it out a decade or so ago and the only reminder of its former status is a muddy smudge in its centre.
Laguna de Ballestera - Happily this laguna was much as I remember it and was teaming with ducks (mainly Shoveler), a few Flamingo and a couple of Cranes. However, the perimeter of what looks like builders' rubble shows how close it too came to extinction as a wetland.
Laguna Consuegra - My recollection may be at fault but in the past I'm sure that Laguna Consuegra was plainly visible from the SE 705. However, on my recent visit all I could see were some distant willow scrub suggesting that it too was dry (or at best slightly damp) although I admit I didn't look too hard or venture along the tracks heading that way. A bonus here, though, was a small flock of Cranes.
Laguna de la Turquillas - as this site is sometimes referred to as a hoya rather than a laguna it is not, perhaps, surprising that it's often dry but I had hoped to see some water here in midwinter. When wet this can be a great place for Collared Pratincole, marsh terns, ducks, etc. but, frustratingly, there's nowhere you can legally park to view the laguna. That's not quite true as there is a car park off the A351 from which you can walk (c700m) along a sendero to a viewpoint overlooking this laguna but the track is invariably gated and invariably locked.
Lagunas de Calderon - Chica & Grande - These lagunas are off the A351 immediately south of Laguna de la Turquillas. The larger, but shallower, Grande was dry but the smaller laguna, Chica, looked full and inhabited by birds. Exactly how many birds and of which species is less easy to ascertain as these lagunas too are invariably locked away behind the gate and there's nowhere to safely or legitimately to park. Even if - mirabile dictu - the gate's open, the car park is useless as there's no indication of opening times (if there are any). Hence the substantial sums of EU money spent on conserving the lagunas and developing 'ornithological tourism' here appear to be wasted (when I asked at the Osuna Tourism Office some years ago they knew nothing about access).
Laguna Ruiz Sanchez - I only briefly tried to see what the situation was regarding this laguna and then only from the main road as the track I've used previously was in poor shape. I was not surprised that it was easier to find evidence of potentially damaging agricultural activity (laying drainage pipes) than the laguna itself. Concrete blocks with manhole covers have sprouted in fields all along this section of the A351 which may explain the absence of flooded fields I've seen here in previous winters. Clearly, far more money has been spent on improving farming than preserving wetlands here ...
Hoya de la Verde Sal - In the context of this complex a hoya is, as I understand it, a shallow depression prone to flooding but drainage (or the lowering of the water table) seems to have reduced the Hoya de la Verde Sal to just another arable field. Nothing remains of the poor tussocky vegetation that marked it out a decade or so ago and the only reminder of its former status is a muddy smudge in its centre.
Laguna de Ballestera - Happily this laguna was much as I remember it and was teaming with ducks (mainly Shoveler), a few Flamingo and a couple of Cranes. However, the perimeter of what looks like builders' rubble shows how close it too came to extinction as a wetland.
Laguna Consuegra - My recollection may be at fault but in the past I'm sure that Laguna Consuegra was plainly visible from the SE 705. However, on my recent visit all I could see were some distant willow scrub suggesting that it too was dry (or at best slightly damp) although I admit I didn't look too hard or venture along the tracks heading that way. A bonus here, though, was a small flock of Cranes.
Laguna de la Turquillas - as this site is sometimes referred to as a hoya rather than a laguna it is not, perhaps, surprising that it's often dry but I had hoped to see some water here in midwinter. When wet this can be a great place for Collared Pratincole, marsh terns, ducks, etc. but, frustratingly, there's nowhere you can legally park to view the laguna. That's not quite true as there is a car park off the A351 from which you can walk (c700m) along a sendero to a viewpoint overlooking this laguna but the track is invariably gated and invariably locked.
Lagunas de Calderon - Chica & Grande - These lagunas are off the A351 immediately south of Laguna de la Turquillas. The larger, but shallower, Grande was dry but the smaller laguna, Chica, looked full and inhabited by birds. Exactly how many birds and of which species is less easy to ascertain as these lagunas too are invariably locked away behind the gate and there's nowhere to safely or legitimately to park. Even if - mirabile dictu - the gate's open, the car park is useless as there's no indication of opening times (if there are any). Hence the substantial sums of EU money spent on conserving the lagunas and developing 'ornithological tourism' here appear to be wasted (when I asked at the Osuna Tourism Office some years ago they knew nothing about access).
Laguna Ruiz Sanchez - I only briefly tried to see what the situation was regarding this laguna and then only from the main road as the track I've used previously was in poor shape. I was not surprised that it was easier to find evidence of potentially damaging agricultural activity (laying drainage pipes) than the laguna itself. Concrete blocks with manhole covers have sprouted in fields all along this section of the A351 which may explain the absence of flooded fields I've seen here in previous winters. Clearly, far more money has been spent on improving farming than preserving wetlands here ...
ii - Lagunas de Puerto Santa Maria
Before I left for Spain this February, I was intrigued by a FB post that showed that a new 'viewpoint' plus various noticeboards had appeared at Lagunas de Puerto Santa Maria. (more specifically at Laguna Juncosa) I had hoped that this development might mean that the authorities had at last optimised the potential of this site for ornithological tourism by providing facilities to encourage and help visiting birders. Disappointingly, my hope that a screen or hide might be constructed to give better views of Laguna Salada proved to be without foundation. However, it was good to see that both the Laguna Juncosa and the Laguna Salada were not as dry as I'd feared following my earlier visit to Lantejuela. Although I did not manage to visit the site, I was similarly pleased to see that Laguna de los Tercios was well flooded and looked good for the spring.
iii - Lagunas de Espera
The headline news regarding the Lagunas de Espera is that the track from the Castillo de Fatetar above the town to the lagunas has been resurfaced and what was a rather treacherous route is now an excellent, if narrow, road. Admittedly, the route to the castillo through Espera isn't well signposted and the more obvious route via the SE 5207 still requires you to negotiate a rather rough 1 km track. That said, it's worth driving up to the castillo for the impressive view across the campo.
As far as the lagunas are concerned, little has changed. Laguna Hondilla remains choked with vegetation, the view from the "hide" overlooking Laguna Salida de la Zorilla is still largely obscured (although the laguna is reasonably wet). In contrast, Laguna Dulce de la Zorilla remains bone dry.
iv - Lagunas de Lebrija
I made a quick stop here after visiting Lagunas de Espera to check the state of Laguna de la Galiana and Laguna Cigarrera. These lagunas have been declining for some time and what I saw gave no cause for optimism. Laguna de la Galiana is currently a damp hollow choked with vegetation without any sign to standing water (although I was pleased to see a Black-winged Kite here). Laguna de la Cigarrera was in an even sorrier state. I found a dense 40+m deep 'necklace' of tamarisk surrounding a dry weedy centre without a hint of moisture let alone standing water (see photo). Even if there's an exceptionally wet winter and it refills to former levels seeing waterbirds from the track will still be virtually impossible. Given the state of these two "lagunas" I didn't check Laguna de Pilon as it's usually the first to dry out whilst, being on private land, neither Laguna de Taraje nor Laguna de Pena are accessible. It seems depressingly likely that these lagunas, like several others, will soon be little more than a memory.
v - Laguna de los Tollos
I've told the sad story of Laguna de los Tollos and the efforts to restore it elsewhere on this blog. Sadly, the laguna remains no more than a dry basin with, on my recent visit, a few small rainwater "flashes" along the northern rim and a couple of deeper pools. The 'laguna' is surrounded by a protective wire fence but with several breaches around the circuit it now seems a popular place to exercise dogs. An well worn but entirely unofficial path now links the hide (a) with Mirador la Mina (d) via two such holes on the fence. There were a few Shovelers and Flamingos here but the best birds were a flock of c70 Stone-curlews resting on the dry bed of the laguna.
vi - Laguna de Medina
Happily water levels at this laguna were good this February when I visited the site with plenty of wildfowl (c400 Shoveler, c200 Red-crested Pochard, c130 Mallard, c30 Teal, c25 Gadwall and a similar number of Pochard but only 2 White-headed Ducks) and c250 Flamingo).
Happily water levels at this laguna were good this February when I visited the site with plenty of wildfowl (c400 Shoveler, c200 Red-crested Pochard, c130 Mallard, c30 Teal, c25 Gadwall and a similar number of Pochard but only 2 White-headed Ducks) and c250 Flamingo).
vii - Lagunas de Camino Colorado
Superficially, the Lagunas de Camino Colorado looked to be in good shape when I visited the site in February with the usual White-headed Ducks, Purple Gallinules, etc. However, not all is well here with the pools still being impinged upon and polluted by agriculture despite recently being legally protected. Not long after I visited this site the Ecologistas en Acción (see www.ecologistasenaccion.org/284556/celebran-haber-conseguido-que-las-lagunas-de-bonanza-esten-protegidas/).
... but all is not what it seems. Click here to edit.
Overview
Despite the good work of Ecologistas en Acción and others, my tour of lagunas (real and virtual) has left me deeply concerned about their future or, indeed, whether they have a future at all. Whilst the cycle of dry and wet years are part of the essential ecology of these lagunas, a combination of increasingly dry winters and more intensive agriculture seems to have resulted in a lowering of the water-table making many former lagunas no more than, at best, damp hollows. Despite the heroic efforts to restore lagunas like Tollos, Ruiz Sanchez, Calderon, etc conservationists will never have the resources (financial and political) enjoyed by large land-owners and agriculture. In Spain, just as elsewhere, it seems that the lefthand doesn't know what the right hand is doing with lofty conservation projects being undermined by grants/subsidies to intensify agriculture. The lack of practical management evident at several sites and the half-cocked attempts to encourage "ornithological tourism" in Andalucia don't help; it can and is being done in other regions in Spain.
Despite the good work of Ecologistas en Acción and others, my tour of lagunas (real and virtual) has left me deeply concerned about their future or, indeed, whether they have a future at all. Whilst the cycle of dry and wet years are part of the essential ecology of these lagunas, a combination of increasingly dry winters and more intensive agriculture seems to have resulted in a lowering of the water-table making many former lagunas no more than, at best, damp hollows. Despite the heroic efforts to restore lagunas like Tollos, Ruiz Sanchez, Calderon, etc conservationists will never have the resources (financial and political) enjoyed by large land-owners and agriculture. In Spain, just as elsewhere, it seems that the lefthand doesn't know what the right hand is doing with lofty conservation projects being undermined by grants/subsidies to intensify agriculture. The lack of practical management evident at several sites and the half-cocked attempts to encourage "ornithological tourism" in Andalucia don't help; it can and is being done in other regions in Spain.
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