Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà

Partial view of the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà

The Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà ('Natural Park of the Marshes of Empordà') is a Spanish natural park located on the Costa Brava in Catalonia .

location

Protected areas of the nature park (model)

The Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà is located in the estuary of the Muga and Fluvià rivers in the Bay of Roses and extends in three main zones to the protected areas of Estanys (extensive fish weirs, cattails and often flooded meadows), Llaunes ( lagoons on the coast, meadows and dune areas flooded by seawater) and the island of Caramany , which is located in the middle of the foot of Fluvià and is home to a large number of nesting birds. The Estanys and Llaunes zones can be visited by the public on specially marked trails. The entire area of the nature park is located within the municipal boundaries of the localities of Pau , Roses , Pedret i Marzà , Peralada , Palau-saverdera , L'Armentera , L'Escala , Sant Pere Pescador and Castelló d'Empúries . The nature reserves cover a total of 4,783.5 hectares (ha), of which 867.5 hectares are fully nature reserves .

history

In 1976 it was planned to build a tourist marina settlement for 60,000 people in the lagoon landscape between the mouths of the Muga and Fluvià rivers. This major construction project would have resulted in extensive drainage of the extensive swamp and brackish water areas. Due to an intensive protection and defense campaign on the part of the municipalities affected by the measure and their citizens, the planned urbanization project could be prevented. The Parliament of Catalonia then unanimously declared the wetlands of the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà a nature reserve by law (21/1983) in 1983.

Flora and fauna

Notice board for the Ramsar Convention

Notice board for Fundació Roger Burlet

The typical plants of the salt, brackish and fresh water zones of the Aiguamolls include in particular the swamp iris , the beach grass in the shores of the Mediterranean and the samphire (Salicornia europaea).

Among the fish species, the three- spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the Spanish parrot (Aphanius iberus) have settled as endemics of the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà.

The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) and the white stork (Ciconia ciconia) , among others, have successfully made permanent homes in the extensive zones of the nature park . For the storks, large nest colonies, consisting of wooden nest frames on stakes, were created on the area, which the birds also prefer to use for nest building. Camargue horses find a natural habitat in the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, as do the bee-eater ( Merops apiaster ) and European roller , for example, which have become very rare in Europe .

On migration periods come Caspian tern , Mornellregenpfeifer and Thunbergschafstelze and beach runners before.

The following other bird species can be found in the Aiguamolls Nature Park:

Bittern , Little Bittern , cattle egret , nankeen night heron , purple heron , serpent eagle , booted eagle , marsh harrier , Montagu's harrier , red-footed falcon , Spotted Crake , stilt , snowy plover , plover , Whiskered Tern , Great Spotted Cuckoo , Red-rumped Swallow , Red-throated Pipit , Cetti's warbler , fan Warbler , Reed Warbler , moustached warbler , Weißbart- warbler , Woodchat , swallows , gulls , shorebirds , loons , ducks , swamphen , stone curlews .

This ornithological diversity of species is particularly evident in the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà because numerous migratory birds prefer to fly to the nutrient-rich and protected wetland between the two estuaries as a resting area.

Todays situation

Habitat model in El Cortalet

The Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà is the second largest wetland in Catalonia and is one of the most important nature reserves in the Mediterranean thanks to its diverse flora and fauna. With the El Cortalet visitor and information center, the nature park has a central contact point; Here, among other things, models of the protection zones and photos are exhibited. The CARFA ( Centro de Atención y Reproducción de Fauna Autóctona ; translated: reception and reproduction center for native animals) and fifteen observation points are also open to visitors . An observation tower ( Observatori Senillosa ) was set up in a former rice silo and offers a wide view of the entire region and the Bay of Roses. Numerous well-developed hiking and cycling trails, which start at the information center "El Cortalet" and in the district of Villaüt (Pedret i Marzà), are available to visitors to the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà nature reserve.