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Laguna de Gallocanta

Aragón  >  Spain

The largest lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula and the largest saline water lagoon in Western Europe. More than 260 bird species have been recorded here.

Added* by poulos
Most recent update 24 oktobar 2020

Description

The Laguna de Gallocanta is one of the most important stopover sites for migrating Ždral in Spain, being able to give shelter to an average population of 20,000 birds at one time. The Ždral start to arrive in mid-October and fly off back to their Scandinavian breeding grounds in late February or March. The lake of Gallocanta is situated on a high continental plain at an altitude of just over 1,000m. It is a purely rain-fed lagoon which is largely dependent on autumn and spring rains if it is to maintain much water into the hot summer months. The lake holds a wide array of wetland birds when its water level permits, while its shores are visited by steppeland birds and raptors. Among the birds you can see here are Velika droplja, Mala droplja, Plamenac, Eja močvarica, Poljska eja, Suri orao, Beloglavi sup, Bela lunja, Ritska sova, Ražanj, Kašičar, Vivak, Vlastelica, Šarena utva, Ćurlikovac and Planinski zujavac.

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Espagnol: Gallocanta es la laguna de mayor extensión de la Península Ibérica y la mayor de agua salina de Europa Occidental. Aquí se han registrado más de 260 especies de aves.

Details

Access

There is a visitor center on the edge of Gallocanta village, at the lake's northeast corner. The Circular track that borders the protected area is 32 km long and starts at the visitor center. Due to its 32 kilometers in length, it is designed to go by car or bicycle, although you can travel on foot both complete and some of its sections. Practically the entire route runs along rural roads except a stretch of road of about 5 kilometers between Bello and Tornos. The track (see the map below) passes different bird observatories that exist in the surroundings of the lagoon.

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Espagnol: Sendero circular que bordea la zona protegida. Esta ruta circular comienza y finaliza en el Centro de Interpretación de la Laguna de Gallocanra, que se ubica en la carretera que une las localidades de Tornos y Bello. Nos permite rodear la laguna de Gallocanta a una distancia prudencial, perturbando lo mínimo posible el ecosistema. El acceso es libre respetando siempre la señalización que indica el recorrido. Debido a sus 32 kilómetros de longitud, está pensado para ir en automóvil o en bicicleta, aunque se puede recorrer a pie tanto completo como alguno de sus tramos. Practicamente todo el recorrido discurre por caminos rurales excepto un tramo de carretera de unos 5 kilómetros entre Bello y Tornos. En época de lluvias se deben tomar precauciones ya que algunos tramos de pista pueden estar encharcados.

Terrain and Habitat

Wetland , Plain , Plateau , Steppe , Lake , Reedbeds , City/village , Agriculture , Scattered trees and bushes

Conditions

Flat , Open landscape , Dry , No shadow

Circular trail

Yes

Is a telescope useful?

Yes

Good birding season

All year round

Best time to visit

Winter , Autumn migration

Route

Unpaved road , Wide path

Difficulty walking trail

Easy

Accessible by

Car , Bicycle , Foot

Birdwatching hide / platform

Yes

Links

View other birding spots in the area that are published on Birdingplaces

Map

Top 5 birds

Other birds you can see here

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