Bird life in Laguna Cenagosa

As it happens in all wetlands, birds offer the best possibility of observation and therefore, they are the most widely known and studied. In spite of the huge accumulation of water that Lagunas de Ruidera contains when compared to other Manchegan wetlands, its richness is not proportionally more abundant. Although the combination of different ecosystems makes this Nature Reserve into an ideal setting to watch bird life, other species either aquatic, from the forests or from barren plains live together in a relatively small territory.

Some of the aquatic species living in the Reserve are: widgeon grebes, Eurasian coots, royal shovelers, lagoon eaglets. Others, like the purple heron, come to hatch during the autumn. Some others are attracted to our winters like tufted ducks, great cormorants or purple herons.

At a very short distance, in the forests surrounding the lagoons, there live together species which are typical of Mediterranean woods: Bonelli’s eagle, royal owls or red legged partridges.

In the barren plains we may find birds that belong to this ecosystem: wild turkeys, bitterns, godarts or ash coloured eaglets.