LAGUNA DE MEDINA

Description

The Medina Lagoon is Cadiz´ largest lagoon and Andalusia´s second largest, after the Fuente de PiedraLagoon. Located just 10 km from Jerez de la Frontera, the softly rolling, farmed hillsides serve to guide rainfall water towards the lagoon.

The other major source of water comes from the Fuente Bermeja stream. The soil surrounding the lagoon is a combination of chalk, clay and marl, which lends salinity to the water. The lagoon is of a semi-permanent nature, several metres deep in some areas while drying up completely in summer during years of little rainfall.

As you walk along its trails, a belt of vegetation surrounding the lagooon is visible, with reeds, bulrush, tamarisk and nut grass (Cyperus rotundus) all of which provide the ideal habitat for birds in danger of extinction. Such is the case of the white-headed duck and the crested coot, both of which have been internationally designated as protected species. Many other bird species can be observed along the trails at different times of the year, including teals, geese, common pochards, red-crested pochards or even flamingos.

This nature reserve plays a major role as a haven for wintering or reproducing bird species or simply as a stopover to rest for migrating waterfowl. It is also highly important as a refuge for birds that breed in the nearby wetlands of Doñana National Park and Nature Park (Huelva/Sevilla/Cadiz). All of these factors combined make Medina Lagoon the ideal destination for birdwatchers.