Flamingos at Fuente de Piedra

Flamingos at Fuente de Piedra - Located about 1½ hours from Marbella the lakes at Fuente de Piedra are well worth a visit. You will need a car to get here as there is no direct public transport.

To get there, take the coastal road N-340/A-7 to Malaga and keep on the ring road that skirts around the city centre. Take the junction signposted Antequera, Granada and Seville (A-45/N-331) and keep on this road for maybe 50km. You will get to a point where you can either go right to Granada or left to Seville on the A-92. You need to take the road sign posted Seville. About 20km along you will see signs directing you to Fuente de Piedra. Pass through the village and you will come to the lagoon with the information centre alongside.

The information centre is quite basic, but has information panels and maps to show you what kind of wildlife may be seen in and around the lagoon. Because the lagoon is situated in what is called a ‘humid zone’ it can be staggeringly hot in the summer months with very little shade so trips slightly out of high summer are more advisable. It is also worthwhile taking binoculars or telephoto lenses with you to make the most of any wildlife you may see.

The whole area around here is in the Antequera Plain and therefore very flat, although the hills of the surrounding Sierras de Molina mountain range can be seen all around so it is quite a contrast to the mountains you have driven through to get here. The lagoon itself used to be used for salt extraction up until 1951 and history shows that this industry started round about roman times, with the first documentation of this village in the 3rd Century B.C. Nowadays however olive growing is the main industry in the area.

The lagoon was declared a National Hunting refuge in 1981 and, apart from the Camargue in the south of France, is only the second location in Europe where flamingo’s breed. Whilst not being able to get onto the lake itself, it is vast, being 2 ½ km wide and 6 ½ km long. Because this salt lake is such an anomaly, many plant species have had to adapt to survive meaning there are many unique shrubs and plants found in the area.

The breeding season for the flamingos and indeed many other species of bird that inhabit this lagoon runs from March to July. Some years there can be as many as 11,000 mating pairs here which is quite a sight to behold.

As well as the Famingos at Fuente de Piedra, many other species of birds and waterfowl can be found here including bee-eaters, short toed larks, great reed warbler and marsh harriers to name but a few.

Back in the village of Fuente de Piedra there are a few fine bars and restaurants to have lunch and refreshment in, if you wanted to stay, there is a wonderfully restored colonial style palace house which now operates as a 3-star hotel in the centre of town.