This is an easy route with a distance of 4,2 kilometers
MUNTANYETA VERDA
Discover the rich diversity of bird life that the Mediterranean wetland of the Marjal Pego-Oliva contains.
If you would like to know more about the fascinating world of birds, you are in the right place!
By following this route, you will be able to discover birds that visit us in the summer from Africa, as well as birds from central and northern Europe that spend the winter here, giving rise to an immense range of changing species throughout the year.
This route passes through different environments, such as reed beds, the banks of the River Bullent and Salinar and rice fields as well as hills covered in Mediterranean scrub.
At the “Muntanyeta Verde”, a project for the reintroduction of the Osprey to the Valencian Community has been underway since 2019, so in the summer months you can observe these magnificent raptors flying majestically overhead.
Along the route you will find more information about the birds that you can find in this natural space, all of which will surely leave you with a longing to return.
Many of these birds are threatened and appear in the catalogues (national and regional) of protected species.
HUNTING SEASON: Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from October to February.
RICE FIELDS. AREA OF ORNITHOLOGICAL INTEREST
Pego rice fields - a paradise for birds.
This area is an essential enclave for birdlife. The traditional rice cultivation cycle means that water levels in the fields vary throughout the year, during much of which they are flooded. This attracts a huge number of birds, mainly aquatic species.
Many of the birds that inhabit the wetlands and surrounding environments visit the rice fields to feed and to breed in the spring. Birds that are on their migratory passage use this environment as an oasis where they can stop to rest and feed before continuing on their journeys.
PARADA DE SANT PERE
The birds of the common reed grass. Marsh vegetation, a refuge for birds.
In areas where marsh vegetation predominates, a multitude of aquatic birds find refuge in the dense reed beds, where there are also a number of stretches of open water, fed by many of the wetland´s channels and lagoons, locally termed “lluents”.
It´s an inaccessible environment for us, but not, for example, for the spectacular Marsh Harrier. This endangered raptor can fortunately be seen in this wetland, patrolling low over the reeds in search of prey, its wings held in a characteristic shallow “V”.
Furthermore, if you walk quietly along the route, you will be accompanied by a soundtrack of calls of Purple Swamphens, Little Grebes, Water Rails, Moorhens and Warblers which reaches its maximum volume at both dawn and dusk.
So, in this habitat, we urge you to put your senses in motion – you´ll surely be surprised!
4. BLAU DEL CALAPATAR
The River Bullent, a river full of life. The birds of the riverside environment.
The Bullent is a unique river of the Mediterranean coast, with crystal clear waters of extremely high environmental quality. It is the most abundant river in Europe (albeit with the shortest distance) and supplies the northern part of the marsh with pure water.
In the river, there are a number of important bio-indicator species which reflect the environmental quality of the wetland. The river meanders through small hills covered predominantly by typical Mediterranean scrub (maquia) until it reaches the marsh.
In addition to the biodiversity of the birdlife that we can find, there is another animal that is much more difficult to locate - the Samaruc (Valencia hispanica), a tiny fish in danger of extinction.
The destruction of wetlands, pollution caused by the use of chemical products in agriculture, over-extraction of water from the water table, the alteration of riverbanks and river beds, as well as the introduction or arrival of invasive species have resulted in the disappearance of many aquatic flora and fauna.
Please take care of our home! Minimise your impact upon this environment.