Just off the coast road, 5km south of Puerto de Alcudia, is the Parc Natural de S’Albufera wetlands making a welcome relief from long stretches of crowded beach. Birdwatchers come from all over Europe to see rare migrants like Montagu’s harriers and Eleanora’s falcons; species breeding here include stonechats, moustached warblers and the long-eared owl. Ospreys leave their breeding sites on the cliffs to come here to fish; peregrines and hoopoes live here all year round.
The name derives from the Arabic for “lagoon”, but has taken on many uses since Roman times - starting with the night herons being sent to Rome as a gastronomic delicacy. The wetlands were then drained for agriculture in the 19th century by a British company and then rice was introduced in the early 20th century, paper was manufactured from the reeds and sedge and it is only since 1985 [following fears that tourist development was damaging the area’s fragile ecology, that S’Albufera has been a protected nature reserve.
There are footpaths, cycle trails, bird-watching hides and an audiovisual display room where you can listen to birdsong.
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