Sapal Nature Reserve
After journeying around 850 km from its source in Spain, and just before flowing into the sea in Vila Real de Santo António, the River Guadiana winds its way through the plains, branching out into creeks and canals that flow into lakes, marshland and salt pans, that provide a habitat to a wide variety of species.
This humid zone, known as the Marshland Nature Reserve of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, was the third zone to be declared a Nature Reserve in Portugal and is a privileged site for the reproduction of fishes, crustaceans and shellfish, who find shelter here in order to grow before they venture forth into the sea. It is possible to see birds throughout the year, such as the white stork, flamingo and the black-winged stilt that is the most common species in the zone and was therefore chosen as the symbol of the Nature Reserveve.
It occupies an area of 2.089 acres formed by humid areas; salt works and creeks and rural areas of schist’s, sandstones, sands and grits. This protected area has been created in order to preserve the natural environment due to the enormous biological interest in various aspects like ecology, botany, ornithology and ichthyology.
This area gained its special protected status due to the fact that its ecology was highly representative of a wetland. It is formed by salty marshes with their special brackish waters, salt-pans and creeks. that are home to a diverse range of plants and animals.
Dry areas of schist, red sandstone, stretches of sand and arenaceous rocks, and higher areas leading up to the Algarve’s upper reaches further serve to complete the biodiversity of this area in the eastern region of the Algarve. A natural habitat for a huge number of animal species, the Sapal de Castro Marim reserve is home to thousands of aquatic birds that come in search of its excellent nesting conditions or to use the area as grounds for seeing out the winter. Throughout the entire year, 153 different species, including flamingos, storks, avocets, dunlins, plovers and redshanks seek out this reserve, either as a permanent or seasonal place to stay or merely as somewhere to stop off at on their way to distant lands.
The rich environmental heritage of this area is further heightened by its importance as a breeding ground for numerous aquatic species. And these add up to a grand total of 34 different types of mollusc, ten varieties of fish, thirteen reptiles, eleven amphibious creatures and six kinds of crustaceans, demonstrating how this area effectively serves as a natural fish farm. Meanwhile, the drier and higher surroundings are home to other bird species, including birds of prey.
The great wealth of flora, with as many as 400 different types of plants, turns this site into a veritable botanical paradise. The vegetation typical of a tidal saltmarsh is dominated by halophilic plants, highly resistant to the dryness caused by the excessive saltiness of the soils. These include the morraça, a grassy plant that is able to survive long periods of time submerged under water.
Amongst the great diversity of birds that inhabit the marshlands of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, the black-winged stilt is the most common, which is why it has been chosen as the symbol of the Nature Reserve. The edges of the salt-pans and the banks of the river estuaries are the preferred habitat of these birds, being the places where they can feed themselves most easily by burying their beaks in the mud. The black-winged stilt is easily recognised because of its unusually long legs and its characteristic low-altitude flight, in which it can be clearly spotted because it flies with its legs sticking out behind it.
The elegant silhouette of the flamingos as they run over the water can be spotted amidst the salt-pans and salt marshes that characterize the landscape of the Castro Marim park. This nature reserve has wetland areas that make it possible for the pink flamingo or greater flamingo to feed as it likes, since it is a species that, because of its special diet, seeks out shallow and averagely salty water in which to search for food. It is a protected species that lives together with members of the same species in large flocks. It moves with the other birds as a group, and together they paint the sky with tones of pink when they fly in uncoordinated diagonal rows, particularly in the migratory season.
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