NATURAL SPACE

The Miño river Estuary is the most significant natural area in A Guarda. The mouth of the river forms a delta and is considered one of the most important wetlands on the Iberian Peninsula, with the confluence of both ecosystems, fluvial and maritime.

The variety and number of birds that choose the estuary for wintering are recognised by biologists and ornithologists experts. It has protection as:

  • Natura 2000 Network.
  • Included since 1965 on the List of International Relevance Wetlands of Europe and North Africa.
  • Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPA).
  • Special Protection of Natural Values (SPNV).

From the Bird Observatories, a path runs the last kilometres of the river mouth. This path has informative panels giving details about the estuary, the wildlife, the vegetation and environmental elements.

ORNITHOLOGICAL TOURISM

Píllaras papudas

The Ornithological Route aims at facilitating bird watching from the two observatories built for this purpose and by panels that identify the most abundant birds. Naturalist Association of Baixo Miño (ANABAM) manages the Ornithological Station and provides instruments (binoculars, notebooks) and essential advice from specialised monitors to groups of visitors.

ROUTE PRG160 MIÑO RIVER MOUTH PATH

Ruta PR-G160

The marked route begins a few meters from the parish church of Salcidos heading towards the Miño river, where are placed bird observatories, and most of the hundred species of birds that live or overwinter in the estuary are concentrated. Runs along the right bank of the river using old paths to its mouth on O Muíño beach, and continues along the Atlantic coastal covering part of the Littoral Pathway. This itinerary has extraordinary natural wealth due to the diversity of flora and fauna, ethnographic elements such as pottery kilns, pesqueiras (fishing weir), salinas (saltern ponds) of the mouth or the windmills on the coastline. Various interpretive panels distributed along the route enable to identify and understand all these values.

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