The call of the wild
THE CLOT de Galvany municipal nature reserve in Elche reopened to the public on Monday, albeit with a limited capacity for visitors.
The recreational area and the public toilets will remain closed, noted environment councillor Esther Díez.
Access to the bird observatories is limited to three people at a time, and if there is a queue then it is only possible to remain in them for 15 minutes. She asked visitors to behave responsibly by maintaining social distancing and following the recommended hygiene measures to prevent infection.
Scheduled activities will also start again for groups of up to 20 people.
To mark World Environment Day, a talk about how the Clot forms a ‘border between the natural and the artificial’ will be held on Saturday (June 6) from 10.00-12.00.
There will be another talk, about native Mediterranean plants for gardens, from 16.0017.30 on Sunday (June 7).
The councillor pointed out that maintenance work has continued at the reserve while it has been closed for the two months of confinement, during which time 60 marbled teals have been released into the wild there.
This includes 30 last Wednesday, in addition to the 30 that were released there in March.
All of them had been bred in captivity by the regional government to restore the population of this endangered species, explained Sra Díez.
The system for releasing them is the same as that used at El Hondo natural park, which involves setting up a large enclosure where the ducks spend a week adapting to their new surroundings. They are also provided with supplementary food for a while to ensure they can find enough at first.
Sra Díez said some of those released in March can be seen around the area, and some of them are even nesting already.
The council’s environmental technician, Juan Carlos Aranda said there had been a few surprises there this season, ‘probably connected with the tranquillity the animals have felt during the state of emergency’.
For the first time at the reserve, a pair of western marsh harriers have been seen making a platform for a nest, ‘a sure sign that they intend to reproduce’.
Also important is the great crested grebe, ‘a water bird that before was very rarely seen in the reserve, but this year we have spotted a few nests and even the odd chick in the central pond’.
“It is very important that new species come to breed in the reserve,” he added.
To register for any of the activities email mediambient@ elche.es or call 96 665 80 28 or visit the website https:// clotdegalvany.es
awatkins@cbnews.es