The Bahia de Cadiz (official website and map) Natural Park is one of the best examples of Atlantic tidal marshes in the Iberian Peninsula. The position of the site between Donana Natural Park and the Gibraltar Straights helps make the bay one of the most important coastal wetlands in southern Europe. Natural habitats include sandy beaches, rocky islets, a river estuary, marshlands, salt pans and dunes. The Bay of Cadiz supports more than 200 species of birds (more than 65,000 individuals in wintertime) and is a crucial stopover for migrating, breeding and wintering waterbirds, hosting more than 1% of 14 different eastern Atlantic populations. The Bay is also crucial for spawning, nursery and feeding for a number of commercially important fish and crustaceans.
Flora
Pine forests once covered a large part of this area which is now made up of plants that have adapted to living in sand with saline atmospheres and tidal flow. A 6 hectare Stone Pine woodland is found at Sancti Petri from which edible pine nuts are collected.
Province: Cadiz
Status: Natural Park – 1989
Size: 10,500 hectares
Fauna
Aquatic birds include Grebes, Cormorants, Gulls and Gannets. White Stork, Herons and Avocets nest here and Flamingo and Osprey can also be observed. Invertebrates such as Shrimps, Crabs, Clams, Cockles are abundant along with more than 60 species of fish including Sole, Sea Bream, Grey Mullet and Sea Bass.
