Some 2,000 years ago, , the shallow bay that is now known as the Doñana region began to become a great delta thanks to marine sand deposits and contributions of river sediments. The great Guadalquivir River was divided into many arms that lined those emerging tidal marshes.
In the past century due to agricultural and commercial interests of the region and the city of Seville, great works of transformation of the Guadalquivir River course took place and resulted in the shortening of the length of the main branch and the gradual loss of functionality of secondary branches.
The so called Brazo del Este (Eastern Branch) is nothing but the bed of the original largest east branch of the main channel, which surrounded the so called Isla Menor (Lesser Island). Today it zigzags among farm fields where rice dominate and is still recognizable by the natural vegetation that grows in it.
This mosaic of agricultural land and natural vegetation at Brazo del Este attracts for most of the year a large variety of waders, raptors and passerines. Rice harvest works in autumn put the number of waterfowl attracted by the easily available food up very quickly.
The main dirt road that cuts the Brazo and the old Carretera del Práctico (Coast Pilot Road), which runs along the Guadalquivir River, are the main access points, but to these must be added an intricate network of secondary roads and channels that make navigation difficult in the area, hence the usefulness of a local guide.
Featured species: Booted eagle as wintering, squacco heron, black stork, glossy ibis, marbled teal, purple swamphen, penduline tit, bluethroat, spanish sparrow.

The great Brazo del Este

Ferry at La Puebla del Río

Thick reed beds

Grup of purple swamphens

The rice fields

Whiskered tern chicks

he gave us a very informative dissertation
on folk customs, botany, zoology,
environmental sustainability ... well, even
children talked later about how many
things they learned and how easy
was to understand him.”
– Fátima García –
Spring 2010

Antonio in Doñana. It is appreciated when
people love their work, enjoy teaching
others all they know and do not have any
hurry to finish. And furthermore the
equipment was just perfect, telescope, binos
and field guides were of a great help to us.”
– Pedro Dámaso –
Summer 2008

was the highlight of our visit to
Andalusia. Not only for the 100 species
of birds we saw, but also because of the
interesting information from the guide
on Doñana’s ecology and history. It was
an unforgettable experience for us.”
– Andrea Owen & Martin Holmes –
Winter 2012
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