These tours are solely designed to show you the various
ecosystems that exist within the national park. They are of
little value to serious birders as the drivers are on a tight
time schedule and cannot stop just to look at a bird you wish to
study further. The importance of the Doñana region cannot be
overstressed. Half a million wintering birds, mainly wildfowl
and waders, flock to the area each year to escape the much
colder weather conditions in the north of Europe and many more
use it as a feeding station during the migration periods in
spring and autumn. It is also of major importance as a breeding
ground for some of the scarcest and most endangered bird species
in Europe, such as the Spanish Imperial Eagle, the Marbled Duck
and the Red-knobbed Coot. There are four main visitors centres
on the edge of the park’s boundaries that are open to the public
and these should form a part of any visit to the region.
However, the national park is further protected by a buffer zone
of some 84,200 hectares of surrou