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Donana National Park Four Seasons
According to the time of year, the Doñana National Park appears changing, different, surprising.
One could even go as far as to say that the Park is four Doñanas rolled into one.
Here we give you an approximate year-round survey of events to do with its flora and fauna in different seasons,
so that you can get an idea of what you'll be able to find when you visit.
Doñana in autumn
October sees the first floods occurring in the salt marshes which, by mid-November, are completely flooded.
The first rains coincide with the arrival of the first water fowl that overwinter here. Thousands of geese
arrive in spectacular flocks from northern Europe to enjoy a less bitterly cold climate and to feed on the
tubers or rhizomes of the alkali bulrushes in the soil at the bottom of the marsh. They also ingest the sand
of the nearby dunes, which is indispensable for mashing up their food so that they can digest it; every morning
they flock to the Cerro de los Ánsares in search of it. But this area of high ecological value is populated not
only with fowl, but also with deer, foxes, hares and badgers.
Mid- or late September is the rutting season for the bucks, when their does come into oestrus. In October,
coinciding with the arrival of the geese, the Portuguese crowberry and blackberry come into fruit. And in
December the Iberian midwife toad reproduces.
The cork oak trees - delightfully named "open aviaries" (pajareras) because of the enormous number of birds
that nest in them - in La Vera (at the boundary between the Mediterranean forest and the salt marshes) have
lost some of their branches through old age. The opportunity to set up home is seized by the lynx, the genet,
the garden dormouse, the European rabbit and the Western curly-tailed lizard.
And some things which characterize the dunes in the autumn and spring periods (in spite of their aridity and
the scarcity of food) are the trails and tracks of the snub-nosed viper, the Montpellier snake, the spur-thighed
tortoise, Spanish imperial eagle, short-toed eagle, red-legged partridge, peregrine, black-billed magpie, lynx,
deer and wild boar.
Doñana in winter
Between late December and early January Doñana's bird population is at its height. Once winter begins, the salt
marsh transforms into an enormous lake: thousands of mallard ducks, pochards, gadwalls, geese and greater flamingos
enjoy their much-appreciated wetland and share it in perfect harmony. If you decide to time your visit during
this period, you're sure to experience at first hand the courtship of the coots and mallards; and perhaps you'll
be here when the ducks and geese set off again on their flight to Russia, Scandinavia and Germany in
February.
Late January is the lynx rutting season. In February, the geese migrate away and the female Spanish imperial
eagle lays her eggs. In March the black kites arrive and, in the middle of the month, the ever-welcome lynx
cubs are born.
Doñana in the spring
In spring, the water level has dropped because in mid-April the salt marshes begin to dry out. Thick green water
plants cover the salt marsh; spatulas, herons, egrets, bee-eaters and European rollers flee from the extreme heat
of the African interior, heading northwards to Doñana to nest and rear their chicks.
Late March sees peak activity in the "open aviaries" (the old cork oaks of La Vera). It's remarkable just how
teeming with life they can get. "Birds of a feather" form colonies: herons, egrets, spatulas, night herons,
storks, avocets and booted eagles. The day is filled with the clamouring of the chicks in the nests asking for
their food and the coming and going of their parents.
April sees the flowering of the rock roses and other aromatic plants and the mating of the viper. In May, the
dragonfly larvae metamorphose and in early June, the fledgling Spanish imperial eagles fly the nest.
It's worth remembering that during this period - the same as in autumn - the dunes are full of the tracks of an
endless variety of animals which are more active now that the fine weather has arrived (a few snakes, birds of
prey, tortoises, lynxes, deer and wild boars, amongst others).
Doñana in summer
In summer, the salt marsh is transformed into an expanse of dried clay: the great bustards make themselves at
home on it; the vultures come down to feed; foxes, hares, deer and wild boars come onto it; and, as summer draws
to an end, once more storks take to the skies, bound for Africa.
At the end of June the spur-thighed tortoise begins its estivation (a summertime dormancy period which is an
adaptation strategy to the hot dry summer) beneath the sand; a month later the hares take over the dried-out salt
marsh. In the second half of August the black kites migrate away; in early September the buck deer's voices ring
out as they bellow to prospective mates, and the freshwater turtle eggs hatch.
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