A garden between land and sea

Against all odds, life has made its way in a somewhat hostile environment: sandy soils, high temperatures, scarcity of water and high salt concentrations. Nature is wise and has been able to provide the dunes with good companions such as the barron which, with its extensive roots, stabilises the sands and prevents them from moving. This has allowed species such as the black juniper and the mastic tree to settle in these naturally elusive lands.

In the wetlands, reeds and rushes reign supreme, while in the salt marshes we find the sosa alacranera and soapwort. Evergreen evergreens find their perfect habitat in soils with higher salinity and temporary waterlogging.

More than 200 birds

In Punta Entinas-Sabinar you can admire more than 200 species of birds. Some have settled here, others return every year seeking refuge to rest, feed and reproduce along their lengthy migratory routes.

In the wetlands you will find endangered species such as the white-headed duck, the marbled duck, the squacco heron, highlighting the beauty of the pink flamingo. All of them coexist thanks to the abundance of food, and the different shapes their beaks and legs boast.

The proximity of the sea and its saline environments, favour the presence of species as unique as the white-billed gull, Audouin’s gull, or the small plovers, which run along the shore of the beaches.

Warblers, mosquito nets or stone curlews, flutter between the reedbed, the forest of mastic and junipers, and in the old farmland, seeking to feed, protect themselves from the wind an the numerous hours of sunlight.

Taking advantage of the cliffs of the Alcores shelter and nest the common kestrel, the scops owl and the booted eagle. Predators that nestle with the marsh harrier, which flies over the lagoons in search of its prey.

The other inhabitants of Punta Entinas-Sabinar

Punta Entinas-Sabinar boasts its own species of ant, snail and Iberian skink. Here 20 species of mammals share a space, namely the wild boar, hare, dormouse and fox. Despite the existence of water, amphibians are not commonplace. There are only the runner and common toads, mingling alongside the common frog.

The Spanish toothcarp, an endangered fish that lives in the Entina ponds, has made a haven here. Our waters bathing the Alboran Sea, have witness the arrival of striking species such as the bottlenose dolphin and the loggerhead turtle. The existence of these animals, together with richness of the Posidonia meadows of our coasts, have led to include this area within the SCI Costa de Almería-Seco de los Olivos.