 Las
Tablas de Daimiel National Park is located right in the centre
of La Mancha, in the province of Ciudad Real, within the
municipal boundaries of Daimiel and Villarrubia de los Ojos.
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Tablas
de Daimiel National Park (Parque Nacional de las Tablas de
Daimiel) is a nature reserve in south-central Spain on the plain
of La Mancha. The nearest city is Ciudad Real about 30 km away. It
is Spain's smallest national park, covering 19.28 km². It is a
marshy area where the Guadiana river joins the Ciguela river, and is
home to many bird species, some year round. It is located at 39°09′N,
3°40′W.
The
most of the park lands are owned by the town of Villarrubia de los
Ojos, but it is named after Daimiel, a town which also has land
inside of it. So Villarrubia's mayor tried to change its name to
'Tablas de Daimiel y Villarrubia'
THE
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
 Where
is the Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park?
In the centre of the LLanura Manchega, in the province of Ciudad
Real and at the foot of the Toledo Mountains.
Under
Its Surface, an Immense Stone Sponge
Under the surface of Las Tablas there exists a limestone framework.
The Karst fissure which is located under La Mancha is the largest
known fissure in the country. Throughout the centuries, the
filtration of rainwater caused the initial decomposition of the
limestone, soaking and converting it into a huge wet sponge. Once
full, it began to leak water, giving rise to the most unique
attribute of the Manchegan geography: Los Ojos del Guadiana.
The
Guadiana river, after springing from the Lagunas de Ruidera, on its
course towards Las Tablas, filtered little by little through the
limestone until completely disappearing in Argamasilla de Alba, and
reappearing fifty kilometres westward from the so-called “Ojos del
Guadiana”.
The
Origin of Las Tablas
 With
the passing of the centuries, in the lower Guadiana, large pools
were formed and riverside forests and fertile plains flourished.
Fishing communities were established on its shores, and on the
adjacent plains, small water-wheels watered the crops.
This
is the origin of Las Tablas de Daimiel, the result of the
convergence of the waters of the Gigüela and the Guadiana (15 km of
waterways below its reappearance at Los Ojos), which give way to a
huge increase in water levels, creating large pools and areas that
become inundated due to the lack of varying levels in the land.
Aerial
view
A
Unique Wetland
Las
Tablas de Daimiel are considered to be a Wetland of International
Importance on the list under the Ramsar Agreement, which covers more
than 200 wetlands in Europe and North Africa. They are strategically
situated along the migratory routes of thousands of birds that for
many years have used them as a resting place. Many of these birds
actually choose this area to pass the winter.
 Las
Tablas de Daimiel can only be understood in the framework in the
designated “Humid Zone of La Mancha” formed by dozens of
lagoons, many of them threatened with disappearing.
Some
are from a natural endorreic source of drainage, where the water,
with a high level of salinity, accumulates in the depressions of the
terrain, while others form from the accumulation of water in craters
of ancient volcanoes and lastly, Las Tablas de Daimiel, from the
river overflows that originate where the Gigüela and Guadiana
rivers converge.
Up
until a few years ago, both rivers exchanged waters during flood
season, creating an extremely unique ecosystem. On one hand, the
Gigüela river, which stems from the Cuenca mountain range, carried
saltwater while the river Guadiana contributed freshwater.
The
reality is quite different. As a result of the drought of previous
years and of the overexploitation of the underground waterways
(Aquifer 23) for irrigation, the only superficial body of water that
reaches Las Tablas stemming from the river Gigüela that, thanks to
the rains from previous years, re-enters superficially in the park.
Lately, water has been arriving to Las Tablas from the Peñarroya
reservoir, via the river Gigüela.
A climate characterized by drought
The
winter at Las Tablas de Daimiel is cold, and the summer is hot and
dry, reaching temperatures of 40°C. Precipitation is scarce and
averages 450 mm annually with high periods in autumn and spring,
although during some years, specifically the years between 1980 and
1995, not even 350mm was reached. Periods of hoarfrost, snow or hail
do not exceed three days per year, meanwhile the frequency increases
considerably with storms, fog, or frost.
Aquifer
23, a large underground water deposit
Another of the peculiarities is the close dependent relationship
with subterranean water deposits. The key piece of the hydrological
system of the high basin of the Guadiana is the aquifer of Western
La Mancha or Aquifer 23, which extends below a surface of more than
500 km2 over which there lie 40 municipalities.
The
National Park lies over a limestone substratum that acts as a sponge
and can function as a natural channel for the aquifer that lies
beneath it.
During
the mid-70s, the equilibrium between man and the wetlands broke
down, the area needing irrigation using subterranean waters
increased considerably and the extraction of water was much higher
than the annual replenishment, causing a decrease in the water table
level, the annulment of natural discharges, being the most
spectacular of the “Eyes of Guadiana” and the disappearance of
the river Guadiana at its upper reaches.
Spring
in the Park
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The
stage has finished, but nesting birds can be seen at leisure
by visitors. It is mating season, a time for nesting and
brooding.
Whiskered
tern (Chlidonias hybridus)
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The
marshes are in full splendour, Las Tablas are covered in green, the
buttercups emerge from the water and the tarays begin to flower,
which lasts until the beginning of summer.
The
visitor can expect the mating flights of the ducks, the rising and
descent of the marsh harrier. The whiskered terns fly over the water
while the little tern submerges itself in search of food. Avocets,
redshanks and reed warblers all form part of a long list of bird
that we can observe during the months of spring.
The
Kentish plover runs along the muddy beaches, the black-winged stilt
swarm all around the shores, and the yellow wagtail search for
insects in pastures that lie near the water. In nearby fields,
pratincoles and lapwings can be heard. Swarming among the reeds are
the newborn offspring of the purple heron, the brood of mallards and
the red-crested pochard, initiating their flights, while the
great-crested grebe has two or three tiny chicks swimming behind it.
Stonechats, redstarts, warblers, and chiffchaffs stop in the tarays
in search of food.
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 Group
of red-crested pochards and tufted ducks
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At
dusk, the sound of amphibians and reptiles can be heard, their
concert of song deafening. It is not uncommon to find a European
pond turtle swimming in the water or basking in the sun on a clear
day.
Summer
in the Park
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The
Gigüela river loses water and the remaining puddles
indicate the start of a drought, expecting a rain-filled
autumn.
Black-winged
stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
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Las
Tablas lose water day after day, the heat is intense and invites
silence, broken by the call of a great-crested grebe or a reed
warbler in the marsh.
Black-winged
stilts, Kentish plovers, whiskered terns and gulls eat from the
surface of the water. Water chickens, crakes, coot, and water rails
run along the muddy borders of the swamp. Pin-tailed grouses, turtle
doves, and wood pigeons come to Las Tablas to quench their thirst.
The concentration of mallards is spectacular.
The
garganey gather in small groups in order to embark on their upcoming
voyage to Africa.
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 Garganey
(Anas querquedula)
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At
the end of the summer, the first of the black-tailed godwits and
snipes and grey herons coming from Northern Europe arrive and
eventually leave again, little by little, as the purple herons go
off in search of a place to hibernate.
Storms
are frequent and at the end of the summer, one section of Las Tablas
remains dry.
Autumn
in the Park
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Throughout
this season, the peak period for migration of ducks is
attained, and the visitor will be able to observe the most
common species of mallards in the area. Water flows through
the rivers and sea chitterlings swell up.
Mallard
(Anas platyrrhynchos)
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Coming
from the north of Europe, the northern shoveller and the common
garganey are the first of the mallards that arrive at the Park in
autumn; scouting parties of pin tails and pochards can also be
observed. Ruffs, redshanks and wading birds stop over on their way
to Africa. The first cranes fly across the sky and the common geese
fly over the Park in search of the southern marshes. The mallards
show off their plumage. The first flocks of lapwings stand out among
the wasteland.
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 Pin
tails (Anas acuta)
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As
the autumn advances, Las Tablas fills with water, frost becomes more
and more frequent, and the fog gives the Park a ghostly appearance.
In this habitat we can hear the common garganey and the widgeon, the
last of the winter ducks to arrive.
Among
the fields of crops close to the park swarm flocks of corn bunting
and the white wagtail can be seen all over. We can also see the
robin among the bare taray trees.
By
nightfall, the flight of the ducks, the red eyebright of the
black-headed gull and the call of the grey herons add a touch of
life to Las Tablas.
Winter
in the Park
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Fog
envelops Las Tablas in the morning and sometimes does not
dispel for the rest of the day. The winter ducks are in full
swing.
Marsh
harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
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Winter
is the time of the dead marsh; the reeds are yellow and flowerless,
inhabited by mackerels and corn buntings which contrast with the
blue of the water.
Garganey,
northern shovelers, pintails, widgeons and pochards rest in
shallower areas and are only disturbed at disk by the marsh harrier.
The grey herons fly over the marsh and lie in wait for their food by
the edge of the water.
The
mallard, the most precocious of all, clearly manifests its zeal. The
faltering whistles of the coot can be heard among the undergrowth,
the grebe can be seen among the shores and by the edge of the water
we can see groups of red-wacked sandpiper.
At
the end of winter, the baby garganey begin to grow, the breeding
period of the red-crested pochard begins and the coots begin to
build their nests in the flooded marsh. The taray trees are home to
scouting parties of egrets and the call of the nocturnal night heron
can be heard, for the first time in the year, as it flies at
twilight towards its feeding area.
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