One beautiful spring day I had the pleasure of speaking with Plácido and Maribel, the owners of La Cañada de Los Pájaros, a bird park in the province of Seville. We sat outside on a bench, next to the lagoon, accompanied by the geese that are so tame they eat confidently from the hand of their caretaker. Most of the geese have their wings clipped, so that they don't escape from the park and end up like some others that were killed by a hunter.
Plácido: Unfortunately, that has already happened several times. Hunters should follow the law and take a good look at what they are shooting at, but actually they do whatever they want.
How many species of birds are there in the park?
Maribel: About 180, including several exotic species.
Does the park also function as a recovery center?
Maribel: From 94 to 98 we were a recovery center. Then we stopped that because we received many animals, but little money, and we couldn't do it anymore. Now we continue giving shelter to animals that are brought in.
Will the birds that are here now, like Goldfinches or Barn Swallows, stay here?
Plácido: It depends. Sometimes they bring us birds that are in such bad condition that there is no time to release them before the migration begins. If they are in good condition, they are released the following spring. Those who can leave will do so.
What does a typical day here look like?
Maribel: Some things that are repeated every day, others are not, it also depends on the season. In spring we have a lot more work. In summer, when we close to the public, we take the opportunity to do pruning and general cleaning.
Normally, if there is enough water, the water level of the lagoon drops, but it doesn't dry out completely.
How long has the park been around?
Maribel: We bought the land in 1987. First we removed trash and planted vegetation before we moved in in 1990. And we opened it to the public in 1992.
Have you noticed the influence of climate change a lot?
Maribel: Yes, since a long time ago. For example, with the Red-crested Pochard it was very clear. In autumn you may find some birds with spring plumage, and vice versa. The Barn Swallows now arrive earlier, or later. The birds here no longer breed with the same regularity. We've also seen changes in the fruit trees.
While we were chatting, one of the Black Kites flying over the park descended and perched on a branch of the largest tree in the park, only a few metres away from the White Storks.
Maribel: Black Kites are scavengers, they eat everything. They like fish, even small birds.
Plácido: But they like ducks too. Or the Storks' chicks. We have seen it many times. But that's nature.
Maribel: Worse are the Booted Eagles, or the Eagle Owl. And apparently, what they like the most are endangered species, such as the Red-knobbed Coot or Marbled Duck. But I'd rather an owl eat it than a fox.
What is the most difficult thing to maintain the park?
Plácido: To me it is the administration. This site, from a conservation point of view, is one of the most important places in Andalusia, even in all of Spain. The Red-knobbed Coot, the Red-crested Pochard or the Marbled Duck are species that breed and sometimes leave from here. In summer it is the only place where all those animals can return. Here we provide them with food and enough water. It is something that the administration doesn't do anywhere. So I claim a little recognition. Not public recognition, but what they could do is solve the water issue in summer.
Maribel: We don't want them to help us financially, we want them to make things easier for us so that this whole thing works better. Although more money would obviously allow us to improve many things.
If you had more money, what would you change?
Maribel: For example, that would allow us to give better nutrition. Or improve the facilities. Or buy more land, which would be a solution for the water supply. We could add more staff. You can do many things with money, but we really don't need that much.
Which birds in the park are your favourites?
Plácido: Mine, without a doubt, is the Greylag Goose. Among birds, they are the most similar to us humans. They have a very interesting behaviour.
Maribel: The ones that catch my attention the most are the Cranes. Sometimes they winter here.
And which is the most complicated to keep?
Maribel: As for food, the species that eat fish. There are also species that are difficult to breed. The difficulty in this is determining the good moment for independence, since they have a very short phase in which they have to learn to be independent. If this phase is too long, you breed a stupid and imprinted animal.
Plácido: Each species is different, but within each species, each animal is different too. We know that very well, because most of the birds that are here now were raised by us and that is how almost all of them have passed through the kitchen of the house.
Maribel: Before, a company that was producing fish and shrimps gave us all the scraps that were of no use to them. But that company has closed down, and we are dosing what we still have left in the freezer, waiting to find a solution. If there is no solution, we will have to remove species that only eat fish, such as the Grey Heron or the Black Stork. These species could get used to pellets, but those are really not an adequate diet. Additionally, it would be difficult for adult birds to get used to their new diet. Some seagulls we have are eating cat food, they adapt without any problem.
Another difficulty we face today is related to the supply of water to the lagoon. Before, the area was more natural. In fact, there used to be a stream. It served as a retention for solids. The sediment stopped and what arrived here was water. A lot or a little, with more or less force, but it was water. After a modification in which some nearby lagoons were removed, now the sediment reaches us. When the lagoon dries up, we have to use machinery, and this costs a fortune. Until now, the department has cleaned it up for us, without their assistence it would have been impossible for us. Fortunately, that work doesn't need to be done very often.
You know, we have faced many difficulties and challenges, so what we want now, before we retire, is to enjoy what we have.
How can people help?
Maribel: Individuals can help with donations, most of all. The administration could, and should, do much more. Wetlands are the most fragile ecosystems on the planet and they eed management. If you leave them be, they will be lost. From time to time they need a bottom cleaning.
Have you thought of looking for a sponsor, a big well-known brand?
Maribel: Those companies will not invest in a private company. They are looking for something that gives them a lot of publicity, they want something to greenwash their image. And those projects are usually not long-lasting either.
How do you see the future of the park?
Maribel: Good question. Let's see if someone appears who wants to continue our project, someone with the same philosophy as ours, ready to fight for conservation. Really, I don't know.
Before setting up the park, did you already have the same passion for nature?
Plácido: Me more than Maribel. I grew up in the countryside and from the beginning I have encountered situations that have caused me many tears. I have always wanted to do something to help birds.
I remember, in 1973, there was a very high mortality of birds, because years before they had imported the American Red Swamp Crayfish from an area of Florida, where botulism is endemic. With this, the Fundulus heteroclitus, a type of fish, arrived here, and there began the decline of the marshes of the National Park. In 1974 I saw how it affected the Marbled Duck, I knew it was going to disappear. I notified the administration and no one wanted to take care of the animals. Before the rest died, I picked about seven and took them home, to my father.
Without telling anyone?
Plácido: Of course. Some people found out and wanted to take them away from me. But I kept them and the following year I was breeding with them and then I released many. When we came to the park here, we dedicated ourselves more to raising them, each time more, up to a total of 470.
When you took the first couple from the wild, weren't you afraid that they might fine you?
Plácido: It was a different time, things weren't so strict. A lot has changed, things got worse and worse. But I think many people understand less about nature today.
Do you also go out to watch birds?
Plácido: Each time less, because it depresses me to see how everything is getting lost. I am more and more locked in here, where I can do what I want and protect what we have here.
Spending so much time with birds, dedicating a large part of your life to them, what have you learned from them?
Plácido: We should become more aware of what animals are. They have made me understand human beings a bit better. We should have the same awareness that they have. Birds live and die in peace. The human being has jumped out of the system and believes he is above everything. We really are on the same level as anyone else. Birds have made me a little more patient, more tolerant and more relaxed. I don't know exactly what system animals have to communicate, but I know they do communicate, not just within the same species. They have their code, for example, to know when there is danger, they have a radar that we have lost.
When you are young, you think you can change the world. When you get older, you realize that the only thing you can do is settle. The system will continue. Look at what happened with the pandemic, instead of having learned something, people haven't changed much.
What has been a key moment in the park's history?
Plácido: When the first pair of Red-knobbed Coots started breeding. It was the first time in all of Spain. Now we have a lot of experience with that species, but back then it was a magical moment.
The Red-knobbed Coot must be the park's mascot then?
Plácido: Actually the park's mascot is the donkey, our Almudena. Last year I released her here and she has become the queen of the Cañada, everyone wants to take a photo with her.
Maribel y Plácido, thanks a lot, see you again soon!
For more information about la Cañada de los Pájaros click here. Bird lovers can easily spend a whole day there enjoying the wonderful surroundings.
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