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 The Biosphere Reservation of Urdaibai: it covers an area of 220 Km2. There are 22 small villages in it.It covers about the 10% of the surface of Bizkaia. 45.000 people live in the region, 80% of whom live in Gernika and Bermeo. |
| Among the large amount of natural attractions that can
be found in Urdaibai, its wide rang of birds has to be considered
as the most important attraction in this Biosphere Reservation. Its ornitological value has not been unnoticed, and it has been named Special Area for Birds Protection by the European Union, and it has been integrated into Natura 2000, which suppose an indisputable prestige and responsability for the Reservation. |
 The
Biosphere Reservation of Urdaibai is a very important ornitological
area for the large amount of birds migrating between Africa and Europe.Most of the species that come to the Reservation, use the estuary as a feeding and resting place. |
| We must also say that it is also used as a wintering
place or area by those species that look for warmer places in the Cantabric
coast, and try to avoid the hard climatic conditions in Northern and Central
Europe. Finally, we must not forget those sedentary or summer species that use the Reservation as their nesting place. We must also bear in mind the limited information we have about the origines, the migrational movements, the biology, population density... of the birds in the area. |
 In
spite of being one of the most important estuaries in the North of Spain,
we must say that, frequently, some species, specially the wanderer ones,
go unnoticed. So, scientific bird ringing is the basic tool to decode or decipher all those misteries about the birds that are still hidden. All this will allow us to increase the protectional measures on birds, both, the migrating ones as well as those who remain in the area permanently |