S'Albufera des Grau Nature Park

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S'Albufera des Grau Nature Park is located in the northeastern part of the island of Menorca. It encompasses a broad expanse of characteristic, well-conserved land and includes two wetlands (“S'Albufera des Grau” and “Es Prat de Morella”), wide swaths of shoreline, an islet and a number of farms which use traditional farming practices.

Albufera des Grau, a 2-km-long, oval-shaped lagoon, is Menorca's largest wetland, one of the most important in the Balearic Islands and the nucleus of the Biosphere Reserve. It is located next to the village of Grau and its beach, and lies on a Palaeozoic basin into which three torrents empty and which is separated from the sea by a series of dunes

On the 7th of October 1993, the island of Minorca was declared a Biosphere Reserve by the International Committee of UNESCO, because of its environmental diversity and landscapes, with natural spaces of special relevance, such as the Natural Park of s'Albufera des Grau.

There are two ways to reach the park: PMV-7102 (es Grau) and PM-715 (cabo de Favàritx) both in the Maó municipal area.

Centro de Recepción Rodríguez Femenias
Ctra. de Maó a Es Grau Km 3.5 detour Llimpa, 07700, Maó Illes Balears
Tel. [phone]

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GUIDED TOUR OF THE S’ALBUFERA NATURAL PARK

Dates:07/03/2008 and 26/07/2008

In the spring time and even more so in the summer, the S’Albufera des Grau Natural Park in Maó offers a series of guided tours that serve to both educate those visiting and to create awareness amongst them about the importance of conserving the vegetable and animal species that still survive in the park. The Albufera (lagoon) area is very humid and a diversity of outstanding vegetable, aquatic and fauna ecosystems can be found. There is also an important ecosystem variety in the humid areas, pasturelands and farming lands, forests, sand dunes and beaches surrounding the Albufera, which has an approximate extension of five thousand hectares

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New residents take roost in S’Albufera Nature Reserve

Researchers Domingo Trujillo and David García have identified eight examples of Daubenton’s Bat (commonly known as the water bat), the only official sightings in the Balearic Islands

C.M.W. Maó

The S’Albufera des Grau Nature Reserve has become ‘home’ to a new sort of inhabitant - the water bat, a species which up until now has either not been in residence or has not been recognised. Also known as Daubenton’s Bat, the water bat is one of ten species of bat identified by chiroptera specialists Domingo Trujillo and David García.
According to a statement issued by the Balearic Government, the water bat has not been seen, or at least has not been recognised as such, in the archipelago. This latest identification brings the number of species of bat in the Islands to twenty.

Daubenton’s Bat is fairly common on the Iberian Peninsula and in a large part of Europe. Its common name, the water bat, comes from its habit of flying in level flight about 10 cm. above the surface of water when hunting for prey, such as caddis flies and mosquitos. The creatures can be found roosting in fissures in rocks and buildings, holes in trees, tunnels, bridges and caves.

The discovery of the water bat’s presence in S’Albufera des Grau came during the first phase of a study by Trujillo and García in the nature reserve on behalf of the Regional Department of the Environment.

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