Zone Map.

SAYAGO:

It was not by chance that the location chosen to film this documentary "Breeding in Freedom" was the same site that inspired Angel Corral's and Pedro Conde's scientific study. Fate marked the spot: The location is far away from any large urban areas in a depressing part of the country. (see study)

In this land that time forgot, nature still has the ability to overwhelm us. Sayago is a great sanctuary for birds in the Iberian Peninsula. Because this area is quite stagnant and regressive it favours the settling of many species of birds which find their own way of survival in this environment.

You can quite easily come across a Red Partridge, a pair of storks courting, magpies defending their nests against a Kite, leprosas tortoises, or ocelados lizards sunbathing on the rocks of the Ribera, hear a cuckoo or a Hoopoe singing... or even jump at the sight of a snake.

Here is an example of how rich this area is and shows its many inhabitants: (see study)

THIS SPECIES OF BIRDS INHABIT SAYAGO

SOMETIMES THESE SPECIES VISIT SAYAGO

THE MOST IMPORTANT SPECIES OF PLANT LIFE ARE

Inevitably so, man has made sure that some mammals which once inhabited these areas like the bear, the lince, the wolf and the gazelle are now excinct. Hunting and pesticides have done away with them, although vultures and alimoches have managed to survive. Today, quebrantahuesos, Great owls and Eagles are in danger of extinction and the following mammals are practically non existent, otters, genetas, sables, weasels and polecats. Today something else foreshadows this region. Its lands are full of great granite rocks which rest upon a batolito which makes it only attractive to the nuclear industry, who have already set up business there. Nearby there is a village, there is also a laboratory and there are plans to build a central nuclear plant...later we will find a cemetery.

If you are a nature lover and you are not familiar with this region, you're still in luck. Enjoy it while you can before the San Anton frogs are born with three eyes, and be careful when walking not to step on any eggs!

If we try to conserve what we already have, we will be more human.

For more information or to give your opinion, send an e-mail, write or go to Almeida de Sayago Townhall, Spain.
(see study)