Renaturation of a urban river. Wild life in Madrid

Photographic documentation work of wildlife explosion in the Manzanares River (Madrid / Spain). After the plan carried out by the Madrid city council, sponsored by the NGO Ecologistas en Acción, more than fifty species have colonized the river. The first measure implemented by the environmental area of the Madrid City Council, in 2106, was to open the floodgates of the ten dams that held the water. This has caused that the water is not stagnant and life makes its way. Only with the opening of floodgates, the water course has created by itself banks and islands of vegetation, with reeds or new poplars and willows, which serve as a refuge for birds, so their presence has experienced an explosion. The egret or kingfisher are species that had once been sighted occasionally, but now their presence is continuous. According to the data provided by the Environment delegate, Inés Sabanés, there are seven common egrets. They have also counted more than one hundred mallards and the presence of seagulls of up to three different species (laughing, gloomy and yellow-legged) has multiplied. In addition, you can see chickens, geese of the Nile, hammers, herons, washers, nightingales, goldfinches, doves and plovers. This photographic series documents the river's wildlife from January 2017 to the present.

A flock of seagulls fly over the Manzanares River. The last census of this species in the Region of Madrid exceeded one hundred thousand specimens in winter.

A seagull flies above the buildings of Usera.

A Nile goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) watches the cars passing the M30 motorway. The creation of tunnels for the highway meant the recovery of space for a large linear park that runs 7 km from Madrid. In this way, this park has become a natural corridor for all species that live in the river.

A sparrow feeds another perches on a railing.

A common egret (Egretta garzetta) feathers feathers near the Segovia bridge in Madrid Rio.

A seagull in front of the reflection of the buildings in the former Vicente Calderón football stadium, owned by Atlético de Madrid.

Two specimens of seagulls in full flight approach to the river.

Fight between three laughing seagulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and a blue duck for a piece of bread.

In July 2018, the city council of Madrid dammed the river water between dams 8 and 9 so that rowing could be practiced causing the disappearance of the habitat of several species. An adult redfish jumps to the Madrid Rio promenade after losing its habitat.