Biodiversity

The Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, a protected natural area that has one of the most important marshes on the Cantabrian coast. The Urdaibai marshes are formed by the Oka and Golako rivers, which at their mouth form an extensive valley that opens towards the sea in a wide estuary, covering a great variety of landscapes such as grasslands, countryside, Cantabrian holm oak forests, marshes and river plains, cliffs, beaches and dunes. It is this landscape mosaic that makes it a space with the highest levels of biodiversity in the entire Basque Country.

Ekoetxea Urdaibai is a center to value biodiversity, it informs and educates visitors about the importance of biological diversity and promotes its approach to people. Located in Busturia, in the heart of the Urdabai Biosphere Reserve, one of the places with the largest number of ecosystems in the Basque Country and occupies a unique building known as the Clock Tower, which dates back to 1851. Furthermore, from its strategic location you can see the entire area of ​​the Urdaibai estuary.

Urdaibai Bird Center is a living museum of nature, for learning about the world of birds and their migrations. Its main characteristic is that The north face of the building constitutes a large viewpoint that allows you to observe the marsh at different heights and see the birds that live there at a very short distance and without disturbing its tranquility. It is noteworthy that the orientation of the building, with its back to the sun throughout the year, makes the conditions for bird watching unbeatable. Likewise, it is equipped with telescopes and informative material about the birdlife that can be found in the wetland at every time of the year. The highest observatory, a turret at a height of 18 m with 270° visibility, also allows you to observe the interior landscape of the Urdaibai estuary, in addition to its hamlets, forests and extensive oak forests.

Finally, and after having acquired all the knowledge about the area, We will take a walk through the marshes to be part of the same diversity that surrounds us and get to know it from the inside. During a simple route of approximately 30 minutes, we will pass through several sections in which the stone and dirt track will leave room for wooden walkways built over the water.

The Tour Includes: Entrance to the Bird Center and Ekoetxea.