Ducks find new sanctuary in Spain’s Costas

IN the 1950s, new hotels sprang up along the Costa Brava, the “wild coast”. Sleepy little fishing towns became household names overnight, as hordes of package holiday-makers descended on them. The beaches still draw the crowds but visitors nowadays want more than sea and sand.

Binocular-wearing bearded youths, and their denim-clad girlfriends, were viewed with suspicion in Franco’s Spain. Wild creatures were for hunting, not for watching, and disputes over access to water had farmers and conservationists at each other’s throats.

Thankfully, those bad old days are gone; Spain now has an impressive network of nature reserves, while farmers and naturalists seem reconciled. Tourist brochures feature, not just cultural attractions, but wildlife venues as well.