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  • A Spanish lagoon called Villafáfíla also holds many secrets.

  • Every year it is visited by migratory birds

  • that pass through here on the way to Extremadura and Andalusia.

  • I had never heard the expressionwhoop like a crane”,

  • but it’s common if you spend any time with ornithologists.

  • And indeed the birds do call loudly when they sight the lagoon.

  • I thought it was from joy,

  • but from what I've seen they do it in order to stay together.

  • About a thousand cranes stop over here for several weeks.

  • They find everything they need,

  • especially food in the form of plant stems, small animals and tasty bulbs.

  • When autumn ends theyll again take flight

  • to spend the winter in Extremadura and Andalucia.

  • But cranes aren't the only ones to visit Villafáfila.

  • Naturalists, a few tourists and the simply curious also come here

  • at the end of September when the sky is full of wild geese.

  • These migrants began to visit us here in 1975.

  • Why 1975? We don't know.

  • At first there were just a few individuals,

  • but word must have gotten around because now there are nearly 23,000.

  • Geese are very unusual in that they choose their mates for life.

  • Even if their mate dies they never remarry.

  • Instead they become solitary.

  • Who would have thought that of a goose?

  • They eat grains and seeds and have plenty of food.

  • Flying on

  • those who continue the journey will fly

  • south to the marshes of the River Guadalquivir.

  • The bustard also likes to hibernate here.

  • It is the largest terrestrial bird in Europe.

  • The male is considerably larger than the female

  • something common to many species

  • and weighs about 40 pounds.

  • When spring comes, the bustards begin their courtship.

  • They divide up into two groups:

  • males on one side and females on the other.

  • The males display their attributes, above all their white feathers,

  • and the more the betterhoping that a female will show interest.

  • While the females consider their options,

  • the male will take flight in order to fluff up his wings

  • Like a crane lifting off for a long journey

A Spanish lagoon called Villafáfíla also holds many secrets.

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