Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
The site encompasses a coastal area in the south of Tenerife that includes rock stacks, sand beaches and some coastal lagoons. Inland lie sandy, rocky plains with deep gullies and cliffs. One site supports dune-adapted vegetation, the only area of such habitat on the island.
The plains are important for steppic species and the gullies support breeding raptors. The site is also important for wintering waders, especially
Calidris alba, and is the last remaining breeding site of
Charadrius alexandrinus in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Threats include high-impact recreational activities involving off-road vehicles, urbanization and waste disposal, bird collisions with vehicles, the effects on birds of feral cats
Felis catus and dogs, illegal hunting and nest destruction, the gathering of shellfish, and intensive goat-grazing. Other threats (above) are posed by military manoeuvres and pollution. Several ecological studies and censuses have been carried out and a management plan is almost complete. A habitat regeneration programme for this area has been proposed.
National Partial
International None166 ha of IBA covered by Special Natural Reserve (Montaña Roja, 166 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: El Médano coast (Spain). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/el-médano-coast-iba-spain on 23/12/2024.
