The nearby islands called "Los Sotos de la Albolafia" are now a protected Natural Monument. Unusually for a protected wetland site, the Sotos de la Albolafia are situated so close to the centre of a city.

The area is noteworthy for its fauna. It is an important refuge for threatened birds; 70% of birds here are protected by law, while a few species like the glossy ibis and the purple gallinule are on the list of endangered birds.

The site is easily accessible from the riverbank walkways between the two bridges of Puente Romano and Puente de San Rafael.

The sotos are made up of elm trees, tamarisk, poplars and eucalyptus. Along the edges of the river are reedbeds, reedmace and bulrushes. Around stone constructions along the river like bridges, walls and mill are fig trees and ivy.

About 40 species of birds have been recorded in the sotos, mostly over winter. The most numerous include the little bittern, little egret and grey, night, squacco and purple heron. There is a major colony of cattle egrets, which have recovered from low numbers of around 20 in the early 1980s more than 6,000 today.

Raptors include ospreys and lesser kestrels, the latter nesting nearby in buildings like the Mezquita and visiting the sotos to hunt. During migration there are black kites, short-toed eagles and often thousands of swifts. Waders, gulls and terns can also be spotted.