Archived destinations
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The Camargue
Flamingos and more in Mediterranean France
The wild and beautiful marshes of the Camargue cover a huge area of the Rhône delta in the south of France. At the heart of the Camargue lies the Étang de Vaccarès, a vast shallow lagoon surrounded by natural marshes and sand dunes. Here, not only do we find a profusion of wildlife but also the roaming herds of 'wild' bulls and the exciting long-maned white horses so characteristic of the area.
Although the holiday industry is squeezing these marshes ever tighter, they are still of enormous international importance for their wealth of wildlife. There are sights on show at every turn: great flocks of flamingos, a host of heron and egret species, hawking bee-eaters, and ever present marsh harriers.
Where marshland gives way to flooded rice fields, breeding colonies of black-winged stilts occur and in places we can watch collared pratincoles hawking after insects. Many black kites and the occasional short-toed eagle hunt the drier edges, breeding areas for tawny pipits and crested larks.
East of the Camargue lies the stony 'desert' of la Crau, originally laid down by a former course of the Durance river. Where parts of this old flood plain have not been cleared of stones and cultivated, stony herb-rich grassland provides breeding habitat for little bustards and pin-tailed sandgrouse. The scents of herbs, hunting Montagu's harriers and the calls of stone-curlews make for a memorable experience.
Farmland to the north, with fields of wild flowers, nightingales singing, fan-tailed warblers calling and occasional rollers perched on telegraph wires, gives way to the spectacular limestone chain of hills, les Alpilles. Cirl buntings and blue rock thrushes may be found on the rocky slopes around the fortified hilltop town of Les Baux. Alpine swifts whirl overhead and walking through the fragrant scrub provides wonderful views over the Rhône delta and a chance of seeing soaring Egyptian vultures and Bonelli's eagles. The limestone hills provide much to excite and interest the botanist too, and butterflies can be bewilderingly abundant.
Above and under the arches of the spectacular Roman aqueduct, the Pont du Gard, alpine swifts and crag martins hunt for insects. Careful, if neckaching, searching among the fine stonework might provide views of rock sparrows. Riverine forest along the banks of the Gardon River is the home of golden orioles.
Pont du Gard
To the west of the Camargue proper lies the Petite Camargue. Expanses of Salicornia support a small breeding population of spectacled warblers and the islands in some larger étangs hold gull-billed terns and slender-billed gulls. An enormous heronry in the heart of the reserve at Scamandre enables a memorable close encounter with these iconic birds of the marshes. Close to the town of les Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer, known for its spring gypsy festival, tracks along the beach or beside the shore of the étangs afford distant views over the sea and the lagoons.
We stay at the Hotel Robinson, a family-run hotel on the edge of the pretty medieval town of Beaucaire. Noted for its hospitality and its excellent regional food and wine, the hotel is set in 10 hectares of beautiful wooded grounds extending up the hillside behind.
Many more photos of flamingos on our flamingos web page here.
The Camargue is famous for its cattle and white horses - below, with cattle egret
Bee-eaters
The stony wastes of La Crau, haunt of little bustards and stone-curlews (below, with asphodels)
Pictures on these Camargue pages by Honeyguider John Rumpus.
