Habitats of the Petite Camargue
A natural heritage that needs to be preserved
The Camargue, and specially the Petite Camargue (west from the Petit
Rhône in the départements (counties) of Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard and
Hérault), are famous for the diversity of their landscapes and of their
natural habitats that are quite always consequences of traditional human
activities. This diversity is the result of topographical variations and of the
specific coastal dynamics in the Rhône delta: Gulf of Lions beaches, vast
sedge meadows in the Scamandre, Crey and Charnier ponds, humid
meadows in the Vistre’s low-valley, dunes in l’Espiguette, lagoons and their
emblematic pink flamingos.
A large number of rare plant and animal species are present in these
globally protected habitats; that is why they are protected by preservation
policies.
In this booklet most of these habitats are presented, as well as the most
specific species.
Because of the natural diversity of this territory, the State, the Département
and the Syndicat Mixte pour la Protection et la Gestion de la Camargue
Gardoise have proposed to integrate it into the Natura 2000 network
(“habitats” directive), which aim is to protect and to develop major
European natural sites.
1
Habitats of the Petite Camargue
Cartographie : Scamandre Center
Agricultural zone
Beaches and dunes
Sea club rush beds, behind dunes
Pine forests
Lagoons
Salt steppes
Sansouires
vegetation)
(low
salt-resistant
Open and seasonal marches
Humid meadows
Sedge meadows
Ponds
River bank vegetation
Exploration of natural habitat
Property of the département
Salins d’Aigues-Mortes
Seaquarium Musée de la Mer
Observatoire de l’Espiguette
Mer Méditerrannée
2
Salt marches of Aigues-Mortes
Seaquarium – Sea museum
Observation post of l’Espiguette
Mediterranean Sea
Habitats of the Petite Camargue
A natural heritage that needs to be preserved
3
The Mediterranean Sea
In the Petite Camargue, the coast has an extension of about 25 km (15.5
miles), in the départements of Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard and Hérault. It is
part of a greater zone: the Gulf of Lions. The coast of the département of
Gard is delimited west by the Vidourle river (“grau” du Ponant) which is
known for being particularly capricious, and east by the Rhône Vif river
which is a former arm of the Rhône river. The shore slopes down very
gently with similar characteristics under the sea . The sandy-muddy bottom
is not very interesting for divers in spite of some submerged rocky outcrops
located between the port of le Grau du Roi and Sète. But on this coast,
which is hard to be explored, the fauna is particularly abundant due to
nutritive elements of alluviums brought by the Petit Rhône and the Vidourle
rivers. For the preservation of a large number of fish and invertebrates,
lagoons are protected places where these species can reproduce or begin
to grow in security: mullets, eels, seabasses, seabreans, crabs and many
other coastal species.
Formerly abundant in Aigues-Mortes
Gulf,
phanerogame
beds
(posidonia or eelgrass) have been
destroyed during the 1960’s because
of the construction of the towns of
Port-Camargue and la Grande-Motte.
Today few of them only remain in
residual places between le Grau du
Roi and Palavas. The slowness of
their growth turns difficult the
evaluation of their regeneration. The
ecological importance of these
phanerogame
beds
is
considerable; they constitute a
priority
natural
habitat
of
Community interest (“habitats”
directive).
4
The Seabrean (sparus aurata) is one
of the most common fish of the coast
of the Gulf of Lions. They breed in
the sea in November-December.
During winter, the life of their larvae
is first pelagic; then, once they
become little fish (in the spring) they
reach protected littoral lagoons in
which they stay until they go back to
the sea when weather turns colder.
They are not sensible to variations of
salinity and live in high depths. They
eat molluscs and shellfishes that they
can crush easily thanks to their
strong jaw.
Dunes and coastal dunes
White Dune
The beaches in the Gulf of Lions are very large; and l’Espiguette is
certainly one of the most beautiful dune complex of the northern
Mediterranean Sea. This environment is a very important natural habitat for
plant or animal species that live in these very dry salty and hostile
surroundings. In l’Espiguette the dune complex is a very active and diverse
one with mobile dunes (non-stabilised by vegetation) (Saharan type –
barkhane dunes), white dunes with European beachgrass (or marram
grass, Ammophila arenaria) or dunes with Phoenician juniper (Juniperus
phoenicea) located near the Baronnets massif. These natural constructions
are weakened by the rise of the sea level. Consolidation or reconstruction
programmes are implemented, using for example barriers made of wood
stakes that hold sand (“ganivelles”). They are present in all the Camargue
and Gulf of Lions coast.
The Sea Daffodil (Pancratium
maritimum) flowers in July and
August in the white dunes of the
Espiguette beach during the tourist
season.
Besides
picking,
the
principal cause of extinction of this
beautiful bulbous plant is the
destruction of dune complex by men
(urbanisation, camping sites, car
parks) and by storms that erode
more and more frequently dunes
(already weakened by the diminution
of the quantity of sand brought by the
Rhône river because of hydroelectric
barrages and the fitting-out of silt
sites on beaches).
The
Spanish
sand
racer
(Psammodrommus hispanicus) is
a little striated lizard living in and
behind dunes in neither very busy
nor trampled places. The Spanish
sand racer, very quick, can be seen
only briefly before he hides under
dune plants (Goldilocks (or Eternal
Flowers), marram grass, Sea side
Chamomile). Unlike many dune
animal species that prefer night
(snails, insects, batrachians), this
protected lizard (which is still quite
common in the Petite Camargue) has
no problem with the burning sand of
the midsummer heat.
5
Sea club rush bed, behind dunes
Dune systems are complex, changing according to the distance from the
sea, the topography and the salinity of ground water. Dunes and their
surroundings are often under the influence of fresh water (rain water lying
above salty ground water) allowing the development of lush vegetation. In
herbaceous places behind dunes can be observed namely Shoenus
nigricans and Erianthus ravennae (Ravenna grass or Plume grass) making
barely penetrable beds. In these very particular habitats, exists a very
diverse flora with several species of orchids, for example. These beds are
often damaged by the development of tourist infrastructures along the
beachfronts (car parks and traffic for example), even if it remains in a good
state of preservation in l’Espiguette and le Grand Travers.
The Bug Orchis (Orchis fragrans)
is an orchid specific to low
herbaceous open areas located
behind dunes. It flowers in May and
June and develops in humid sandy
meadows behind the dune complex
in Boucanet, Grand Travers and
l’Espiguettes. In France this species
is endangered by the destruction of
its habitat by the development of
urban and tourist infrastructures.
Nevertheless it is a protected
species. It is interesting to notice that
most of the endangered orchids
stations in the Petite Camargue are
only located on areas owned by the
Conservatoire du Littoral.
6
Summer
Lady’s
Tresses
(Spiranthes aestivalis). This little
orchid (maximum 10 cm – 40 inches)
makes white tiny spiral flowers in
June. It grows in humid depressions
(flooded in winter) along with bug
orchis In France it is a sharply
declining protected species. There
are only few stations of it in the Petite
Camargue where it is endangered by
tourist infrastructures, namely in the
surroundings of Port-Camargue.
Expansive pasturage (or summer
mowing) is a good way to manage
these habitats that naturally tend to
be more and more closed, preventing
orchids
from
developing.
Dunes wooded with Umbrella pines
Boucanet pine forest
The geomorphologic evolution of coastal dunes leads to a progressive
afforestation by bushes like Phillyrea angustifolia or Phoenician juniper
(Juniperus pinaster), or by trees like Umbrella pines (Pinus pinea), Maritime
pine (Pinus pinaster) or Poplars (Populus sp). These dune coastal
sometimes artificial pinewoods (afforestation during the 1960’s and 1970’s)
are a characteristic of the Petite Camargue, between les Saintes-Mariesde-la-Mer and Carnon. Boucanet and Grand Travers pinewoods are
properties of the Conservatoire du Littoral and can be visited by the public.
Pinewoods of the fossil dune complex in Montcalm tend to evolve into
broad-leaved trees forests (namely: poplars and oaks). This natural
phenomenon is partly the consequence of the withdrawal of the sea (and of
the influence of storms and salty sea spray).
Sea grape (Ephedra dystachia).
This strange plant, close to conifers,
forms bushes plastered down over
the sand on the grey impeded dunes.
Looking like a horsetail it is named
sea grape because of its red edible
fruits. It makes yellow flowers during
the spring. In the Petite Camargue
this plant only exists in isolated
stations (principally in the salt
marshes of Aigues-Mortes); it is very
sensitive to trampling and over
pasturage.
Jewelled lepida (Lacerta lepida).
This splendid green-yellowish lizard
with lateral blue ocellus is a bit
astonishing because of its height
(usually 30 cm - 12 inches ,
maximum 60 cm - 24 inches). This
lizard is the tallest one in Europe and
it feeds principally on insects and
sometimes on fruits and on little
vertebrates. He likes open and sunny
places in natural or agricultural
environment (interdunar depressions,
vines,…). Harmless, protected, the
Jewelled lapida tends to turn less
common in closing habitats (without
pasturage, for example).
7
Lagoon
Lagoon and pink flamingos
In Languedoc and in the Camargue, lagoons are salty ponds (characterised
by their high level of salt, sometimes higher than the one of sea water);
most of them have communication with the sea thanks to channels called
“grau” or canals. Generally lagoons are not very deep and some of them
even dry up in summer; then a low salt-resistant vegetation called
“sansouire” grows in it. The diversity of lagoons turns possible the
development of an important piscicultural and avifaunistic biodiversity.
Deep lagoons are nurseries for several sea fish of the Gulf of Lions
(seabreans, mullets, eels, etc.). A lot of waders and limicoles (pink
flamingos, plovers, shanks, avocets etc.) feed in not very deep lagoons.
Most of lagoons are damaged by an excessive division (roads, canals,
dikes) and by an increasing level of organic matter in water, causing in
summer the “malaïgues” phenomenon (diminution of oxygen rate in water).
Common
shelduck
(Tadorna
tadorna).
This big and many-coloured duck is
characteristic of lagoons where it
feeds in pair on shellfishes, molluscs
and other aquatic invertebrates. It
has a red beak and there is a
bulbous tubercle on the beak of
males. It nests on the ground
(sometimes in former rabbit’s holes!),
especially in coastal pine forests
near lagoons. It is a protected
sedentary species, quite common in
the Camargue and in lagoons of
Languedoc.
8
Mediterranean
gull
(Larus
melanocephalus). Several laridae
(terns, gulls) frequent lagoons in
order to feed or to nest. Most
common of them are Yellow-legged
gulls (Larus cachinnans) and Blackheaded gulls (Larus minutus); but
other rare species (Mediterranean
gull:
Larus
melanocephalus,
Sandwich
tern:
Sternus
sandvicensis) frequent the protected
lagoons of the Salins du Midi in
Aigues-Mortes.
For
them
the
Camargue is sometimes the single
nesting zone in France. The
Mediterranean gull can be observed
in the evening on the beaches in le
Grau du Roi.
Salt steppe
Salt steppe and statice
The Salt Steppe is an open environment with scarce vegetation and sandy
ground. Salt steppes are only located near to the coast; often they have a
direct or indirect communication way with nearby lagoons (when indirect via
brackish ground water). In the winter floods are frequent; this environment
is not damaged by sea floods occurring during strong storms. A very
specific flora grows in this salty habitat, a natural habitat of Community
interest (“Habitats” directive). This very specific flora is composed by
several species of statices (Limonium sp) and glassworts (Salicornia sp).
Salt steppes are endangered by voluntary alterations of their hydrological
scheme, namely by prolonged supply of fresh water. The largest of them
are located near to the Chaumadou seasonal pond in the Espiguette plain.
Caspia
statice
(Limonium
bellidifolium). Six summer-flowering
statice species are present in the
Camargue where they are called
“fleurs de gardians” (“herdsmen
flowers”). The commonest one is
Limonium narbonense, used to make
bunches of dried flowers. The other
species grow quite always on the
coast and are less common. Three of
them are a characteristic of salt
steppes: Caspia statice (limonium
bellidifolium) whose leaves dry when
flowering, Limonium virgatum and
Limonium girardianum which is a
protected species in France.
Kentish
plover
(Charadrius
alexandrinus). The kentish plover is
a minuscule limicole living in the
summer on banks of shallow coastal
lagoons of the Camargue. It feeds on
aquatic invertebrates living in mud
and
reproduces
in
sandy
environment with little vegetation like
salt steppes or even… car parks
located near to the beaches of
l’Espiguette, for example! In spite of
being recently protected it is
endangered by the development of
coastal tourist infrastructures and by
tourism in general (trampling of
nests, horse-riding, dogs…).
9
Sansouire
Sansouires are often located near lagoons and are closely linked to them.
Little differences of some inches in the topography allow halophilic species
to prosper in sansouire: annual or bushy glassworts (Salicornia sp,
Anthrocnemun sp), seablites (Sueda sp), or Sea Purslane (Halimione
portulacoides). Annual sansouires are not very dense; they are flooded
from the autumn to the spring, while bushy sansouires are only flooded
from time to time. This environment is characterised during the autumn and
the winter by wonderful red-orange colours in the sunset light… Sansouires
are not very productive for herds of bulls and horses. Nevertheless they are
indispensable for extensive ranching, a traditional activity of wetlands of the
Camargue.
Natterjack toad (Bufo calamita).
Very few batrachians live in salty
environment because they prefer
fresh water; the natterjack toad is
one of the few frequenting puddles,
ditches or seasonal rain pools in
coastal sandy habitats. This little
toad is easily recognisable by its
vertebral yellow line. It breeds in
water very soon in the spring and
then hides in humid sand and
vegetation in order to avoid summer
drought. Like all the batrachians it is
a protected species.
10
Eurasian
Oystercatcher
(Haematopus ostralegus).
This elegant limicole is easily
recognisable by its large scarlet
beak. It frequents coastal lagoons
fishing essentially worms and
shellfishes.
It
lives
in
salty
environment and most of the time it
nests in sansouires along with pied
avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) and
common redshanks (Tringa totanus),
close to shallow lagoons. These
species can be easily observed in
the spring from the birds observatory
of the Maison des Vins in
l’Espiguette
(road
between
l’Espiguette and le Grau du Roi).
Open marshes
Hydrologic characteristics of the Camargue marshes are these: an
important variation in water level, more or less long flood periods (cycles of
one or several years) and drought periods when salt raises up from the
ground. Regarding open marshes, flood periods are more frequent. In this
type of marshes an annual floating or immersed vegetation can develop; for
example muskgrass (Chara spp) that constitutes feeding zones for ducks.
Moreover there are also areas with low density of semi-aquatic plants like
rushes, an ideal habitat for aquatic micro-fauna. Traditionally, marshes are
used for pasturage during the dry season so that they remain open and are
very interesting for hunting.
Lesser water-plantain (Baldelia
ranunculoïdes).
This little water-plantain makes little
and fragile mauve flowers during the
spring. Its repartition is not well
known but it seems to be quite
scarce in the Camargue even if its
not a protected species. It grows in
open marshes and is endangered by
the closing of its habitat. For this
annual species the keeping of
pasturage and summer drying is
essential; it is well adapted to
particular and hard life conditions. It
is endangered by the quite
permanent flooding of marshes due
to hunting management.
European pond turtle (Emys
orbicularis) is an aquatic black
yellow spotted turtle which height
reaching 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10
inches). It lives in fresh or brackish
stagnant water preferably in canals
with scarce vegetation on their
banks. It particularly likes sunbathes.
It is a very shy species than can be
hardly observed in muddy water. At
the beginning of summer it leaves
water in order to lay its eggs in the
banks of marshes, in meadows or in
agricultural
fallow
lands.
The
Camargue is a place of refuge for
this vulnerable and protected species
that seems to suffer from pollution of
aquatic habitats and non-adapted
fishing techniques.
11
Seasonal marshes
Seasonal marsh and alkali bulrush
On the contrary of open marshes, seasonal marshes are more often dry
than flooded. That is why there is more salt raising up from the ground in
seasonal marshes, strongly influencing the development of the vegetation.
Plants normally growing in sansouires can be observed in it, like scattered
glassworts or other little and very specialised plants adapted to the extreme
summer drought. This habitat is quite scarce in the Petite Camargue and it
is a priority habitat of Community interest (“Habitats directive”). The
maintain of natural hydrologic variations (seasonal and annual cycles) is
indispensable for its preservation.
Cressa cretica. Little bush-like hardy
perennial making little pink flowers in
the summer. It is very well adapted to
seasonal floods and to salt. It grows
in grounds with a scattered and short
vegetation. By keeping habitats
open,
extensive
pasturage
in
seasonal
marshes
allows
the
development of an highly diversified
flora. There is only one station of
Cressa cretica known in the Petite
Camargue; the species is listed as
“vulnerable” in France and is
protected in Languedoc-Roussillon
and in the Camargue.
12
European
bee-eater
(Merops
apiaster). This beautiful coloured
bird (yellow, orange, red, turquoise)
evokes Tropics. It is also called
“African-hunter” as well as an other
coloured bird: the european roller
(Coracias garrulus). It reaches our
region quite late (end of April or
beginning of May) and nests in holes
it digs in sandy banks. It essentially
feeds on dragonflies, wasps or bees
it hunts when flying over open
marshes, sansouires or vineyards.
Humid meadows
Humid meadows and Orchis palustris
Natural Mediterranean humid meadows are places of refuge for a large
number of common wild plants in continental France, like for example
Poet's Narcissus (Narcissus poeticus). These habitats can develop thanks
to seasonal floods due to rivers overflowing or to raising up ground-water.
They are also preserved thanks to the maintain of traditional activities like
extensive pasturage and reaping. The most beautiful meadows can be
seen in the Vistre river’s low valley and close to the Costières; they are
locally named “Prés du Cailar” (meadows of the village of Le Cailar) and
“Launes de Gallician”. They are endangered by cultivation, by the
excessive embankment of rivers and by the intensification of drainage. The
amelioration of the ecological functioning of their catchment basins is the
condition for their long-term preservation.
Marsh orchis (Orchis laxiflora).
The marsh orchis likes light and
grows in wetlands like humid
meadows or open marshes. It can be
easily recognised by its height and
the colour of its flowers (crimson). It
flowers in April and May. In France
this species is decreasing because of
the drying of its habitats. Its a
protected species in the Camargue
that can be found only in fluvial and
lake areas of the Petite Camargue.
Its distribution depends on the
maintain of traditional extensive
pastoral activities.
Southern
festoon
(Zerynthia
polyxena).
This
butterfly
is
characteristic of wetlands like rivers
banks or humid meadows where it
gathers pollen from asteraceae. It
flies in March/April and lays its eggs
under birthwort leaves (Aristolochia
spp), the single plant caterpillars can
feed. In France it is a protected
vulnerable species endangered by
the destruction of its habitat by the
urbanisation and intensive farming.
The Rhône Delta is certainly its
biggest refuge in France.
13
Reedbeds
A reedbed is a fresh or brackish water marsh characterised by a thick
emergent vegetation (Reed grass (Phragmites communis)). It
spontaneously appears on banks of ponds. It exists for centuries in
periphery of the Scamandre, Crey and Charnier ponds. With quite 3000 ha
(7,500 acres) it is the biggest western European reedbed. Reeds are
mechanically cropped in winter since the 1950’s; This renewal allows the
maintain of sedge meadows. The diversity of birds in this habitat is also
interesting for hunting. Moreover sedge meadows are places where pond
fish can breed. This habitat is hardly damaged by increasing paludal
activities creating compartmentalisation and preventing renewal of water.
Reeds are weakened by too short drought periods due to these activities.
Purple heron (Ardea purpurea), an
African migratory bird. It is littler than
the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) and
their colours are different. It lives in
old non-cropped sedge meadows
where it builds its nest using dry reed
twigs. In France it is a protected
species. It shares its habitat with
another mimetic sedentary heron: the
great bittern (Botaurus stellaris). Both
of them are extremely sensitive to
the structure and the age of the
sedge meadows, as well as to the
water level during their breeding
period. Conflicts for use of water or
cropping prevent these species from
nesting.
14
Bearded tit (Panurus biarmicus).
Living exclusively in sedge meadows
this little bird can be hardly seen in
spite of the grey head and the black
whiskers of males. Bearded tits need
old sedge meadows in order to build
their nests within dry reed twigs
entanglements. By eliminating all
refuge zones, systematic cropping
and hydraulic management are very
prejudicial to it. A possible solution is
to crop reeds making a mosaic of
cropped and non-cropped areas.
Ponds
The Camargue is a recent geologic formation (10,000 years) resulting of a
progressive backward movement of the Mediterranean sea and of
alluviums deposits in several beds of the Rhône river, constituting sandy
bars in some places. These bars are marks of successive shores that
formerly delimited lagoons progressively isolated from the sea and that
became shallow brackish ponds. In these ponds, aquatic beds can
develop: for example pondweed beds (Potamogeton sp), locally named
“gratte”. In the Petite Camargue, Scamandre, Crey and Charnier ponds are
brackish ponds with 5 to 15 g/l of salt. They are used for several purposes
and are a place where thousands of wintering ducks can rest. Conflicts for
use of water endanger this habitat and disturb other habitats like sedge
meadows.
Common teal (Anas crecca). Most
of the individuals of the littlest
European duck can be seen in
wetlands
in
November
and
December. It rests on ponds all day
long and it feeds at night in shallow
open marshes. This migratory
species breeds in Northern Europe
(namely in Finland) and in Siberia. In
spite of being very popular among
hunters it is less endangered by this
activity than by the destruction of
wetlands, like many other species.
This destruction is the very cause of
its decrease.
Common
kingfisher
(Alcedo
atthis). The Common kingfisher is
certainly the most beautiful bird of
wetlands thanks to its shimmering
colours (orange, blue-green). It can
be observed all year long in habitats
that are rich in fish (ponds, lagoons,
canals, rivers). It digs its nest in
wooded soft banks. It is very
sensitive to cold (frozen water) and
has strongly decreased because of
water pollution and transformations
of banks (dyking up and rip-rap.)
15
River bank vegetation
Near the Mediterranean sea this habitat has been strongly damaged. In the
Camargue it has been destroyed by banks transformations (dyking up, recalibrations, creation of canals). It remains only thin borders made of white
poplars, white willows and Syrian ashes that sometimes are well developed
on banks of the secondary hydraulic network. The relevance of this
vegetation for a correct management of rivers has been demonstrated in all
recent studies. It contributes to the regulation of water flow, to the
protection of banks and of nearby lands against erosion, to the
improvement of water quality and to the embellishment landscapes. Finally
it is a refuge place for very diversified flora and fauna.
Summer snowflake (Leucojum
aestivum). This bulbous plant
flowers in our region very early in
March. Despite of being protected in
all the national territory it is strongly
decreasing. Camarguese stations on
the Or pond banks (Etang de l’Or)
and Vitres river’s low valley are
among the most important in France.
It grows in fresh-water habitats like
humid natural meadows, open
marshes and even on banks of
hydraulic networks forming river bank
vegetation. It is endangered by the
development of infrastructures and
by wrong maintenance of banks
(non-respect of its natural cycle).
16
Orange-spotted
emerald
(Oxygastra curtisii). This mediumsized dragonfly with green metallic
reflections is only present in flowingwater zones where it has a well
delimited territory. It particularly likes
bushy river bank vegetation. This
species is a vulnerable and protected
one and it has been observed in
some places in the Petite Camargue
(Vidourle and Vistre rivers). Its
development depends on water
quality but also on transformations of
banks and of their vegetation
(elimination of bushes).
Wetlands in the Petite Camargue are also…
Bulls and Camargue Horses ranching
Reeds cropping in winter
Waterbirds hunting
Harvesting of salt
Fishing in ponds and lagoons
In the Petite Camargue the wetlands and the diversity of natural
environments are preserved thanks to traditional human activities (bulls
and Camargue Horses ranching, reeds cropping, salt culture, fishing,
hunting…)
The maintain of these traditional activities is essential for the preservation
of the faunistic and the floristic species described in this booklet. However
an intensification of these activities can origin a degradation of these
habitats and the disappearance of species.
An equilibrium (called “sustainable development”) has to be found in order
to protect both ecological diversity and human activities in the Petite
Camargue.
That is why the Petite Camargue is part of the Ramsar network since 1996.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
especially as Waterfowl Habitat provides the framework for the
conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The “wise use” of these natural resources is the common objective of the
800 wetlands of international importance making part of the Ramsar
network all over the world.
17
18
Bibliography:

Flore de Camargue
J. MOLINA – Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue

Camargue, canards et foulques
Fonctionnement et devenir d’un prestigieux quartier d’hiver
A. TAMISIER / O. DEHORTER – Centre Ornithologique du Gard

Oiseaux de Camargue – The Birds of Camargue
Annotated check-list of the 336 bird species recorded in the Camargue
(written in English and French)
P. ISENMANN – Société d’Etudes Ornithologiques

La Nature méditerranéenne en France
Les Ecologistes de l’Euzière – Editions Delachaux et Niestlé

“Faune du Littoral Gardois” brochures
(Reptiles et Amphibiens, Mammifères terrestres, Mammifères marins,
Mollusques marins, Poissons marins, Invertébrés marins, Oiseaux marin et
lagunaires, Oiseaux des marais doux et des roselières, Oiseaux des zones
sèches et agricoles).
Collectif “Faune du Littoral Gardois”

Routes buissonnières en Camargue Gardoise
10 road itineraries for exploration of the Camargue Gardoise
Syndicat Mixte pour la Protection et la Gestion de la Camargue Gardoise

Documentary films (videos)
(made by the Syndicat Mixte pour la Protection et la Gestion de la Camargue
Gardoise).
Les voies du sagneur (12 minutes)
Hommes et métiers de Camargue (23 minutes)
Les petits métiers de la pêche en Camargue Gardoise (18 minutes)

“Flore rare et menacée en Camargue Gardoise” (Bill)
(Syndicat Mixte pour la Protection et la Gestion de la Camargue Gardoise /
Association pour la Connaisance et la Conservation des Milieux naturels).
Available at: Centre de Découverte du Scamandre
Telephone: 04 66 73 52 05
Website: www.camarguegardoise.com
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Addresses:

Syndicat Mixte pour la Protection et la Gestion de la Camargue Gardoise
Hôtel du Département – Rue Guillemette – 30044 Nîmes cedex
(Telephone: 04 66 76 77 89 – Fax: 04 66 76 52 76)

Centre de Découverte du Scamandre
Les Iscles – Gallician – 30600 Vauvert
(Telephone: 04 66 73 52 05 – Fax: 04 66 73 52 16)
Voluntary Nature Reserve, exploration of natural fluvial and lake habitats,
museography, visits, thematic activities for schools.

Collectif “Faune du Littoral Gardois”
A.C.C.M. – B.P. 6 – 30006 Nîmes cedex 04
(Telephone and Fax: 04 66 67 26 87)

Observatoire des oiseaux de l’Espiguette
Maison des Vins de l’Espiguette – Route de l’Espiguette
30240 Le Grau-du-Roi
Observation of avifauna of lagoons, guided tours by the Centre de Découverte
du Scamandre (telephone 04 66 73 52 05)

Seaquarium / Musée de la Mer
Rive Gauche – Avenue du Palais de la Mer
30240 Le Grau-du-Roi
(Telephone: 04 66 51 57 57)
Exploration of the sea, sea aquariums, muesography, visits and thematic
activities for schools.
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