WINTER IN THE MARQUENTERRE: BIRDS AND MAN
Destination : Picardy Coast - Bay of Somme
The exuberance of spring, the richness of summer, the reds and oranges of autumn, the magical peacefulness of winter...there is no 'dead season' in the Parc de Marquenterre. It's true to say that winter has a charm all of its own...
'For a few years now, we have been seeing that people are really keen on a return to authenticity...So we see visitors here coming just as enthusiastically, or more so, in winter when they feel truly alive, even when it's really cold', explains Philippe Carruette, ornithologist.
A sentiment that Corinne Vasseur, Countryside Guide nature, shares wholeheartedly. Recruited in December 2008, she has already experienced one winter in the Marquenterre: 'Visitors are moved by the beauty of the nature and our job is also to share the sense of amazement that it bestows on us... In winter, at post 6, we feel that very strongly. Conversations often go beyond the scope of naturalism. Time seems to stretch out. The atmosphere is cosy and friendly, visitors here love to share these moments, where time stands still, and we love to share it with them!'
Indeed, although winter is quieter than summer (peak season for migrations) or spring (the wedding season), we shouldn't think that the birds have left the park, far from it. Due to the slight warming of the climate (an average of +0.5°C recorded since 1995), more and more species are choosing the Parc du Marquenterre for overwintering. So in winter we can now see the White stork, the Black-tailed godwit (a small wading bird from Iceland), the White spoonbill (the reserve is the most northerly regular overwintering site in Europe) or even the Little Egret, the Northern pintail and the Black-crowned night heron... 'You have to know, explains the ornithologist, that birds are no longer able to predict the weather forecast! On the contrary, they memorise the current weather perfectly and they now know that winter is milder here. Indeed, the weather statistics prove them right: up to 1990, we had an average of 60 days of below freezing temperatures per winter. After 1990, that dropped to just 35 days...The birds know therefore that in general the lakes are frozen less often, that it will be easier for them to find food. So some of them have stopped going further south, and spend winter in Picardy instead'.
So, when the birds are there, enthusiastic visitors are plentiful too! Indeed, these winter visitors, who love a certain amount of solitude, are also people looking for a more subtle conviviality: 'People come to experience a renewed appreciation of the seasons, yes, but also to share a different kind of conviviality...The success of the observatory at post 6 on the green route which we have fitted with a woodburning stove shows this well. Up to thirty or so people can be accommodated here, we serve them a hot drink, made from sea buckthorn which grows along these coasts, hot chocolate or coffee and roasted chestnuts...This place in the middle of nowhere has become a really treasured spot, a sort of meeting place where visitors can hook up and chat around the lovely warm stove...'
Chatting about the birds and learning something about people too... because 'from here, visitors always leave in a more peaceful frame of mind than when they arrived. Sometimes nature seems to bring us closer to each other...' A human experience.
Parc Ornithologique du Marquenterre
25 bis, chemin des Garennes
In Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont
Open all year round
Tel. : +33 (0)3 22 25 20 79
www.marquenterrenature.com
you enjoyed your holiday ?
(0)
1 star(s)
2 star(s)
3 star(s)
4 star(s)
5 star(s)
confirm my selection