Regional Park the Camargue – Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Situated in the South of France, the Camargue is the largest river delta of Western Europe. Two arms of the Rhône and the Mediterranean Sea in the south enclose it. This huge area covers a variety of habitats: marshes, lagoons, beaches, dunes, salt and fresh water. But perhaps most interestingly, the Camargue is also a very important refuge for migrating, wintering and breeding birds and today most of that area is protected and became a national nature reserve.

Access

The Camargue may be easily reached by following the D570 from Arles. This is the main road going to Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer, one of the larger villages of the Camargue. On the way to Saintes Maries one will cross numerous intersections, which lead one to other areas of this large wetland.

Most parts of the Camargue are protected as a regional reserve and are accessible year round. To visit certain sections of the Camargue, you will need to pay a small entrance fee, going from $4.00 to $8.00.

Smaller parts outside the main nature reserve are private and owned by farmers and although some of these private areas are very interesting for photography and birding, they cannot be accessed without permission of the owner.

What to Find

More than 350 species of birds have been seen in the Camargue, but probably birds like flamingos, egrets, herons, waders, terns and gulls will be bird photographers’ main subjects as these are typical for these marshlands.

“Parc ornitologique Pont De Gau” situated northwest of Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer, is a bird park. It has caged birds, but every evening at around 6.30pm a real spectacle takes place here. Greater Flamingos, the national pride of the Camargue, gather from all over the area to feed on krill that is thrown into the small ponds. These flamingos now allow visitors to come close, where everywhere else in the Camargue they are rather difficult to approach.

Mas d’Agon, a beautiful small marsh, north of Vaccarès, is a very good place to photograph herons, egrets, waders and terns at dawn. Although the area is private, there is a small road going through the marsh from where you can photograph or watch birds. When hunting season starts, this area becomes the playground of hunters; therefore, don’t be surprised if you hear gunshots and don’t see any birds at all.

Another good option, which offers great photographic opportunities, is to take a walk along the “Digue” sea wall, starting at the car park east of Saintes Maries. This walk is good for photographing terns, gulls (including Slender-billed Gull), waders and flamingos in the lagoons. Since birds here are more familiar with people, they are more approachable.

The drier areas of the Camargue are covered with small bushes and scrub, which are good spots to find passerine birds including Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps or Whitethroats.

Although I couldn’t find any, there are also a few bea-eater colonies throughout the Camargue. By setting up a blind at one of these colonies, one might get great pictures of one of Europe ‘s most colorful birds.

The Camargue is definitely not the easiest place to photograph birds, but once you find your way around, great photographic opportunities will show up. I found that the small marshes and creeks outside the main nature reserve are generally more suited for photography, allowing closer approach to the birds.

Apart from birds, the Camargue is also known for its wild horses and bulls, which can be found all over the area.

Light

Especially in summer the sun rises quite fast, so to photograph in “good light” you will need to get up very early and photograph until late in the evening. During the hottest hours of the day, when light was too harsh, I drove around looking for photographic opportunities to which I could return when light became softer.

On an overcast day one should be able to take pictures the whole day.

Good to Know

Besides all your photographic equipment, be sure to bring decent protection against mosquitoes, as they are numerous in summer.

There are 2 big camping sites in Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer, but in summer they can be rather crowded, so it is better to book them in advance.

You will also find small hotels and bed and breakfasts everywhere in the area, though they can be pretty expensive. I would suggest not leaving anything in your car throughout the year, as this Mediterranean area is known for its car thieves.

More Information

For more information, visit the official website of the Camargue. There are also two interesting books written especially for birding in the Camargue: A Birdwatching Guide to France / South Loire Including Corsica by Jacquie Crozier and Finding Birds in Southern France by Dave Gosney.