Daily routines

Birds in the reserve don’t spend all their time waiting for members of the public to come along and watch them…they go about their daily business at their own pace – which may change according to the seasons and even the time of day When weather conditions become more extreme (temperatures above 28 to 30°C or below -5°C), the birds will change their daily routine in order to cope. During very hot weather, they will skulk in the shade or seek out currents of air which will help them cool down. When the weather is cold, they abandon the ponds and other bodies of water, now frozen over… In order to get the best possible views, the visitor has to adapt to the birds’ patterns of behaviour and daily routines…

Some birds are resident, others are wintering species, migrants orpartial migrants – there’s something for everyone in the world of nature… A species like the Grey Heron, for example, may be considered to be a ‘resident’ species, because it can be found all year round on the reserve and breeds there too.

If we look more closely, however, we will see that there are also individuals from Scandinavia, who stop off here before continuing to Africa, as well as those who arrive from northern Europe to spend the entire winter in the Arcachon Basin area. Thus the Grey Heron is simultaneously a resident, a migratory and a wintering species… As a result, the composition of the reserve’s bird population changes almost every day, especially during migration, so the list of birds present on the reserve changes with it. All seasons have something of interest for the visitor, because every season has its own special sights which are specific to that particular time of year and no other.