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France Champagne-ardenne

Great-spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major ŠGerd Rossen http://www.digital-nature-photography.com/

The region consists of the Departments of: Ardennes, Aube, Marne & Haute-Marne. The traditional Provinces of: Champagne, Lorraine & Burgundy.

The countryside of this department is very variable, and has areas with distinct character. Most notable is the high clay plateau forming the watershed between the Marne and the Seine rivers. In this flat and wet area three very large artificial lakes have been created for the purpose of regulating flow in the Marne and Seine rivers. This means that they progressively dry out from late spring onwards and are at their lowest in November.

Famous for their Catfish and Carp fishery, the lakes also provide a home for vast numbers of birds, at all times of the year. They are the Lacs du Der/Chantecoq, Amance, and Foret d`Orient, famous for their populations of migrating Cranes and as a winter home for White Tailed Eagles. Then there is the bocage country to the North and East of the region, with small fields, mature hedges, and some very un-intensive farming in little pockets, as well as the Meuse and Sedan valleys and forrests. The whole region always repays a close look wherever the travelling naturalist stops.

top sites

Chooz & Montherme

There is an excellent reserve in a bend in the Meuse River south of Givet [where there is a nuclear power station] which is good for Ospreys, Black-necked Grebe etc. The wooded hills West of there are good for Black Woodpecker, among other things. Nearby, there is a fascinating botanical reserve comprising a raised acid bog high in the hills above Montherme.

Forest du Der

The Forest du Der near Allichamps has Black and Middle-spotted Woodpecker, as also does the woodland North of the lovely village of Trois Fontaines, North of St Dizier.

La Horre lake

La Horre lake is near to (West) the Lac du Der and has breeding Purple Heron and Spotted Crake. The woods North of the Forest Orient lake around the Maison de Foret has flocks of tens of Hawfinch and wintering Firecrest, too.

Lac de la Foręt D`Orient and Lac du Der-Chantecoq

The lakes in Champagne are Well known for cranes on migration and over-wintering, local speciality also include WT Eagle, RL Buzzard and Bean Goose... Also has some very good woodlands in the area.

Maubeuge area

To the South of the town of Maubeuge in the west is some very very good birding in the woods, streams and hedges which saw such fierce fighting towards the end of the second world war. It also contains remnants of the Maginot Line. The small villages of Wallers-Trelon, Solre le Chateau, and the Val Joly lake near Willies will all repay a quiet ramble along the lanes or into the woods with a satisfying list of birds such as Red-backed Shrike, Honey Buzzard, Wood Warbler, Black and Red Kite, Corncrake and breeding Fieldfare, and maybe even Bonelli`s Eagle.

Presque`Ile de Champaubert Park

At Lac du Der/Chantecoq, the park around the old Church at Presque`Ile de Champaubert is a must see, for raptors and rarer waterfowl - including 150 Smew in winter.

contributor

Peter Wells
p.wells@zen.co.uk

useful reading

Books, CDs, etc.

For books on France as a whole and more than one region see the Fatbirder France page...

clubs

LPO Champagne-Ardenne

http://www.lpochampagneardenne.com/
Aider les oiseaux en hiver, favoriser leur nidification dans votre jardin, suivre la migration des Grues cendrées, faire connaissance avec le lac du Der et les lacs Aubois, mieux connaître les oiseaux de Champagne Ardenne, celŕ vous interesse?

reserves

Lac du Der

http://www.conservatoire-du-littoral.fr/front/process/Content.asp?rub=8&rubec=174
Les étangs d`Outines et Arrigny, acquis par le Conservatoire du littoral (326 ha), font partie de la Champagne humide, région naturelle comprenant de nombreux étangs, des gravičres et les barrages-réservoirs du bassin de la Seine parmi lesquels le lac de Der-Chantecoq (réservoir Marne), plus grand lac artificiel d`Europe qui se situe ŕ 500 mčtres ŕ l`est des étangs...

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you cant find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page give them a try!

1997 [January] - Liz Watson

http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/tripreports/TripReports.html
Weather was unusually cold with all the lakes we visited frozen solid and very little open water. Snow still lying thick on the ground...

2004 [November] - Ivan Steenkiste - Lac du Der

http://users.skynet.be/wielewaal/Lac_du_Der.htm
My wife and I spent 4 days (Nov 23 - 26) at the Lac du Der to enjoy the daily coming and going of thousands of Common Cranes. Their numbers are estimated to be around 14.000 (though higher numbers up to 70.000 were seen in October). These days, the elegant birds leave their safe sleeping areas at the Lake at around 07:35 in order to fly to / find food in the surrounding fields and landscapes. In the evening, they come back to the lake as of 15:30 in big V-shapes or long lines. Their approach can be heard from very far and when one is posted on the dike at the West side, superb pictures can be made, filled with an orange coloured sky.

Peter Wells - Lac du Der

http://www.forewood.co.uk/
This page will be updated soon to tell you about my birding trips to the Lac du Der - Chantecoq area in the Champagne - Ardennes region of North-Eastern France. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures...

local guides

Birding Pal

http://www.birdingpal.org/France.htm
Local birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...

mailing lists

obs-champagne-ardenne

http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/obs-champagne-ardenne/
To post to list:obs-champagne-ardenne@yahoogroupes.fr
List contact:obs-champagne-ardenne-owner@yahoogroupes.fr
To subscribe to list:obs-champagne-ardenne-subscribe@yahoogroupes.fr
Observations en Champagne Ardenne. La liste obs-Champagne-Ardenne se veut ętre le rendez-vous de tous ceux qui aiment les oiseaux de la région, qu`ils soient Champardennais ou non. C`est un lieu d`échanges sur tout ce qui a trait ŕ l`oiseau libre, en particulier les observations. En ce qui concerne les espčces sensibles, il est demandé de ne pas donner précisément le lieu d`observation, afin d`éviter les dérangements, surtout en période de reproduction. Cettte liste est ouverte ŕ tous.

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