We were doing day trips from our home base at Le Somail in the South of France, and on this day headed toward the Mediterranean coast. One stop was to hopefully see the native Great Flamingos at Saline de Peyriac de Mer.
Saline de Peyriac dates to the thirteenth century. Water from the Mediterranean Sea was brought in through a series of man-made ponds and canals, and through evaporation, the salt in the water became progressively more concentrated. In the final shallow, clay lined, crystallizing pond, the increasingly concentrated salt water would form fleur de sel, delicate “flower” crystals, on top of the water that would be collected for human consumption. In addition, heavier, less pure crystals would precipitate to the floor of the pond, where it would be collected for more industrial uses. This was a labor intensive process and the operation ceased production in 1967. Shortly thereafter the property was taken over by Conservatoire du Littoral (Conservatory for the Coast), and the ponds and the surrounding land were turned into a preserve, and has become a well known birding location.
We parked in the visitors’ parking lot for the town of Peyriac de Mer, crossed the bustling Rue des Salines (Road of the Salt), and had our first view onto the salt ponds.
We did not have a set plan as we entered the preserve and let wildlife sightings direct us. Our eventual route is outlined in pink on the map below. The trail here was a combination of boardwalk, dike, and pondshore which gave us multiple encounters with the Great Flamingos that we were seeking.
It did not take long to visualize our first Flamingos as they were great in number and dispersed across several of the adjacent ponds, as noted below.
It was mid-September and I was somewhat surprised that there was little to no pink plumage in the flock. I had seen other species of flamingo elsewhere – zoos, Busch Gardens, and the Everglades, and they always seemed to have a significant element of pink in their feathers. Here they tended to be a mottled gray. My reading suggests several reasons for this:
- Lack of carotenoids in their diet – Flamingos get these chemicals through consumption of certain algae, crustaceans, and shrimp. Carotenoids are a spectrum of yellow, red, and orange in color, and after metabolization in the liver they are deposited in the tissues and feathers, giving the flamingos their characteristic pink color. Flamingos in captivity are fed a diet supplemented with cartotenoid rich foods. Carotenoids are also present in carrots, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash and they are the reason that babies that consume a diet high in these foods will have a yellow-orange tint to their skin.
- Age – younger flamingos are white to gray.
- Season – all flamingo species are their most pink during the breeding season of late winter and spring. Their bodies make an oil in a gland near their tail that contains the carotenoids and it is applied to the feathers during the preening of mating season, which extenuates the pink. Some bird experts compared it to “applying makeup”. After breeding, the flamingos lose their pink coloration due to the dietary demands of feeding their chicks. Both parents produce “crop milk” from their upper gastrointestinal tract, which is regurgitated to feed to the offspring. The milk is rich in nutrients, including carotenoids, robbing them from the parents tissues.
- Species – the Great Flamingo is the least pink of the flamingo species.
Flamingos are filter feeders. With their heads submerged they stir up the pond bottom and suck in the water, then filter for algae, insects, brine shrimp, mollusks, and small crustaceans when they expel the water.
The Flamingos are awkward, gangly fliers. The population at Peyriac de Mer are considered “partially migrating”, with eighty percent of the flamingos flying south to Africa, Italy, and Spain in the fall, before returning to breed in the late winter and spring.
Of course the flamingos were not alone at the preserve and a myriad of other bird species were surprisingly comfortable with our proximity.
Little Egret – the black bill is an identifying feature. The Great Egret, which is also native to the region, has a yellow bill.
Great Crested Grebe – his crest was dampened down after diving for food. They have a wide distribution across Europe and Asia.
Slender-billed Gull – is common around the Mediterranean Sea and along the northwestern shore of the Indian Ocean. The black coloration on the neck is not a consistent marking.
Yellow-legged Gull – found around the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands, it is a rare visitor to the northeast coast of the U.S.
When I saw the gull in person I thought that he had something in his beak, but when I read about them I noted that all the photos showed the same discolored nodule on the beak.
After the initial boardwalk, we doubled back and walked along an extended dike between two ponds.
Then onto another boardwalk.
which delivered us to a pondside trail.
Here my interest change from the waterfowl to the botany of the hardscrabble terrain. One of the first things noted were the contorted structure of the Aleppo Pines, and their light green needles.
In this same area we also noted Italian Buckthorn, which resembled a holly. Its berries start red and then darken.
Naturalized into the landscape were olive trees. Native to the eastern most parts of the Mediterranean, they were introduced into the South of France by the Greeks about 600 B.C. The floor was littered with fallen fruit.
Once again we crossed between ponds to end up on the eastern side of the pond complex. To our right, rocky hillsides that characterize the Mediterranean landscape arose and featured some columnar Mediterranean Cypress, one of the iconic trees of the region.
The cypresses have a seed cone that is somewhat unique. It is generally round and takes two seasons to mature, before it opens to release its seeds, as noted in the second and third photos below.
To our left we had views across the water onto the quaint village of Peyriac de Mer. In both photos below you can see some of the dikes and boardwalk that we had crossed previously.
We also had views back onto the hills that arose above the saline ponds. The Mediterranean Sea lies just beyond these hills.
The trail delivered us back to this centuries old structure.
The Trail not Taken – After returning home I found this photo which shows a trail that climbed up from the pondside section of trail. We went to the left along the pond, but I now believe that this trail heads up onto the hilly peninsula marked as “Petite Passiere” on the earlier map, which we did not have in our possession at the time. I believe that the climb would give the hiker outstanding, 360 degree views from the top of the hill, and allow one to continue on the dashed path of the map, clockwise into the village of Peyriac de Mer and enjoyed a stroll through the reportedly outstanding village.
In summary, our impromptu visit to see the flamingos at Peyriac de Mer was memorable, and a shout out to my cousin JoAnne for finding this gem. I did not expect to be able to get as close to the flamingos as we did, and the abundance of other wildlife was a bonus. We also enjoyed our hike through the rock strewn, arid hillsides that were dressed with a wide variety of trees and shrubs characteristic of the Mediterranean coast. As is often the dilemma when traveling, finding the balance for time allocation, when there is so much to experience, is the real challenge. But this was time well spent.
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Photo credits to Peggy Juengling Burns.
Overview:
Location – Rue de Salines, Peyriac de Mer, France.
Trail Conditions – boardwalk and crushed stone.
Print Map Link – none.
Facilities – none noted.
Benches – none noted.
Picnic Tables – none noted but some may be present in the park that is on the edge of the saline ponds in the village.
Kids – kids 4 and over should be fine.
Dogs – do not recall signage. Some online sources report that they are allowed while on a leash.
Suggested Paired Hikes – none
Links:
https://www.cotedumidi.com/en/heritage/authentic-villages/peyriac-de-mer/
https://www.birdingplaces.eu/es/birdingplaces/france/saline-de-peyriac-de-mer