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Causses du Quercy Regional Nature Park

Natural Park · France

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Photo © Thierry46

Photo © Thierry46 — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

ABOUT

Limestone plateaus fracture into deep, shadowed gorges where the Causses du Quercy meet the old province of Quercy, and at the heart of this country the land opens into a mosaic of dry grassland, scrub and scattered oak. This is classic Cfb country: no dry season, no scorching Mediterranean summer, but a temperate rhythm of spring rain, mild summers and damp, misty autumns that keeps the vegetation green and the soils alive. Juniper and box cling to the stony causse, while down in the valleys ash, hazel and oak crowd the slopes and the cliff faces hold their own sheltered microclimate. Wildlife follows the habitat: birds of prey ride the thermals above the escarpments, woodland songbirds and small forest mammals work the scrub and canopy, bats roost in the caves and rock crevices, and insects — including a rich assemblage of butterflies and beetles — thrive in the flower-rich grassland. The result is a landscape of quiet ecological complexity rather than spectacle, where the interest lies in the detail.

For photographers and birdwatchers, the appeal is the light and the seasonality. Early mornings in late spring bring soft, low sun across the plateaus and a chorus from the hedgerows and woodland edges; autumn mists settle in the gorges and turn the cliffs into layered silhouettes. Because there is no dry season, the grasslands stay green into summer and the wildflower displays are reliable, drawing in the insects that in turn support insectivorous birds and bats. Access is largely on foot along waymarked paths and quiet rural lanes, which rewards slow, patient fieldwork: sit at a gorge edge at dawn, scan the thermals at midday, and work the hedgerows in the evening. Bring long lenses for the raptors and a wide angle for the terrain — and expect the best encounters to come from waiting rather than chasing.

Website parc-causses-du-quercy.fr

WILDLIFE

Month

Type

Aquila chrysaetos

Eurasian Eagle-Owl

Anas platyrhynchos

Red-legged Partridge

European Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Common Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Ciconia ciconia

Black-winged Kite

Elanus caeruleus

European Honey Buzzard

Pernis apivorus

Griffon Vulture

Eurasian Scops Owl

Common Kingfisher

Middle Spotted Woodpecker

Dendrocoptes medius

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Dendrocopos major

Falco tinnunculus

Woodchat Shrike

Garrulus glandarius

Western Jackdaw

Coloeus monedula

Poecile palustris

Eurasian Blue Tit

Cyanistes caeruleus

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensis

Eurasian Crag Martin

Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Hirundo rustica

Western House Martin

Delichon urbicum

Long-tailed Tit

Aegithalos caudatus

Western Bonelli's Warbler

Phylloscopus bonelli

Common Chiffchaff

Phylloscopus collybita

Melodious Warbler

Hippolais polyglotta

Western Subalpine Warbler

Curruca iberiae

Eurasian Nuthatch

Tichodroma muraria

Short-toed Treecreeper

Certhia brachydactyla

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Common Blackbird

Spotted Flycatcher

Muscicapa striata

Erithacus rubecula

European Pied Flycatcher

Ficedula hypoleuca

Phoenicurus ochruros

Common Redstart

Phoenicurus phoenicurus

White-throated Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

Passer domesticus

Motacilla cinerea

Anthus campestris

Eurasian Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebs

Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Serinus serinus

Emberiza cirlus

Branta canadensis

Branta leucopsis

Common Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

Tachymarptis melba

Cuculus canorus

European Turtle Dove

Streptopelia turtur

Yellow-legged Gull

Larus michahellis

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Western Cattle Egret

Bearded Vulture

Gypaetus barbatus

Egyptian Vulture

Neophron percnopterus

Cinereous Vulture

Aegypius monachus

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Circaetus gallicus

Hieraaetus pennatus

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

European Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

Eurasian Wryneck

Black Woodpecker

Dryocopus martius

European Green Woodpecker

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Eurasian Golden Oriole

Oriolus oriolus

Eurasian Magpie

Corvus frugilegus

Lophophanes cristatus

Lullula arborea

Riparia riparia

Eurasian Blackcap

Sylvia atricapilla

Sardinian Warbler

Curruca melanocephala

Common Firecrest

Regulus ignicapilla

Regulus regulus

Turdus philomelos

Turdus viscivorus

Common Nightingale

Luscinia megarhynchos

European Stonechat

Saxicola rubicola

Northern Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Passer montanus

Alpine Accentor

Prunella collaris

Prunella modularis

European Greenfinch

Chloris chloris

European Goldfinch

Carduelis carduelis

Emberiza calandra

Emberiza citrinella

Reeves's Pheasant

Syrmaticus reevesii

Coturnix coturnix

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Clamator glandarius

Rallus aquaticus

Gallinula chloropus

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Eurasian Stone-curlew

Burhinus oedicnemus

Northern Lapwing

Vanellus vanellus

Eurasian Woodcock

Scolopax rusticola

Gallinago gallinago

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropus

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Egretta garzetta

Pandion haliaetus

Bonelli's Eagle

Aquila fasciata

Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargus

Western Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

Western Barn Owl

European Roller

Coracias garrulus

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Dryobates minor

Great Grey Shrike

Lanius excubitor

Red-backed Shrike

Lanius collurio

Red-billed Chough

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Cetti's Warbler

Phylloscopus trochilus

Common Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

Common Whitethroat

Curruca communis

Troglodytes troglodytes

Turdus torquatus

Saxicola rubetra

African Stonechat

Saxicola torquatus

Petronia petronia

Anthus pratensis

Anthus trivialis

Fringilla montifringilla

Eurasian Bullfinch

Pyrrhula pyrrhula

Loxia curvirostra

Eurasian Siskin

Ortolan Bunting

Emberiza hortulana

Common Reed Bunting

Emberiza schoeniclus

Western Red Deer

European Rabbit

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Myocastor coypus

Eurasian Red Squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris

European Pine Marten

Western Roe Deer

Capreolus capreolus

Lepus europaeus

European Garden Dormouse

Eliomys quercinus

Southwestern Water Vole

Arvicola sapidus

Short-tailed Field Vole

Microtus agrestis

Microtus arvalis

Ondatra zibethicus

Yellow-necked Field Mouse

Apodemus flavicollis

Long-tailed Field Mouse

Apodemus sylvaticus

Western Mediterranean Mouse

West European Hedgehog

Erinaceus europaeus

Greater White-toothed Shrew

Crocidura russula

Lesser White-toothed Shrew

Crocidura suaveolens

Eurasian Pygmy Shrew

Schreibers's Long-fingered Bat

Miniopterus schreibersii

Bechstein's Myotis

Myotis bechsteinii

Daubenton's Myotis

Myotis daubentonii

Geoffroy's Myotis

Myotis emarginatus

Common Whiskered Myotis

Myotis mystacinus

Natterer's Myotis

Myotis nattereri

Leisler's Noctule

Nyctalus leisleri

Kuhl's Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus kuhlii

Common Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus pipistrellus

Western Barbastelle

Barbastella barbastellus

Brown Long-eared Bat

Plecotus auritus

Gray Long-eared Bat

Plecotus austriacus

Savi's Pipistrelle

Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus euryale

Greater Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

Lesser Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus hipposideros

European Badger

Mustela nivalis

European Polecat

Mustela putorius

Northern Raccoon

Genetta genetta

Common Fallow Deer

Eurasian Wild Boar

View Complete List (203 more) →

COMMUNITY

0 Community observations

No community observations yet — be the first to log a sighting here.

Natural environment

Causses du Quercy Regional Nature Park

Generally mild conditions, with noticeable seasonal changes.

Usual climateHumid temperate with mild summersLowland

Average annual temperature 12.3 °C Average of the twelve monthly means

Average elevation 319 m Lowland

Climate pattern Humid temperate with mild summers Main environment around this hotspot

A year of temperatures

Monthly means, with the coldest and warmest highlighted

Monthly minimum · January 4.6 °C Monthly maximum · July 20.8 °C

Global temperature scale

−40°−20°0°20°40°

Terrain and elevation

319 m · Lowland

Average terrain elevation estimate across the hotspot; the figure does not represent its highest summits.

Elevation scale

319 m

02,0004,0006,0008,000m

Lowland

Long-term climate averages, not live weather.

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