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Golfe du Morbihan Regional Nature Park

Natural Park · France

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Photo © Jean Rebiffé from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Photo © Jean Rebiffé from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — CC BY 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

ABOUT

Where the Atlantic meets a labyrinth of granite islets and sheltered channels, the Golfe du Morbihan Regional Nature Park unfolds as one of France's most intimate coastal landscapes. This inland sea, cradled by the Breton coast of Metropolitan France, is a mosaic of tidal mudflats, salt marshes, reed beds and low wooded shores, all shaped by a temperate oceanic climate with no dry season — rain falls year-round, keeping the wetlands saturated and the vegetation green through every month. The result is a remarkably productive ecosystem: eelgrass meadows and exposed mud at low tide feed dense concentrations of migratory waders and waterfowl, while the mosaic of hedgerows, copses and meadows on the surrounding islands shelters woodland songbirds, small forest mammals and a healthy community of birds of prey. The rhythm here is dictated by the tide, which twice daily drains and refills the gulf, exposing vast feeding grounds and then drowning them again.

For photographers and birdwatchers, this is a place that rewards patience and a tide table. The soft, changeable light of the Breton sky — misty mornings, silvered afternoons — turns the water into a shifting mirror, and the low winter sun rakes across the marshes at exactly the hour when waterfowl gather in their greatest numbers. Spring and autumn bring the peak of migration, when waders and waterbirds move through the gulf in visible waves; winter concentrates them into tight, photogenic flocks. Access is gentle and varied: coastal footpaths, causeways linking the islands, and quiet backroads make the park easy to explore on foot or by bicycle, while boat trips offer closer views of the islets and their roosting birds. Come for the tides, stay for the light, and let the gulf set the pace.

WILDLIFE

Month

Type

Branta bernicla

Common Shelduck

Tadorna tadorna

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelope

Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail

Aythya fuligula

Melanitta nigra

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Common Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

Red-legged Partridge

Cuculus canorus

Common Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus

European Turtle Dove

Streptopelia turtur

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Rallus aquaticus

Gallinula chloropus

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatus

Black-necked Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Haematopus ostralegus

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Recurvirostra avosetta

Pluvialis squatarola

American Golden Plover

Pluvialis dominica

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Northern Lapwing

Vanellus vanellus

Anarhynchus alexandrinus

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Eurasian Curlew

Numenius arquata

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponica

Black-tailed Godwit

Gallinago gallinago

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropus

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Common Redshank

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Curlew Sandpiper

Calidris ferruginea

Calidris alpina

White-rumped Sandpiper

Calidris fuscicollis

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Mediterranean Gull

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

Yellow-legged Gull

Larus michahellis

Great Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

African Sacred Ibis

Threskiornis aethiopicus

Eurasian Spoonbill

Platalea leucorodia

Egretta garzetta

Western Cattle Egret

Pandion haliaetus

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

Western Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

Short-eared Owl

Common Kingfisher

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Dendrocopos major

Black Woodpecker

Dryocopus martius

European Green Woodpecker

Falco tinnunculus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Garrulus glandarius

Eurasian Magpie

Western Jackdaw

Coloeus monedula

Lophophanes cristatus

Eurasian Blue Tit

Cyanistes caeruleus

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensis

Hirundo rustica

Cetti's Warbler

Long-tailed Tit

Aegithalos caudatus

Phylloscopus trochilus

Common Chiffchaff

Phylloscopus collybita

Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

Melodious Warbler

Hippolais polyglotta

Eurasian Blackcap

Sylvia atricapilla

Common Whitethroat

Curruca communis

Common Firecrest

Regulus ignicapilla

Regulus regulus

Troglodytes troglodytes

Eurasian Nuthatch

Short-toed Treecreeper

Certhia brachydactyla

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Turdus philomelos

Turdus viscivorus

Common Blackbird

Turdus torquatus

Spotted Flycatcher

Muscicapa striata

Erithacus rubecula

Luscinia svecica

European Pied Flycatcher

Ficedula hypoleuca

Phoenicurus ochruros

European Stonechat

Saxicola rubicola

Northern Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

Passer domesticus

Prunella modularis

Motacilla cinerea

Anthus pratensis

European Rock Pipit

Anthus petrosus

Eurasian Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebs

Eurasian Bullfinch

Pyrrhula pyrrhula

European Greenfinch

Chloris chloris

Linaria cannabina

European Goldfinch

Carduelis carduelis

Serinus serinus

Emberiza cirlus

Common Reed Bunting

Emberiza schoeniclus

Red-breasted Goose

Branta ruficollis

Branta leucopsis

Spatula querquedula

Mareca strepera

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Oxyura jamaicensis

European Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Podiceps auritus

European Golden Plover

Pluvialis apricaria

Eurasian Woodcock

Scolopax rusticola

Phalaropus fulicarius

Tringa glareola

Calidris canutus

Calidris pugnax

Purple Sandpiper

Calidris maritima

Calidris minuta

Sternula albifrons

Hydroprogne caspia

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Northern Fulmar

Fulmarus glacialis

Northern Gannet

Plegadis falcinellus

European Honey Buzzard

Pernis apivorus

Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargus

Eurasian Wryneck

Middle Spotted Woodpecker

Dendrocoptes medius

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Dryobates minor

Corvus frugilegus

Poecile palustris

Lullula arborea

Riparia riparia

Western House Martin

Delichon urbicum

Common Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Locustella luscinioides

Common Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naevia

Common Nightingale

Luscinia megarhynchos

Saxicola rubetra

Anthus trivialis

Anthus spinoletta

Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Eurasian Siskin

Emberiza calandra

Emberiza citrinella

Branta canadensis

Somateria mollissima

Melanitta fusca

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Lymnocryptes minimus

Chlidonias hybrida

Sterna dougallii

Stercorarius skua

Red-throated Loon

Black-throated Loon

European Storm Petrel

Hydrobates pelagicus

Balearic Shearwater

Puffinus mauretanicus

Ciconia ciconia

Western Barn Owl

Falco columbarius

Aquatic Warbler

Acrocephalus paludicola

Common Redstart

Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Loxia curvirostra

Western Roe Deer

Capreolus capreolus

European Rabbit

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Myocastor coypus

Eurasian Red Squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris

Clethrionomys glareolus

Long-tailed Field Mouse

Apodemus sylvaticus

Rattus norvegicus

West European Hedgehog

Erinaceus europaeus

Mustela nivalis

Lepus europaeus

Panglobal Common Dolphin

Delphinus delphis

Striped Dolphin

Stenella coeruleoalba

Long-finned Pilot Whale

Globicephala melas

Eurasian Wild Boar

View Complete List (216 more) →

COMMUNITY

0 Community observations

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

Natural environment

Golfe du Morbihan 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 0 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 · February 6.9 °C Monthly maximum · August 18.3 °C

Global temperature scale

−40°−20°0°20°40°

Terrain and elevation

0 m · Lowland

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

Elevation scale

0 m

02,0004,0006,0008,000m

Lowland

Long-term climate averages, not live weather.

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