Have you ever considered visiting Camargue, France? You should simply because there is just something awesome about pink flamingos.
They’re tall, they often balance on one leg, and they are hot pink. What’s not to love?
Having called Dublin home for over a decade, we’d long entertained the idea of flying to southwest France to see Montpellier’s pink flamingos in the wild.
We finally visited the Camargue wetlands just outside of Montpellier on a broader visit to the Languedoc region of France in the spring.
If you are staying in Nîmes, Camargue Ornithological Park is just an hour away. In this post, I’ll share some photos of the best Camargue wildlife.
The area is home to thousands of Camargue flamingos and other bird species including egrets, herons, and night herons.
We arrived at the Camargue Ornithological Park and got our bearings using a small map given to us at the entrance. We came around to a small lake with an island in the center.
Every available branch of the large tree in the center was taken up by a large nest. There were dozens of egrets and herons incubating their eggs and nurturing their newly hatched chicks.
We even caught a glimpse of an egret feeding her young. So amazing!
We also noticed that many of the egrets inhabiting the Camargue wetlands had a bright yellow patch on their heads. I soon learned that this was the breeding plumage of cattle egrets. Judging from the number of nests in the trees, these guys were definitely busy!
We even spotted a night heron lurking in the brush.
On to the Camargue flamingos! Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau features a loop trail around the reserve, and over the course of a few hours, we saw many flocks of greater pink flamingos.
In many cases, we were less than 10 feet away from where the flamingos were wading.
Bring a camera with a zoom lens because the Camargue flamingos are definitely photogenic. I am flamingo, hear me roar!
While most of the flamingos in the Camargue wetlands are pink due to their shellfish diet, the juveniles are easy to spot because they are mostly white.
The flamingos mostly splashed about on the ground, but occasionally they would take flight. These birds are simply amazing to see with wings spread, soaring overhead.
Here is a video that I created capturing the wild Camargue flamingos in action. I could have watched them for hours! Click on the thumbnail image below to open up the video on YouTube.
When is the Best Time of Year to See Flamingos in the Camargue?
According to First Nature, you can expect to find 50,000+ flamingos in the Camargue in the spring and summer. Perhaps 10% of the birds overwinter here. According to Salva Fauna, the flamingos may be fewer, but they are at their most active and most pink over the winter.
What Else Is Near Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau?
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is the nearest town to Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau. Combine a visit to see the Camargue flamingos with lunch and a seaside walk. You might even spot some Camargue horses (brilliant white horses that are native to the region).
Do you enjoy travel focused on birdwatching? If so, check out my posts about the birds of Patagonia, the birds of Costa Rica, and the birds of Uganda.
