Photo Essay: France’s Camargue is a Bird Paradise

Flamingos in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.

The Ornithological Park of Pont de Gau in the Camargue region of southern France is a bird paradise in the spring. I had always wanted to visit it, and I finally got my chance. It did not disappoint.

The main draw are flocks of flamingos, but there are other large nesting birds like herons and ibises that are tending to their young as well. It’s a beautiful natural habitat that I highly recommend if you’re a birder.

If you aren’t, I still recommend it if you’re visiting nearby Avignon or Arles in the spring. Below are some of the photographs I took during my recent visit at the ornithological park.

A flamingo in flight. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
An ibis and a heron nest in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
Flamingo in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
Flamingos in flight in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
Flamingos in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
Beautiful flamingos. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
Herons nesting in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
A flamingo in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
Flamingos in the Camargue. Photo by Melanie Votaw.
+ posts

Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like

Madeira, Portugal Has It All

Madeira, Portugal Has It All

, ,

Portugal is small … really small. In fact you could fit the entire country into the area between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Yet, its impact on the world has been and continues to be huge! There is a great diversity of environments for such a small country. Happily, we had an opportunity to re-visit Madeira, one of the Portuguese islands located smack dab in the Atlantic Ocean.

read more
Exploring the Canadian Rockies

Exploring the Canadian Rockies

, ,

Transitioning from the urban environment to the wilderness is remarkably smooth. A drive along the spacious lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway leads to the charming town of Canmore in less than an hour. As I drew nearer, I caught my first sight of the distant Rocky Mountains with patches of late summer snow glimmering on the peaks of the imposing limestone range.

read more
Barging in Burgundy: Cruising Through French Wine Country on a Floating Luxury Hotel

Barging in Burgundy: Cruising Through French Wine Country on a Floating Luxury Hotel

, ,

I have been fortunate enough on more than one occasion to be able to watch images of stunning landscapes on television while luxuriating in a bathtub, but I never imagined in my wildest dreams that this could happen in real life. That is, of course, until – amazingly – fantasy became reality, on board the luxury barge La Belle Epoque, the European Waterways vessel that cruises the Burgundy Canal, in the heart of one of France’s premier wine regions.

read more