A paradise for birds
In the Middle Ages, salt marshes were established here by salt workers. They harvested a high quality salt. Today, the Étang Salé is a protected area and a unique natural site covering some twenty hectares.
More than 160 species of sedentary and migratory birds have found refuge on the banks of the Étang Salé de Courthézon. Experienced ornithologists will be able to recognise the Little Bittern, the smallest heron in Europe, the Western Marsh Harrier, with its characteristic reddish breeches, the Great Reed Warbler (a species of marsh warbler), or the Reed Nightingale. It is the perfect occasion to take your best pictures of this incredible fauna.
But to summarise the biodiversity of the Étang Salé to the birds would be misleading. The water and land are teeming with life, with different species of amphibians, small mammals and insects.
When the herds of horses visit the neighbouring meadows in summer, the place definitely takes on an air of the Camargue, helping to create a special atmosphere, unique in the Vaucluse.
