The ornithological reserve of the islets of the bay of Morlaix was created in 1962 to preserve puffins and terns.
Today, it is an important nesting place where around 60 000 birds winter (marine and sea-side species) thanks to the richness and variety of the sea bed.
Birds can be watched with binoculars from the coast or on board a craft (In summer, excursions at sea are available with departures from Carantec. Information at Tourist Office)
If you are sailing, "Société d'Etude et de la Protection de la Nature en Bretagne" notice boards will remind you that it is forbidden to disembark. Thank you also for respecting a distance of 80m between the islands and your boat.
Have your binoculars at the ready!
The species present
Gulls form a large part of the population and their nests set on the ground or even in the rocks are very visible with their large speckled greenish eggs...
The black cormorants with their striking rigid hieratic poses also form numerous colonies.
The small swift terns come back with the milder weather, replacing the Brent geese that leave our shores around Easter to fly back up to the far North for the summer.
At sea you might also meet a small razorbill, a diver or a guillemot which look similar but have different beaks... A lot more scarce alas since the oil spills, the pleasant puffin with its enormous colourful beak, only leaves its nest to search for food.
When going towards the East of the Bay, you will certainly see the impressive gannets with their yellow heads and their black wing tips.
Don't miss the oystercatchers, or sea pies, with their red beaks and feet and their shrieks, the little egrets and maybe even their cousin the heron without forgetting all the population of small water birds: plovers, sandpipers, ringed plovers or turnstones...
Further in along the estuaries, you may come across shelducks, with their black and white feathers barred with a large red stripe, swimming in high season with all their family of ducklings.
There is plenty to occupy a few afternoons, all you have to do is open your eyes and please, keep your dog by your side.
A booklet on bird watching in the Bay of Morlaix is available from the Tourist Office.
Some advice for better observation
Plain binoculars are sufficient to recognize the most common birds.
It is essential to respect the environment in all its forms by avoiding any type of deterioration of the different habitats (waste, moving of stones, etc.).
When approaching the birds, be careful to allow them enough space to fly away. Moreover, it is essential to adopt a quite slow pace, cock ears and keep eyes on the look-out; avoid large gestures and loud conversations. Make yourselves as discreet as possible.
Take as much care to retreat as you did to approach.
Enjoy your walk!
