The Loire at Montlouis

Recently we needed to visit the Notaire (notary or government solicitor) at Montlouis. We were looking for a garage to rent near Saint Pierre des Corps, so the 'old ladies' don't have to put in so many kilometres. The Notaire at Montlouis was advertising one that seemed ideal, but we were slightly too early and they would not have reopened the office after lunch quite yet. So we sat on a bench and watched life on the Loire for 10 minutes.

 A sandbank mid stream, with cormorants and gulls.

The river landscape is created by the flooding and flow of the water. Numerous sandbanks and islands are formed mid stream, each having an assemblage of plants and animals that benefit by being protected and are often rare elsewhere.

 Gulls gather around some driftwood at the tip of a sandbank.

In the spring and early summer, certain species of birds nest on the sandbanks. Often the nest is just a small shallow depression in the sand, and they are subject to several possible disturbances (flood, human activity, predators). Consequently, the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) has been invited to manage the islands and sandbanks, and has erected signs saying you are not allowed to disembark onto them between 1 April and 15 August. You are also not allowed to get closer than 30 m to the birds, to prevent them being disturbed.

The LPO and the local authority are proud of the fact that so many birds choose this place to nest, pointing out that it is a sign that the water quality is good and the river ecology is healthy.

Looking across the river to the opposite bank.

The birds to look out for are Common Tern Sterna hirundo (la Sterne pierregarin in French), Little Tern S. albifrons (la Sterne naine in French), Common Sandpiper Actitus hypoleucos (le Chevalier guignette in French), Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus (la Mouette rieuse in French), Mediterranean Gull L. melanocephalus (la Mouette mélanocéphale in French) and Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius (le Petit gravelot in French).

The terns and the plover are migratory, arriving from Africa in the spring and returning there after the nesting season in August. These Loire river sandbanks are the only place in France that the Little Tern nests. The Mediterranean Gull is also very rare in France.