On January 10, 2023, a coordinated census of wintering Common cranes (Grus Grus) in the Camargue took place. About forty people, volunteers or employees of the Tour du Valat, the Camargue National Reserve, the Vigueirat Marshes Reserve, the Camargue Regional Nature Park and the Scamandre Center spread out over the Camargue territory to estimate the wintering population as closely as possible.
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The observers were positioned near nocturnal gatherings, also called roosts, inventoried beforehand. These are generally vast wetlands hosting from a few tens to several thousands of individuals. |
At sunrise, the observers counted the groups of cranes leaving their nocturnal quarters to reach their feeding areas. This resulted in a count of 26,800 individuals, a very slight decrease compared to 2022.
Overall, these figures confirm the very strong increase of the species in the Camargue over the last 10 years.
