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Pas de Calais
This area, so easily accessible from the
UK, provides excellent opportunities for sea watching and
habitat for hundreds of migrant and local
species.
Baie de Somme
Only about sixty miles from Calais, the Baie de Somme is
a major resting point for birds on migration between Africa and their northern
breeding grounds in Europe.
Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez
Both these headlands are excellent vantage points
for sea-watching. The coastline between them forms
a bay with Wissant at its centre. The dunes and gorse
thickets lining the bay make excellent resting points
for migrating birds.
Outline Programme
This will be adapted according to the weather, but
we shall follow this general pattern:
| Day 1 | We take a ferry from Dover between 9 and
10am. This enables us to arrive in Calais at around
midday. (French time means we lose an hour on
arrival). We plan to arrive at the hotel at around 4-
5pm.
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| Day 2 | Foret de Crecy with its great Beeches, Oaks
and hunting lodges. Lunch at a marshy area near
Sailly-Bray, then on to the Parc de Marquenterre.
This extensive area of pinewoods, scrub and marsh
boasts 344 species of birds over the year, of which
approximately one hundred nest within the park.
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| Day 3 | Drive north to Fort Mahon where the river
Authie reaches the sea. Here a discovery walk takes
us along boardwalks and paths through the dunes
around ponds and marshy areas. We then follow the
Authie inland and lunch in this area of streams and
trout pools. Drive south towards Abbeville, pausing
to overlook the Somme estuary then on to the Hable
d'Ault reserve. This area has nesting Mediterranean
gulls, and if we are lucky, a good variety of ducks and
waders.
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| Day 4 | We set out towards Calais and an early
evening ferry. On the way we stop at the River Slack
valley, and if time permits check the area around
Cap Blanc Nez. The time difference allows us an extra
hour on arrival in England to reach our homes from
Dover.
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| Goldfinch |
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Male Pochard |
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Turnstone |
Prices and details
| Cost | £495 per person |
| Deposit | £80 |
| Single Supplement | £80 |
Included Travel from pick-up point, accommodation, main meals
Excluded Lunches, travel insurance, drinks, personal items
Group size Maximum 8
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| Spoonbill |
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| White Stork |
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| Common Crane |
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| Marquenterre Reserve |
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| Wissant |
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