Birdwatching is an activity for enthusiasts who can spend hours assessing bird populations. There were ten times more contributions last year than ten years ago. For amateurs who have not yet mastered the exercise, walks in the company of an ornithologist are a way to learn about observation.
The tide is high at the beginning of the afternoon, in La Hougue, in the north-east of Cotentin, in Normandy. About fifteen people listen to ornithologist Laurent Legrand, who notes the growing interest in this type of outing in nature. ” There is a consciousness, post-lockdown. People became aware that they could hear and observe birds explains Laurent Legrand.
There is no age limit for bird watching. Louise particularly likes barnacles, a small goose barely larger than a duck. ” I like these birds and because they are pretty said the little girl. Louise’s mother, Céline, is already a regular birdwatcher. But it’s not as accurate as with a guide with a trained eye. ” It’s still more fun when there’s an ornithologist because you learn more things. Earlier, I thought I saw a little grebe and it was a horned grebe, ma’am. It changes everything “, she underlines.
Laurent Legrand rectifies certain received ideas: herring gull populations are decreasing, but the great cormorant is doing well. As for avian flu, it has been terrible for the past three months for gannets, an emblematic seabird. ” It decimated the nesting populations, so it was very easy to see insofar as it is a bird that is colonial, so it nests in large groups. We could see on this island where there is a colony of 26 000 pairs. And on the colony of 26 000 pairs, three quarters of the birds died within 3 months “says the ornithologist.
The effects of climate change observed
Coming with her grandfather, Gaïd knows that she will have lots of things to tell her mother, who is very fond of birds. “ It was good because we had the opportunity to walk, go out… Kind of like an adventure. In the gentleman’s device, it magnified well, so you could see all the details of the plumage of the birds “explains the young girl.
An ornithologist for forty years, Laurent Legrand sees very clearly the effects of climate change. ” We didn’t see a single linnet and we didn’t see, for example, any bunting says the bird lover. “ The snow bunting and the Lapland sparrow, which are two species, were still seen for 40 years, or even 30 years, on each outing. And today, it’s become a rarity, it’s birds that don’t come down anymore because it’s already far too mild in the still Nordic countries. And so, it’s a bird that no longer migrates. »
The assessment of bird populations is a scientific indicator of the state of biodiversity.