The Narbonnaise en Méditerranée Regional Nature Park
This exceptional territory, known for its landscapes and its biodiversity, is composed of the maritime Corbières and a vast lagoon complex. Dunes, scrubland, vineyards, towns and villages, ponds, sea, marshes: everything is there. Its ponds are even recognized as a "wetland of international importance". The park cannot be summed up in a few figures, but they do give an idea of its beauty: 42 km of Mediterranean coastline, 2,000 species of plants, 350 species of birds (out of 514 counted in Europe!), 9,200 ha of classified sites and nearly 300 hiking trails. In all seasons, the Narbonnaise Regional Nature Park offers many discoveries, such as walks to meet Bonelli's eagle, one of the most endangered birds of prey in France, in the salt marshes or on the trail of Hannibal in Corbières. Whether you are with your family, friends or partner, whether you are a sportsman, a dreamer, an artist or a history buff, you will find something to suit you!
Wildlife
The birds
The Aude is a real paradise for birds and, consequently, for those who like to observe them! The department is home to the largest number of breeding birds in France, with more than 200 species recorded. You can observe them from the ornithological observatory at Roc de Conilhac in Gruissan, the vulture observatory at Bugarach or the bird observatory at the Grand Castelou estate in Narbonne. Lagoons and ponds linked to the sea are exceptional sites in terms of biodiversity and favourable to birds, from the great migratory ones to the sedentary ones; many species are present there. Among them, the common coot, nicknamed the great moorhen, the grey heron, the little egret, the mallard, the teal, the gull, the Bonelli's eagle, the eagle-owl, the little tern, the avocette, the grey-collared flycatcher... Today, even storks fly across the sky. But the emblematic bird is the pink flamingo! This great traveller, who used to winter in Africa, has been living in the waters of the salt marshes for the last twenty years, feeding on tiny shrimps (artemia).
In the undergrowth
The fauna is very specific. There is the Pyrenean euproctus, an amphibian that lives in springs and streams; the deer and the roe deer, both of which are found in the forest areas. Every year, at the beginning of autumn, the stag's bellow calls the females in the evening, and people like to stop at the roadside to listen to this loving call and watch these majestic animals. To appreciate this spectacle, the best places are on the Plateau de Sault, around Belcaire, Espezel and Belvis. Finer, more graceful, the roe deer likes to live alone or in a small family group. It is a greedy animal that can consume up to 3 kg of food per day: berries, mushrooms, young shoots, flowers, buds...; the isard is also found. Smaller in size than its Alpine counterpart, the Pyrenean isard is also a real acrobat, capable of leaping up the slopes and over rocks at an impressive speed. It can be observed quite easily, especially during the mating season in autumn.
The flora
As the third richest department in metropolitan France in terms of plant biodiversity, the Aude has more than 3,000 listed species, including more than 500 protected plants of heritage interest. Among them are orchids, sea lavender, pansy, round-leaved drosera and the Clape knapweed. Botany enthusiasts can head for the department's sensitive natural areas, Leucate, the limestone plateaus of the Montagne Noire foothills, the peat bogs and alpine meadows of the Madrès massif and the windy crests of the Corbières. Beware, the flora of the Aude is fragile. Many species are rare, endangered or even threatened with extinction. If you come across them on your way, don't pick them and just admire them from afar.
Remarkable trees
Among the remarkable trees of the Aude are the giant fir trees of the resinous forests of the Sault country, the three hundred year old juniper of Durban-Corbières, the hawthorn of Cals in the Montagne Noire, in the village of Lacombe (almost 3 metres in circumference), the Sully elm planted at the end of the 16th century in Villesèquelande or the zelkova of Moussoulens. Known locally as the "hundred year old tree", it is the oldest zelkova in France. Its seed is said to have been brought back from Russia by a soldier of Napoleon I.
On the Mediterranean side, the evergreen holm oak reigns at the top, followed by the Aleppo pine, the cypress and the olive tree, but also the arbutus, the almond tree and the fig tree... Then the shrubs with evocative names: terebinths, boxwoods, junipers, kermes oaks with prickly leaves. The originality of our flora lies in the abundance of aromatic plants that compose it: thyme, lavender, rosemary... As for the vineyards, which cover nearly 70,000 hectares, they are an essential part of the Aude economy and a major component of the department's physiognomy. The Montagne Noire is covered with chestnut and heather trees, and the Pyrenean foothills are covered with hooked pines, beeches, ash trees, box trees and pubescent or pedunculated oaks.
Rare flowers and plants
The Aude is the land of orchids, with 86 species and subspecies of this protected flower. Many other plants colour and perfume the Aude: the poppies that cover our vineyards - the dried petals are used in a herbal tea for their soothing properties -; the dwarf iris, yellow or purple, the Narbonne flax, the last witness of the Narbonne textile industry; the St John's wort, nicknamed fairy grass - against witch's ailment -, known today for its anti-depressive properties.... or the centaury of the Clape, a rare flower with very strict ecological requirements, as it is attached to the limestone rocks of the mountain, a species unfortunately in danger of extinction.
