Réserve naturelle nationale des étangs du Romelaëre, National nature reserve in Nieurlet, France
The Réserve naturelle nationale des étangs du Romelaëre is a protected nature reserve near Saint-Omer featuring ponds, reed beds, and peat forests across roughly 100 hectares. The water bodies and surrounding vegetation create different habitats for wildlife and plants to thrive.
The site was an alkaline peat bog worked since the Middle Ages, not from the 1800s. It was first protected as a voluntary nature reserve with the support of the Audomarois regional nature park, now the Caps et Marais d'Opale park, and was classified a national nature reserve in 2008, covering 104 hectares.
The reserve is known for its birdlife: over 200 species have been recorded since its creation, and about 270 pairs of great cormorants nested here in 2012, a number declining since. Visitors can also look for the great bittern, little egret, cattle egret and little bittern among the breeding species.
Access is possible during the warmer months, and marked paths guide visitors through the site. A wheelchair-accessible route makes the area reachable for people with limited mobility.
The great cormorant is the reserve's emblematic bird: about 270 breeding pairs were counted in 2012, a figure that has declined since. More than 200 bird species have been recorded here since the reserve was created, and two pairs of white storks with three chicks nested in spring 2019.
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