Baie de Saint-Brieuc: 50,000 Birds on the Fifth-Biggest Tide in the World
Brittany, France
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Saint-Brieuc Bay Birder
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200
XP
+100 France
= 300 total
1 day
Baie de Saint-Brieuc: 50,000 Birds on the Fifth-Biggest Tide in the World
200 + 100 XP
The inner bay of Saint-Brieuc, a national nature reserve of 1,140 hectares since the decree of 28 April 1998, takes more than 50,000 birds in winter — oystercatcher, dunlin, knot, brent goose, bar-tailed godwit, grey plover — across some 800 square kilometres of sand and mud that carry the fifth-largest tidal range of any bay in the world. Hillion, on the bay, also grows a tenth of France's mussels.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Visit the Maison de la Baie at Hillion, the reserve's visitor centre on the coast path, and join one of its guided outings
2
of 4
Walk the coast path above the anses d'Yffiniac and de Morieux on a falling tide and identify at least five of the birds the reserve counts each January: oystercatcher, dunlin, knot, curlew, bar-tailed godwit, grey plover, brent goose
3
of 4
From the dunes de Bon Abri, the only land part of the reserve, scan the Gouessant estuary and the strictly protected end of the anse d'Yffiniac for duck and wader, and for brent geese from November to February
4
of 4
At low tide walk out from the plage de Bon Abri to look along the lines of bouchots east of the Pointe des Guettes, which produce 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes a year — a tenth of all French mussels — then eat a pot of them in Hillion
Visit the Maison de la Baie at Hillion, the reserve's visitor centre on the coast path, and join one of its guided outings
Walk the coast path above the anses d'Yffiniac and de Morieux on a falling tide and identify at least five of the birds the reserve counts each January: oystercatcher, dunlin, knot, curlew, bar-tailed godwit, grey plover, brent goose
From the dunes de Bon Abri, the only land part of the reserve, scan the Gouessant estuary and the strictly protected end of the anse d'Yffiniac for duck and wader, and for brent geese from November to February
At low tide walk out from the plage de Bon Abri to look along the lines of bouchots east of the Pointe des Guettes, which produce 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes a year — a tenth of all French mussels — then eat a pot of them in Hillion
Before you go
Brent geese winter in the bay.
This bay has the fifth-largest tidal range in the world and the sea comes back across kilometres of flat sand very fast: check the tide table and stay on the shore or the coast path. Two areas covering 200 hectares in the anse d'Yffiniac and the Gouessant estuary are strictly protected and may not be entered. The Maison de la Baie is near the plage de l'Hôtellerie at Hillion.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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