Flamingos!

On the day we moved from our Vauvenargues place to Saint Remy-de-Provence, we took an indirect route, to see bit more of the area.  We lunched at Martigues, a little town on the edge of the inland sea or lake Berre.  A large channel through Martigues connects the inland waters with the open sea, and there is a bridge which can open to let ships through.  The town was very quiet because it was a public holiday, so many businesses were closed.

We drove on to the large, low-lying watery area called the Camargue.  There is water everywhere, which is why rice is grown here, and why there is a large wetland area where the flamingos can be seen.  There is an "Ornithological Park" where you pay to enter and can wander round the numerous shallow ponds populated by all sorts of water birds.  Sure enough, there were hundreds of pink flamingos there!

A nesting heron (or is it a stork?).

There are all sorts of birds there besides the flamingos, but the flamingos steal the limelight.  They are very strange looking birds, with their long legs and necks, small bodies, and unusual feeding habits.  They can filter plankton and the like out of the water using their beaks, as well as eating larger things when available.

When they spread their wings you see a lot more colour.

Resting on one very long leg.

When riled up they fluff up their back feathers.  Very pretty!

The young ones were easier to get near to.

Taking off.

There is not a lot of action out on the ponds most of the time, but occasionally some of them decide it's time for a bit of flying.  They suddenly launch into action, accelerating rapidly and running across the surface before they rise into the air.  It's quite spectacular especially if you are close, but it happens so quickly we were not able to react fast enough to get good photos.

Seeing the flamingos was a bonus we were not expecting on this trip.