4th Dec 1988 - Baie d-Yves

According to the reserve leaflet, beyond the lines of dunes beyond the lake there were vast mudflats full of the small animals which were much apprec­iated by the waders and the ducks which pass through on migration, while the back country com­prises a vast marsh which is flooded in winter. With a sunny aspect and a cooling breeze, the marsh was transformed into a 'verit­able palace of hospitality for birdlife' in summer. This area was the Reserve Nationale de Chasse Maritime of the Baie d'Yves.

A thousand years ago the sea retreated and left immense alluvial beaches along the coast. A small stream flowed into the Baie d'Yves here, but during the Middle Ages, sand and pebbles were heaped up by the wind and sea at its mouth, form­ing a dam and creating a vast marsh on the land­ward side. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, man created a channel to take the waters of the stream into the Charente River and began to drain the marsh, which lies below the high tide level.
Following the second world war the numbers of migrating and wintering wildfowl were drastically reduced. This was the result of the drainage of much of the marsh and its subsequent culti­vation, plus the pressure of uncontrolled hunting ‑ the hunters exercised their right to every prize they could find. The peace of the resting place was destroyed and "the thousands of birds that turned the day into night" were gone.
The Reserve Nationale was created in 1973. It extends along four kilo­metres of coast and comprises 1800 ha of foreshore. The protection was soon noticed by the passing birds, and now some two to three thousand each of wildfowl and waders winter here.
A 55 ha lagoon, which forms the northern part of the maritime reserve, and its surrounding area was proposed as a nature reserve because of its ornitho­logical interest. It officially became the reserve of Marais d'Yves in August 1981. It com­prises 184 ha of diverse habitat resulting from the extraction of materials such as sand and salt during the past century. These excavations, of various sizes, are more or less permanent; some are old enough to be colonised by willows, while the most recent are still almost devoid of vegetation. Between them are natural grasslands, while in the west the line of beach sands covered with short vegetation isolates the brackish lagoon, from the sea.
Bird-watchers were delighted when, in March 1983, thousands of grey geese, 200 shoveller and 100 garganey made a migration stopover here. In April 1983, 114 species of bird were recorded. Mallard, garganey, shoveller, gadwall, shelduck and coot nest now in good numbers, while house and sand martins and swifts concentrate here in tens of thousands when the 'vagaries of meteor­ology' interrupt their spring migration.
The botanical interest is rather limited, generally to flowers of the marsh and wet grass­lands which bloom profusely. Nine types of orchid have been seen, including the rare fragrant orchid.
Management of the reserve has included the recognition of the importance of grazing, so fifty hectares of grassland are being used for cattle rearing; and the control of water levels so that the lake remains brackish rather than salt. To encourage the waders to breed, and to create high tide roosts, many artificial islets are being built. There is also a twenty hectare oyster farm; this, and the cattle, provide an indication of the health of the land and water. Scientific work was also going on, mainly in the form of bird censuses and ringing, and studies to improve the site by habitat modifi­cation and better management. There was no public access, except for viewing from the visitor centre and car park, although guided walks were occasionally organised in the summer.