Marais Nature Reserve

An interesting habitat, a resting place for migratory birds after high altitude journeys

The site, consisting of a short section of the Dora Baltea river and related alluvial plain, has the typical vegetation of water-rich environments. The wood is dominated by white alders, white willows and black poplars and, in the humid undergrowth, cornel cherry trees and common meadow-sweet. The eastern sector consists of reed thickets, the majority of which common reed, accompanied by canary seed, reed-mace and panicled sedge. The reserve houses the priority habitat "Residual alluvial forests of Alnion glutinoso-incanae". The area acts as a

resting place for migratory birds linked to humid environments; together with 'Les Iles' in Saint-Marcel, albeit to a smaller extent, it constitutes for aquatic birds the place of refuge in a region of the Alpine massif: it is used by the migratory birds abandoning the main routes as they have to fly over the Alps right at its highest point. Among the breeding migratory birds, reports have been made of: mallards, water hens, pied wagtails, cuckoos, marsh warblers and blackcaps. In spring and in autumn, you can catch a glimpse of occasional guests such as: dabchicks, great crested

grebes, grey herons, purple herons, bitterns, pochards, reed buntings, hoopoes, little ringed plovers and gulls. The nature reserve (municipalities of Morgex and La Salle), set up in 1992 and run by the Protected areas service of the Agriculture and natural resources Coucillorship, can be reached via the SS26 main road towards Courmayeur (just after the village of La Salle, on the left).