Ornithological nature reserve of Oye beach

Located between Calais and Gravelines, the Oye Plage Nature Reserve has been shaped by the sea, sand and wind a few centuries ago.
Protected from the action of the waves, the site reaches a maximum altitude of 2 meters (outside the dunes which culminate between 10 and 15 meters) above the sea level.
The nature reserve covers 391 hectares
This vast polder is the first French stop for birds of passage en route to their winter quarters. Huge and intimate at the same time, this natural area is undoubtedly one of the first ornithological jewels of the Pas-de-Calais.
This protected natural area, between land and sea, contains an important biological richness resulting from the interactions between these two elements.
The interventions carried out on the site are primarily focused on maintaining this biodiversity, mainly towards plants and birds. For this area, we set up a pasture by different hardy species (Cattle and Pony Highlands, Sheep Shetlands) resistant to the climatic conditions of our latitudes. This allows the maintenance of a mosaic of habitats favorable to the bird species that frequent the reserve.
Late season export mowing also plays an important role in maintaining a "poor" soil favorable to a specific and very rare flora.
The free evolution of water spaces contributes, through their temporary summer drying, to the development of plant species that depend on these events. It also promotes access to food resources that many birds come to collect by digging the mud.