the inhabitants
‍of the salt marsh

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE MARSH

The flora and fauna of the salt marsh

Salt marshes are a unique natural environment where land meets sea, home to a fertile yet fragile ecosystem.

By maintaining the water circulation system, ensuring the renewal of water in the basins, and keeping water levels steady in the marsh, the salt worker helps preserve this natural environment.

Birdlife

The salt marshes of Île de Ré form a biologically rich and diverse wetland. In particular, they are home to a wide variety of birds (more than 300 species have been observed), which find there a peaceful environment conducive to rest and nesting. The shallow pools provide an abundant food supply: small crustaceans, fry, worms, mollusks...
The Little Egret ( resident) 
This small white heron, very common in the marshes of the Île de Ré, gets its name from the two long feathers it displays behind its head in the spring (nuptial plumage). The little egret is characterized by its long black legs and yellow toes, as well as its dark, dagger-shaped bill. It feeds on crustaceans and small fish, which it finds primarily in the mudflats and salt marshes of the salt flats.
The Common Shelduck (present year-round except in July and August)
A large duck (with a wingspan of 1.20 m), the shelduck is a common sight in the marshes of Île de Ré, especially in the spring during its nesting season. It is easily identifiable thanks to its plumage with starkly contrasting colors: a white body, orange-brown, and very dark green (almost black). Its head, also dark green, is adorned with a large red bill, topped by a knob in the male. One of the female’s habits is to nest in abandoned rabbit burrows.
The white stilt (present from March to July)
In the spring, you can spot the slender silhouette of this wader in the marshes. Perched on its long red legs, this white bird with black wings and a black head roams the marsh in search of small crustaceans and aquatic insects.
The Blue-winged Grasshopper (present from March to September). 
This passerine, closely related to the robin, is most often seen perched on tamarisk branches or in the tall grasses that line the marsh ponds. It gets its name from the blue breast that the male displays in the spring (breeding plumage). This migratory bird leaves the Île de Ré in September to spend the winter in North Africa or on the Iberian Peninsula.
The Black-winged Stilt (present from April to August)
This wading bird is easily recognizable by its long, slender, upward-curving bill and white plumage speckled with black; it is about the size of a seagull but stands on longer legs. Its semi-webbed feet allow it to swim; it feeds on tiny crustaceans that it catches with its large bill in shallow waters. It leaves the Île de Ré at the end of summer to molt in the northern Netherlands. It returns in November and nests in colonies on the small dykes or islets of the salt marshes.

The flora

A highly saline environment is, at first glance, quite hostile to the development of life and vegetation. However, a number of plants known as halophiles are adapted to this environment. These various plants do not grow just anywhere in the marsh. The most salt-tolerant ones (such as glasswort or sea purslane) are found near the water, while less adapted vegetation, such as thistles or mustard, tends to grow on the tops of the mounds.
Salicornia
This succulent plant grows starting in April in the immediate vicinity of saltwater, particularly on the small embankments that channel water into the salt marsh. Starting in late summer and through the fall, it takes on a characteristic red color before drying out and withering. It is an edible plant with a salty, iodine-rich flavor that can be enjoyed as a vegetable, cooked or in a salad, or as a condiment when pickled in vinegar.
Obione
This small shrub, with its rounded, fleshy leaves, grows in very dense colonies at the base of the mounds in the salt marshes. Its summer bloom is rather unspectacular, as its yellowish flowers are quite small.
Black mustard
In the spring, the mounds of the salt marshes are covered with yellow flowers: this distinctive feature of the landscape is due to black mustard. This cruciferous plant, which belongs to the same family as rapeseed, develops small pods along its stems that contain tiny brown seeds. When these seeds are ground up and mixed with vinegar, they produce the famous condiment.
Statice
This perennial plant, which grows to a height of 30 to 60 cm, is also known as limonium, sea lavender, sand everlasting, or saladelle in the south of France. Because its purplish flowers retain their vibrant color for a long time after the plant has dried, it is often picked in the marshes. This practice, which is now prohibited, has led to a decline in the population of this protected species, which is characteristic of coastal marshes.
Sea salt
A herbaceous plant found in wet, salty environments, the saltwort is characterized by its semi-cylindrical, needle-like leaves. This plant was once used to make “lessit,” a decoction obtained by boiling a mixture of halophytic plants and vine shoots in a cloth bag. The resulting product was then used as laundry detergent.
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