BELLE-HENRIETTE NATIONAL RESERVE
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Nature reserve comprising a lagoon system, a beach and a strip of sea at l'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'île.
The Casse de la Belle Henriette site has been classified as a Nature Reserve since 2011. Spread over 337 hectares, it straddles the communes of La Tranche and La Faute-sur-Mer. Where does the name Belle-Henriette come from? From a (very beautiful) woman who prepared the meals for the workers who built this dike. A dike that proved necessary due to the flooding caused by the strong currents, due to the lack of big dunes. It is managed by the LPO. Composed of a lagoon system (dunes, reed beds, bodies of water, megaphorbia...), a 4.5 km long beach and a 300 m maritime strip, the nature reserve contains 22 natural habitats, 13 of which are considered rare and threatened in the Pays de la Loire region and 4 "priority" on a European scale. On the site, 234 species of birds have been recorded, 43 of which have a heritage value on a local, national or European scale. Rare species of nesting or migratory birds can be observed; Pied-billed Grebe, Gadwall Gull, Red Knot, Stagnate Sandpiper, Ring-billed Gull, Citrine Wagtail, and more common species, green-collar, goose, gull, swan, heron or woodcock find ideal conditions here. Fifteen species of mammals are also present, including the European otter and the amphibian vole, as well as 15 species of heritage insects, including the large stigmas ballast and the marsh copper, and finally 10 species of amphibians and reptiles.
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