The song of birds rather than the purring of engines.
This campaign promise from the mayor of Boutigny-sur-Essonne Patricia Bergdolt (without label) became concrete last month when the elected official and her municipal council protected Chemin des Marais.
This Saturday, a guided walk preceded the symbolic inauguration of this haven of peace entirely dedicated to biodiversity.
Barely the first meters of the path walked by the group, the head of the LPO (League for the Protection of Birds) Île-de-France delegation, Jean-François Magne invites the participants sheltered under their umbrellas to listen.
“You hear that bird drumming on a tree trunk?
It's a great spotted woodpecker, he says.
The great spotted woodpecker has one characteristic: it does not sing, it drums.
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Polluters came to dump rubble and waste oil
His sentence barely finished, Jean-François interrupts himself again.
“And there?
Do you hear this very high-pitched little song?
He's a cute wren.
They are very small birds, they are the size of a pétanque ball.
In April-May-June, when all the birds are singing, it's a real concert.
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Read alsoEcology: biodiversity, urban sprawl, renewable energies… the ambitious Essonne plan
A stone's throw from the center of the town, just behind the railway line, the Chemin des Marais is a little corner of nature well known to walkers... but also to polluters who had gotten into the habit of coming to unload their rubble and other waste oil there. .
To put an end to this pollution which affected a sensitive natural area (ENS), the municipality installed two barriers and developed the site with the assistance of the Gâtinais Français Regional Natural Park, the departmental council and the Intercommunal Development Union. , rivers and the water cycle (Siarce).
Kingfisher, agile frog, orchids…
Now, two panels present the species that have made the site famous.
From the kingfisher that comes to feed in the river to the agile frog that frolics in the undergrowth, the marsh path is full of surprises.
“Do you know how many species of orchids have been recorded in the 72 municipalities of the Gâtinais Français Regional Natural Park,” asks Alexandre Emerit, head of the park’s environment division.
There are 42!
I invite you to come back in May to discover them.
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If the forest and calcareous meadow crossed by this path enjoy remarkable biodiversity, the river which borders them is not to be outdone.
“The Essonne has its source in the Orléans forest,” says Léon Van Niekerk of the environmental protection association, Le Geai.
It is a fairly quiet river, you can notably see kingfishers and little grebes.
Protected dragonflies have also been seen around an abandoned watercress bed.
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“Here, we don’t let it happen,” applauds the president of the LPO
As an aside, a participant interrupts.
“The water is dark,” she laments.
When I come in spring with my grandchildren, I never see fish.
» As a good specialist, Léon Van Niekerk does not hesitate to give him his best advice.
“Come back in the fall, you’ll see, the water will be clearer.
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Boutigny-sur-Essonne, Saturday March 2, 2024. The president of the LPO, Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, took advantage of the general assembly of his association organized the same day in Boutigny to attend the inauguration.
With a little luck, this resident will be able to see the pike that inhabit the river.
And, by looking up, his grandchildren will be able to enjoy the many birds.
“When birds disappear, biodiversity fades,” concludes the president of the LPO, Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, who took advantage of the general assembly of his association organized the same day in Boutigny to attend the inauguration.
In Europe, 800 million birds have disappeared in the space of forty years.
I'm proud to have experienced a moment like this because here, we don't let things happen.
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