The Camargue is one of Europe's great wetlands, with around 400 bird species recorded. Every month brings something different – from tens of thousands of wintering cranes to the colourful bee-eaters of early summer. Here is a month-by-month guide to what you can see and photograph throughout the year.
January – the heart of winter
Winter is crane season. Tens of thousands of common cranes spend the winter in the Camargue – almost 40,000 were counted in January 2025 – feeding on fields and wet meadows in large flocks. Thousands of ducks rest on the lagoons, among them teal, shoveler and gadwall, and lapwings reach their highest numbers. Flamingos are in their brightest plumage and have already begun their courtship. Hen harriers glide low over open land, and common buzzards, a few booted eagles, merlins and red kites spend the winter here alongside the resident marsh harriers. The low winter sun gives soft light all day long.
Camargue Photo Hides: the hides are closed in winter – the new season starts at the end of February.
February – flamingo courtship
The flamingo courtship is now in full swing: hundreds of birds march, turn their heads and open their wings in perfect synchrony. From mid-February, the cranes start heading north again. The days grow longer, the first spring migrants appear – and with hardly any mosquitoes and few visitors, it is a wonderful month for relaxed sunrise sessions.
Camargue Photo Hides: the hide season opens at the end of February.
March – the season opens
Spring migration begins, and birds heading north from Africa and Spain stop to rest and feed in the wetlands. The last cranes leave in early March, together with many of the wintering ducks, and the hen harriers stay until mid-March. At the same time, the first raptors return from Africa: short-toed eagles arrive in early March and hunt snakes over the marshes and dry meadows, and ospreys pass through on their way north. Flamingos are still displaying, spoonbills pass through, the first black-winged stilts arrive and black kites return to circle over the marshes. Little egrets and grey herons are already at their colonies. A calm month with soft light all day.
Camargue Photo Hides: hide season – the hides are open. Horse shoots are also possible.
April – arrivals everywhere
April is the month of arrivals. Purple herons, squacco herons and night herons return to their colonies, black-winged stilts and avocets settle in to breed, and terns – whiskered, gull-billed and Caspian – hunt over the water. Collared pratincoles and hoopoes are back, the great spotted cuckoo can be seen, and white storks are busy at their nests. Around 18 to 20 April, the bee-eaters arrive on my mas, with their soft, rolling calls high in the sky. At the same time, waders on passage stop to rest: ruffs, wood sandpipers and black-tailed godwits. In the sky, raptor migration is in full swing: Montagu’s harriers return from their African wintering grounds, honey buzzards, hobbies and black kites move north, and in late April and early May a few red-footed falcons regularly appear – a highlight for every birder.
Camargue Photo Hides: hide season – the hides are open. Horse shoots are also possible.
May – the peak month
Now everything is here. European rollers join the bee-eaters, stilts and avocets are nesting, courtship is at its height, and little terns start nesting on the islets. Squacco herons are easy to see now. For many photographers this is the best month of the year – and the one that fills up first.
Camargue Photo Hides: hide season – the hides are open.
June – young birds and long evenings
The first chicks and juveniles appear: young stilts on the mudflats, young herons in the colonies, bee-eaters feeding their nestlings. Flamingos begin to moult and look a little paler. The days are long, the evening light is warm, and early starts are rewarded with calm water and reflections.
Camargue Photo Hides: hide season – the hides are open.
July – the end of the hide season
The heat arrives, and activity concentrates in the early morning and late evening. Families of birds gather around the remaining water, and the first waders returning from the north appear, such as curlew sandpipers. On my mas, the bee-eaters stay until the end of July.
Camargue Photo Hides: the hide season ends in mid-July; the floating hides are used until the end of June or the first week of July.
August – migration begins
Autumn migration starts early: from August, birds from the north pass through the Camargue, and the first teal arrive for the winter. Black kites and most black-winged stilts leave at the end of the month, heading back to Africa. From late August, you can spot the dark grey young flamingos among the adults.
Camargue Photo Hides: no hide sessions until the end of February – but the horse shoots start again in August.
September – peak migration
Migration is at its peak. Waders such as curlew sandpipers rest on the mudflats, flocks of small birds move through the reeds, and the last bee-eaters, rollers and squacco herons leave for Africa. Raptors head south too: ospreys pass through, and the short-toed eagles leave in the second half of September. Gadwall and shoveler return for the winter, and the light becomes warmer again.
Camargue Photo Hides: no hide sessions until the end of February – horse shoots are possible.
October – golden light
October brings golden light and the first wintering birds: more and more ducks gather on the lagoons, and common buzzards and booted eagles arrive to spend the winter. Towards the end of the month, the first cranes can be heard overhead.
Camargue Photo Hides: no hide sessions until the end of February – horse shoots until the end of October.
November – the cranes arrive
Now the cranes arrive in large numbers, and their calls fill the evening sky. Flamingos reach their most vibrant plumage, ducks and lapwings gather in thousands, and small birds such as firecrests arrive from northern Europe for the winter.
Camargue Photo Hides: the hides are closed in winter – the new season starts at the end of February.
December – winter in the wetlands
The wetlands are quiet, but full of life. Cranes feed on the fields, raptors hunt over the marshes, and in early December the flamingos begin their courtship displays – the first sign of the next season. Resident birds such as glossy ibis, purple swamphens, kingfishers and bearded reedlings can be seen all year round.
Camargue Photo Hides: the hides are closed in winter – the new season starts at the end of February.
A tip for every month
Whatever month you choose: the first two hours after sunrise and the last two before sunset are the most productive. Plan your days around them – my programmes already do.
My hide season runs from the end of February to mid-July. Find the right dates for your trip.