Even if you know nothing about birds, the Parc ornithologique du Marquenterre (April–Sept daily 9.30am–7pm; Oct daily 10am–6pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun guided visits only; tel 03.22.25.03.06, www.marcanterra.fr; €9.50), situated off the D940 between the estuaries of the rivers Canche and Somme, 30km south of Étaples, will be a revelation. In terms of landscape, it's beautiful and strange: all dunes, tamarisks and pine forest, full of salty meres and ponds thick with water plants. This is "new" land, formed by the erosion of the Normandy coast and the silting of the Somme estuary, where thousands of cattle are grazed today to give their meat the much-prized flavour of the "salt meadows".One of only two bird sanctuaries in the whole of France, Marquenterre is a tiny reserve in an area that gives new meaning to the word "sanctuary". From the opening of the waterfowl season – July 14, Bastille Day, ironically – gunshots can be heard, day and night, all around. No species, however rare, is spared. You'll need to rent binoculars (€3.50) unless you carry your own, and there's no point in trying to manage without, although guides posted at some of the observation huts will let you look through their field glasses and tell you what you are watching (in French). Once inside, there's a choice of three itineraries – two longer, more interesting ones (2–3hr) and a shorter one (roughly 1hr 30min) – as well as several themed guided tours (€7), which last three hours. The routes take you from resting area to resting area from where you can train your glasses on dozens of species – ducks, geese, oyster-catchers, terns, egrets, redshanks, greenshanks, spoonbills, herons, storks, godwits – some of them residents, most taking a breather from their epic migratory flights. In April and May they head north, returning from the end of August to October, so these are the best times to visit. The nearest town of any size is RUE, 5km east of Marquenterre, one of a number of attractive former fishing villages in the area now stranded inland by the silting up of the Somme. It's worth a halt for the splendid Gothic vaulting and facade of the Chapelle du St-Esprit (April–Oct daily 9.30am–5.30pm). The best place to eat is the Lion d'Or on rue Barrière (tel 03.22.25.74.18, fax 03.22.25.66.63; closed Mon and Sun eve; menus €14–29); it also has simple rooms (€40–55). Only 7km to the south, near the tiny hamlet of FAVIÈRES, you'll find one of the area's finest restaurants, the Clé des Champs (tel 03.22.27.88.00; menus €13–48); excellent country cooking is served in a beautiful white farmhouse, its walls decorated with plates and copper pans.
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