Birdwatching in Paris seems like a difficult task at first. This beautiful large city looks like a hostile place for birds. However, we can find locations where nature makes its way and we can easily admire many species.
If we want to practice urban birdwatching in Paris, we should visit the two large lungs of the city: Bois de Vincennes and Bois de Boulagne. The first one is located in the east, between the Seine and the impressive Chateau de Vincennes. In this place, most of the competitions of the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1900. Although the sports facilities and the zoo it hosts receive many visitors every day, there is an area of about 400 hectares that remains restricted to vehicles; and there, in the deep forest, is the Reserve Ornithologique de Vincennes. It is a small fenced ground with a pond and an observatory from which, if we are lucky, we can sight from a Grey Wagtail to a Grey Heron, as well as all sorts of woodpeckers: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker and Black Woodpecker.
Reserve Ornithologique de Vincennes
Bois de Boulagne
The Bois de Boulagne is the other great green lung in Paris, in the west of the big city. In its lake and in its two big islands we can find Mute Swans, Mallards, Herring Gulls, several Stock Doves and, if we go into the forest, with a bit of luck, Great Tits and Marsh Tits, Black Redstarts and the tiny Goldcrests and Common Firecrests.
The gardens of Luxembourge and of the Tulleries are also good places to watch birds, provided that we wake up early to be ahead of tourists. If we approach the Seine from the Tulleries and focus our eyes to the Ile de la Cite, the original nucleus of the city, we can have luck and see the flight of some of the falcons that have been nesting in Notre Dame for a few years. Although later than in other European cities, the Peregrine Falcon is making its slow return to Paris and gaining back its position as a big urban bird of prey.
Great Tit in Paris
There are still House Sparrows in Paris
Paris hosts another special place for birdwatching: the small park that surrounds the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. This is an oasis for birds in an area in Paris where there are very few green zones. If we go early, before the bustle of the tourists silences the song of the birds, we can enjoy an authentic symphonic concert in the very heart of Paris.
We often think that big cities are hostile deserts for birds. However, if we keep our eyes and ears open we can discover beautiful bird species that are adapted to the city life.
