A vista extensive meadows criss-crossed with ditch and studded with peat bogs grazed by racehorses and cattle, through which the Rivers Douve, Taute and Sèves pass on their way to the vast estuary of the Baie des veys which is home to a colony of common seals, traditional Norman bocage of small fields with hedges and trees on the higher ground, and low-lying land reclaimed from the sea : you are in the Marais de Carentan.
This wilderness became the favourite territory for numerous migrating birds in search of an undisturbed habitat with plenty of food : waders and ducks in winter, storks, herons and cattle egrets in summer. It was therefore entirely "natural" that in 1991 the Parc Naturel Regional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin should be born, a vast wetland of 27,000 hectares rich in rare flora and fauna.
Carentan : between sea and marshlands ...
