Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A complex of coastal habitats, including saltmarshes and lagoons.
The site is very important for breeding and wintering wetland birds and passage raptors and passerines. The site is a major migratory bottleneck, where 20,000 or more raptors regularly pass (including
Pernis apivorus 15,000;
Milvus migrans 3,000). Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria:
Larus audouinii (passage).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Urbanization, the consolidation of land into larger more homogeneous units, and the expansion of tourism are the main threats.
National Low
International None1,293 ha of IBA covered by 2 Hunting Reserves (Salses-Leucate, 1,250 ha; La Rigole; total area 1,293 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Etangs de Leucate et Lapalme (France). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/etangs-de-leucate-et-lapalme-iba-france on 23/12/2024.
