Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A lake, with associated reedbeds (
Phragmites) and wet meadows, and woodlands, hedgerows and cultivated land.
The site holds 20,000 or more waterbirds on passage and in winter, on a regular basis. Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria:
Aythya nyroca (wintering);
Crex crex (passage).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is drying out as it no longer receives sufficient water from the River Loire (`Other' threats, above). Problems of eutrophication are common due to agricultural pollution.
National Partial
International High2,694 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Lac de Grand-Lieu, 2,694 ha). 5,600 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Lac de Grand-Lieu, 6,000 ha). 5,600 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Grand-Lieu, 6,300 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lac de Grand-Lieu (France). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lac-de-grand-lieu-iba-france on 22/12/2024.