Endangered Bird Faces Extinction: High-Voltage Power Line Threatens Rare Ganga Cata

Saint-Martin-de-Crau (Bouches-du-Rhône)

« You might want to light a candle if you hope to see it », Clotilde Pérot-Guillaume warned us before we even arrived. Indeed, spotting a pin-tailed sandgrouse is largely a matter of luck. Riding in the vehicle used by the wardens of the Coussouls de Crau Nature Reserve, Clotilde, an employee of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Natural Spaces Conservatory (CEN Paca), carefully scans the terrain. Suddenly, the lush meadows of the « Green Crau » — a 600 square kilometer plain — give way to a vast treeless expanse.

The sun floods the « Dry Crau », the last semi-arid steppe in France. Here, the wind blows almost daily, causing the grass to ripple like golden waves as far as the eye can see. When the grass thins out, Clotilde alerts us: « We are in its territory. » Around us are carpets of pebbles, with the Alpilles massif to the north and the black smoke of Fos-sur-Mer to the south. Bordering the town of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, this former delta of the Durance is the last refuge for the pin-tailed sandgrouse.

Only 10,000 hectares of this unique ecosystem remain, consisting of 70 % pebbles torn from the Alps over millions of years. With its habitat under threat, the pin-tailed sandgrouse is considered to be in « critical danger of extinction » in France.

A high-voltage power line — a project by RTE, the French electricity transmission network operator — could be the final blow. This is according to state services, as reported in a confidential note revealed by the end of November and seen by Decatur Metro.

Once found in regions like Pyrénées-Orientales, Hérault, and Vaucluse, where it was known as « Taragoule », the range of the pin-tailed sandgrouse has drastically reduced in France during the 20th century, due to urbanization and changes in agricultural practices. However, it can still be found in Spain, Central Asia, and the Maghreb.

This species, emblematic of Mediterranean dry grasslands, now numbers only between 400 and 500 individuals in France, sustained in Crau due to extensive pastoralism. Sheep grazing, a practice dating back to the Neolithic era, shapes vegetation rich in seed-bearing plants, which form the basis of its diet. « Pin-tailed sandgrouses seek extremely short lawns, no taller than 15 cm. That’s why they are often found near sheepfolds », explains Clotilde, who is responsible for the national action plan for the pin-tailed sandgrouse, a state-funded initiative aimed at ensuring the species’ conservation.

Swerving left and right on the rocky trail, Wendy Whitfield, a warden at the Coussouls de Crau Reserve, suddenly brakes and raises her binoculars. « It can only be observed in flight », she says. With its height of about thirty centimeters, the pin-tailed sandgrouse is a master of camouflage: its orange, yellow, and white feathers blend perfectly with the mineral landscape. While this mimicry protects it from predators, it also contributes to its obscurity to the general public.

Experienced in bird surveys, she spots a pin-tailed sandgrouse among other birds. Only an expert eye can distinguish it. « Fortunately, its call resembles that of a seagull: hearing one in Crau surely means it’s a sandgrouse », she smiles.

« Generally, the Crau plain and its species are less well-known than those of the Camargue. Yet the stakes are just as high: it’s the last stony steppe in Europe, and many threatened species have found refuge here », emphasizes Clotilde, who also oversees the national action plan for the calandra lark and the regional action plan for the little bustard.

During the breeding season, the male and female alternate in incubating the eggs. However, it is exclusively the male’s duty to carry water to the chicks in an environment devoid of any natural sources. In the summer, ornithologists have observed the bird traveling twice a day to the Vigueirat Marshes, a nature reserve located in the Camargue about ten kilometers as the crow flies.

There, the male uses his feathers and chest cavity to store water, up to 20 % of his weight ! Upon returning to the nest, a unique scene unfolds: the chicks suckle the water-soaked feathers of the male to hydrate themselves.

These daily journeys require the sandgrouses to fly over the RN568. It is precisely on the central reservation of this road where RTE plans to erect a high-voltage power line (THT). The project, intended to transport electricity to decarbonize and reindustrialize the area of Fos-sur-Mer, crosses the western part of the Crau plain. It intersects the habitat and migration paths of five threatened species: Bonelli’s eagle, the lesser kestrel, the little bustard, the calandra lark, and the pin-tailed sandgrouse, the most vulnerable.

« Given all the available scientific knowledge, I don’t see how the species could survive such an infrastructure placed on its main watering route », worries Clotilde.

The CEN Paca, manager of the Coussouls de Crau Nature Reserve, together with the Chamber of Agriculture of Bouches-du-Rhône, has raised concerns during the debate on the industrial future of the Fos-sur-Mer zone organized by the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP) about the unprecedented risk posed by several projects on protected areas. The hydrogen transport project (Natran, formerly GRT Gaz), the Salon-Fos road link, and the Blue Canal Provence plan to encroach on hectares of the Coussouls. « The acceleration of soil artificialization planned by the projects submitted for debate threatens to undermine the efforts to protect nature by the public authorities », warns the association.

Their conclusions are echoed by the Regional Directorate for Environment, Planning, and Housing (Dreal) Occitanie. Their opinion, as stated in the secret note, relies on a study carried out in 2024 in Spain, where 90 % of European steppe birds live, showing the danger posed by electric lines to these species.

In response to concerns, RTE banks on compensation. With up to 50 different plant species per square meter, the Coussouls are irreplaceable, Clotilde believes: « You can’t recreate in a few years what millennia have shaped. »

The electrical network operator also commits to contributing to a population strengthening program by reintroducing Spanish specimens. Here too, experts believe that the conditions are not met for such a maneuver: « The Spanish populations are doing poorly. And we are not going to integrate species into a degraded environment », continues Clotilde.

To sum up: « Currently, the state is pursuing two incompatible policies: the reindustrialization of Fos-sur-Mer and environmental protection. Between the two, a choice will have to be made, bearing in mind that we have European and international commitments in terms of protecting life. » Just the pin-tailed sandgrouse alone is protected under the Bern Convention ratified by France in 1979 and by the European Birds Directive of 2009.

A bird that remained elusive that day. We returned almost empty-handed. But the next day, Decatur Metro received a message: « 92 pin-tailed sandgrouses seen by Wendy in flight with golden plovers ! »

At this time of year, the pin-tailed sandgrouses are particularly sociable. They often gather with bustards. The latter, being taller, can better perceive predators and their cries also serve as an alert. A circumstantial alliance.

As the little bustard is the emblem of the fight against the mega reservoirs, will the pin-tailed sandgrouse become the symbol of the fight against the THT line, a project that unites farmers, hunters, and environmentalists ?

Our report in pictures: