ETANG DU MOURA

Sensitive Natural Area, the pond of Moura is the longest pond of Bas-Armagnac and constitutes a remarkable and original area within the Natura 2000 site of the ponds of Bas-Armagnac.

It is in the Middle Ages, thanks to the skill of the Cistercian monks, that it developed. The white monk, much more than an outstanding hydraulic technician, is a wise manager and a talented breeder.
Taking advantage of his knowledge, he started intensive fish farming and every three years he drained the ponds and cultivated cereals, hemp and flax on this very fertile land.
The ponds lasted until 1950 and continued to provide for the daily needs: traditional fishing (carp, pike-perch, pike...) rushes for the rempailling, cultivation of cereals and operation of mills.
Today, these modes of production have been eroded by industrialization and the consumer society and have given way to a remarkable natural area that is home to 13 protected species and 19 species on the red list of threatened species in France.
The Moura site, relatively wild and protected, is still representative of these specific wetland ecosystems; it is characterized by a mosaic of natural environments. The humid and Atlantic influences are characterised by the expression of amphibious vegetation (knotweed), reedbeds and grass beds, but also wet meadows (Fritillary) and wet or dry moors. Several of these habitats are rare in the Midi-Pyrénées. Its wooded surroundings, in a network with flooded and hedged meadows, located downstream from the pond, constitute a habitat of choice for protected species that frequent old trees and meadows (Pique-prune beetle).
The pond is particularly favourable for avifauna (birds) as a migratory stopover and wintering area. It is the foundation of a multi-species heronry: Grey heron, Cattle heron, Little Egret. A total of 118 species of birds, including highly monitored categories, are observed there.
Beyond all these functions, this site remains above all the guarantor of the favourable development of a population of protected turtles: the European Pond Turtle.

DATAtourisme France