The Brenne — le pays des mille étangs, the land of a thousand lakes — is one of France's most important wetland habitats. The park covers 1,672 square kilometres of the Indre department, with Le Blanc as its principal town and gateway. The landscape is unusual: hundreds of shallow, vegetated ponds separated by low ridges and woodland, stretching to the horizon in every direction.
For birdwatchers, it is exceptional. Bitterns boom from the reedbeds in spring; black-necked grebes, purple herons, and whiskered terns nest on the water. In autumn, tens of thousands of common cranes pass through the Brenne on migration — morning roost lift-offs with thousands of birds rising simultaneously are one of the great wildlife spectacles of central France. Osprey, marsh harrier, and hobby are common summer visitors.
The best approach is to simply drive the back roads with binoculars, stopping wherever the reeds look interesting. The Maison de la Nature et de la Réserve in Saint-Michel-en-Brenne (about 10 kilometres from Le Blanc) provides maps, guided walks, and information on where to find the best concentrations of wildlife at any given time of year.