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Traditional orchards |
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Created by Man, the traditional orchard consists of
tall standard fruit trees. It is grazed or used as a
hay meadow, and is thus a semi-natural milieu of considerable
ecological interest. In the RBT the main trees planted
are apples, quetsch plums, cherries, pears and walnuts.
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| © Yvon Meyer |
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A number of wild animals have found their last natural
environment in an agricultural zone that is being progressively
cleared with the consolidation of land-holdings, and is
more and more contaminated by chemical additives and treatments.
In the RBT, the main orchards are situated around the
edge of the forests. Several species of threatened bird,
the Wryneck (Jynx torquilla),
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| Wryneck,
© Michel Rauch |
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the Hoopoe (Upupa epops), the Little Owl
(Athene noctua)
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| Little Owl © SYCOPARC |
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and the Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator),
still nest in there taking advantage of natural cavities
and dead trees).
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| Woodchat Shrike, © Michel Rauch |
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Various bats, such as the Common Pipistrelle, the Common
Serotine and the Grey Long-eared Bat (Plecotus
austriacus) feed off the plentiful insects in these
habitats.
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| Grey Long-eared Bat,
© François Schwaab |
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