Flora & Fauna . . .

Corsica's diverse and unspoilt countryside provides rich habitat for many species of animal, plant, bird, reptile (no poisonous snakes!) and insect life.

Spring is a glorious riot of colour with an abundance of flowering plants and ferns. Botanists can find 2000 species of wild flowers including 121 indigenous species, 76 species exclusive to Corsica and Sardinia, and 62 orchids including 'Autumn Ladies Tresses'. Corsica is justly famous for its maquis: a dense carpet of fragrant shrubs, wild herbs, bushes and trees, which covers 40% of the island. The maquis is comprised mainly of cystus (rock rose), myrtle, broom, arbutus (strawberry tree), lentisk (mastic tree) and tree heath, with herbs such as thyme, rosemary and lavender, creating a heady scent. After the dry heat of the summer many species enjoy a second spring. Cyclamen and autumn crocus flourish in the autumn rains and an incredible range of fungi burgeons throughout the island.

Corsica's national park, the Parc Naturel Regional de la Corse (PNRC) covers about a third of the island and was created in 1972. The mountainous Alta Rocca region of the park borders the beautiful Taravo Valley and can be easily reached from our accommodation.

Our own local footpaths, part of an extensive network used in traditional shepherding, will take you through woodlands of holm and cork oaks, fig, ancient olive groves, gurgling streams and crumbling stone terraces. Plants seen here include cistus, cyclamen (spring and autumn varieties), wood anemone, asphodels, fragrant clematis, wild asparagus, 'friar's cowl', plus several types of orchid, lily, broomrape and stonecrop.

Corsica's unspoilt countryside is home to the mouflon (wild mountain sheep) and also to a number of endemic species such as the Corsican nuthatch, swallow-tail butterfly, 'fire salamander' and of course the ubiquitous wild boar.

The birdlife of Corsica is prodigious and the island also hosts many migratory species, including unusual visitors, being situated as a strategic stopping-off point for travelling birds. Chough, red kite, buzzard, raven, crossbills, nuthatch, lammergeier and many types of eagle range across the mountains. Whilst great spotted woodpecker, cirl bunting, citril finch, wren, hawfinch, Sardinian warbler and wryneck are some of the many species found here in the Taravo Valley.
Listen for the Scops owl on a still night, spot one if you can!