After ten years of gigantic work, the Lac du Der-Chantecoq – the Marne river reservoir lake – was created in the heart of the Champagne region in 1974. All along its 50 miles (80 km) of banks, quiet zones are reserved for the 310 species of birds that have been recorded to date. In autumn and winter, tens of thousands of Common Cranes (Grus grus) can be seen flying in the early morning. They come to spend the winter or are on migration to the south. They are joined on the lake by wild birds of all kinds: geese, ducks, swans, raptors, etc.