Margaux survey finds 36% more bat contacts and 15% more bees
A survey across Margaux found 36% more bat contacts and 15% more bees in 2025 than in 2015. At 14 sampling points, it also found an average of 2.7 additional bird species in areas with biodiversity improvements; butterfly data were not comparable because the protocol changed.
A decade of habitat work
Biodiversity is central to the strategy of Margaux’s 1,550-hectare appellation. Winegrowers launched “Margaux, Terroir de Biodiversité” in 2013. Measures include 19.5 km of hedges and 189 hectares under late mowing. Emilie Fabre, head of the Margaux winegrowers’ association, said 96.4% of the appellation area was engaged in an environmental approach.2
The winegrowers and their appellation body commissioned inventories in 2015 and 2025. At 14 sampling points, they compared the abundance and diversity of bats, daytime butterflies, birds and bees over 10 years.2
Survey results
The second inventory, conducted by the Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux (LPO) and naturalist David Genoud, found 36% more bat contacts and 15% more bees in 2025 than in 2015. Areas with biodiversity improvements had an average of 2.7 additional bird species. The source describes bats as slow-changing indicators of habitat condition and bees as quick to respond to annual climatic variations.2
Butterfly data could not be used because the protocol changed between the 2 inventories. The 2015 baseline included linnets, declining in France since the 1980s, 28% of Gironde’s wild-bee diversity, and 17 of the 22 bat species present in Gironde.2
Ecological connections
Over 10 years, hedges, late-mown areas, groves and isolated trees expanded, providing food, shelter, breeding sites and movement routes. Fabre cited a field-edge hedge and spontaneous, unmown ditch vegetation as habitat for nesting passerines.2
The effort involves winegrowers, scientists, naturalists and local participants across 21 châteaux and 62 wine properties. Nouvelle-Aquitaine supports it through VitiREV, which aims to show that Margaux’s natural richness has been preserved and should remain protected.2
Sources
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
