Forest of Orléans (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: Forêt d'Orléans) is a French national forest for the most part and makes up 70% of a French natural region, located in the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Loiret in the

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valle ...

region. Its former name is "Forêt des Loges".

Geography

Forest of Orléans ranges over 50,000 hectares, including 35,000 hectares which make up the national forest, the remainder being privately owned. It is in fact the largest

national forest. Thirty-five

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

take part in it. The forest is surrounded by the natural regions of Beauce,

Gâtinais Gâtinais () or Gâtine () was a province of France, containing the area around the valley of the Loing, corresponding roughly to the northeastern part of the département of Loiret, and the south of the present department of Seine-et-Marne. Unde ...

, and Loire Valley; it extends along the North of

Loire river The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...

in an arc which is 60 km in length, from Orléans to Gien, and 5 to 20 km in width.

Routes and railroads

The national routes 60 and 152 cross the forest of Orléans. It is bordered to the West by the national route 20 and the highway A10, to the East by national route 7 and Highway A77, and to the North by Highway A19. Two railroads cross the forest, between Orléans and Neuville-aux-Bois via Rebréchien, and between Orléans and Bellegarde via Vennecy and

Vitry-aux-Loges Vitry-aux-Loges () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. See also * Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of France. The communes cooperate in the fol ...

. Two

GR footpath The GR footpaths are a network of long-distance walking trails in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. They go by the following names: french: link=no, sentier de grande randonnée, vls, link=no, Groteroutepad, nl, L ...

s cross the forest of Orléans, and .

Communes

These

are partly or entirely in the forest of Orléans: Foretorleanssaran1

Relief and humidity

The forest is more or less flat, the maximum altitude being 177 m and the lowest 107 m, hence an altitude difference of 70 meters across 50 000 hectares. This absence of relief, joined with the impermeability of the soil prevents the natural flow of rainwater and explains the humidity of the terrain and abundance of ponds.

Flora and fauna

The forest is mixed. Among the species,

common oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

makes up over the half of the trees. The resinous trees are mainly Scots pine, which make up a third. Other than these two species, there are equal amounts of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

European beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...

, hazel,

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast o ...

n black pine, wild

apple trees An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

, and lime trees. Many bird species nest in the forest of Orléans. There can be observed

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

s (returned in 1984),

booted eagle The booted eagle (''Hieraaetus pennatus'', also classified as ''Aquila pennata'') is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a ...

short-toed snake eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus n ...

European honey buzzard The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Etymology Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera '' Leptodon'' a ...

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

black woodpecker The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...

middle spotted woodpecker The middle spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocoptes medius'') is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus '' Dendrocoptes''. Taxonomy The middle spotted woodpecker was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the ...

s, grey-headed woodpeckers,

woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) ...

s, and

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is ...

s. Others, such as great egrets and

common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') and the Siberi ...

s, sojourn in the forest in course of their migration. Numerous other species of animals can be encountered: red deers, roe deers,

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

s, pheasants,

tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels." They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a single natural, or ...

s, wild boars, and

common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian o ...

Main species gallery

File:Puhtu_tamm.JPG,

Common oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

(Over the half of all trees) File:Kiefer43452.JPG, Scots pine (Over the third of all trees) File:Fall_Perspective_(2980356105).jpg,

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

File:Brohmer-Berge-Rothemühl-24-10-2009-30.jpg,

Hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

File:Buchenwald_1.jpg,

File:Corylus_avellana_28082006.jpg, Hazel File:Crepuscular_rays_in_the_woods_of_Kasterlee,_Belgium.jpg,

n black pine File:Malus_sylvestris_(villeple)_tre.jpg, Wild

apple tree An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ...

File:Lasdon_Arboretum_-_Tilia_tomentosa_-_IMG_1525.jpg,

Lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

File:OspreyNASA.jpg,

Osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

File:AquilaPennata.jpg,

Booted eagle The booted eagle (''Hieraaetus pennatus'', also classified as ''Aquila pennata'') is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a ...

File:Circaetus_gallicus_01.JPG,

Short-toed snake eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus n ...

File:Wespenbussard_European_honey_buzzard_Pernis_apivorus.jpg,

File:Wow2_filtered.jpg,

Hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

File:Дрімлюга_на_гілці_дерева_(cropped).jpg,

File:Dryocopus_martius,_Perersberg,_Brasov,_Romania_0_(cropped).jpg,

Black woodpecker The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...

File:Middle-spotted_Woodpecker_-_HungaryCS4E4424_(16224259449)_(cropped).jpg,

Middle spotted woodpecker The middle spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocoptes medius'') is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus '' Dendrocoptes''. Taxonomy The middle spotted woodpecker was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the ...

File:Grey-headed_Woodpecker_-_Italy_S4E5692.jpg, Grey-headed woodpecker File:Lullula_arborea_(Ján_Svetlík).jpg,

Woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) ...

File:Currucarabilarga.JPG,

File:Ardea_alba_-San_Francisco_Bay,_California,_USA_-flying-8-1c.jpg, Great egret (Temporary stay in course of migration) File:Common_crane_in_flight_at_Hula_valley.jpg,

Common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') and the Siberi ...

(Temporary stay in course of migration) File:Cervus_elaphus_Luc_Viatour_6.jpg, Red deer File:Chevreuil(brocard)-HAYE_sylvain.jpg, Roe deer File:Feldhase_Schiermonnikoog.JPG,

Hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

File:Kalij_pheasant_Prasanna_Mamidala.jpg, Pheasant File:Ardilla_gris_mexicana.JPG,

Tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels." They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a single natural, or ...

File:Wildsau_im_wilderlebnispark_daun.jpg, Wild boar File:Dixi-Rana_temporaria.jpg,

Common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian o ...

Classification

An area of 28 ha of the forest of Orléans was designated a natural zone of ecological interest, fauna and flora. It is mainly of conifers and is of

ornithological Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

interest hence the presence of

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes ...

s, and Eurasian hobbies. Furthermore, an area of 36,086 ha of the forest north of Loire was designated a natural zone of ecological interest, fauna and flora. An area of 32,177 ha is under special protection by Natura 2000. It is an Important Bird Area (IBA) that hosts

s, and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest of Orléans Forests of France