Information - Hucel (74)
Description
Le Hucel is situated at Thollon-les-Mémises, in the department Haute-Savoie, at a few kilometres from the Swiss border (western extremity of the east bank of Lac Léman in France). It is a privileged site for the observation of migrants, particularly for spring migration of raptors. The watchpoint is situated on a promontory at an elevation of 966 metres, in the middle of a 3 km wide mountain pass between les Mémises (1674 m) in the south and lac Léman in the north (most raptors avoid crossing the lake and prefer to follow the bank). Between the lake and the mountains of Mémises, there is an important altitudinal range, starting from 383 m at the lake side near the hamlet of Troubois, up to the summit of pic des Mémises at 1674 m. We have a panoramic view and can see Lausanne at 15 km, Evian at 9 km and Pointe d'Yvoire at 29 km. From our observations, we are usually not detecting birds that are beyond 4 or 5 km from the watchpoint.
