Day 8 - Birding and Boating

Most of today was spent travelling, largely by boat thankfully! I was quite hopeful that the ferry crossing from Nice to Calvi would provide some good birds, so decided to spend a 5 hour vigil on deck under the blazing Sun. A pod of Common Dolphins brought some early excitement, but bird-wise it was dead. I literally saw 2 birds on the entire journey. Firstly a Yellow-legged Gull leaving Nice, and then a better quality bird in the middle of the Mediterranean, a Scopoli's Shearwater (Cory's). I showed it in my Collins to some Frenchies, but they weren't particularly interested.

The temperature read 36 degrees in Calvi when I arrived at 14:00, and I was feeling a bit worse for wear afer some big hours in the Sun, so took it easy during the afternoon, just walking down from campsite to beach for a swim and back. I took the bins, of course. This corner of Corsica is particularly good for Red Kites and I found 3 by Corbara as well as a pair of Buzzards and 2 juvenile Kestrels. Then a bubbling call which brought back memories of sitting in Donana with X a few years ago. I knew when I looked up I would see a flock of Bee-eaters, birds which rival Rollers for the title of Europe's most colourful birds.

The place is also dripping with Spotted Flycatchers, lovely birds unfortunately growing rare back at home.


Next it was a couple of Corsican specialities. It's the only place in France where all the Starlings are Spotless, and all the crows are Hooded, and both species have been in plentiful supply. I also found a number of small dark birds. Closer inspection showed them to be Sardinian Warblers. Think they've got the wrong island.

I had to quickly dispose of the bins into my bag once I hit the beach, especially when I realised it was a nudist beach! These weren't the kind of Tits I was after..

Dinner at the campsite with Bee-eaters flying over and a Great Spot doing the rounds - can't complain.



Hopefully I'll find one of the endemics over the next few days.

New birds today: Cory's Shearwater, Spotless Starling, Hooded Crow, Sardinian Warbler