Bluethroat at last !

The final day of Jonty's French trip turned up quite a few nice surprises and a tally of no less than 85 species - quite a feat given the time of year and weather conditions. An excellent way to cap off an eventful 3 weeks in France, that's for sure.

As usual we were off just after dawn to make the most of the day's birding. Last night's storms had cleared but the weather stayed was still pretty windy - lots fresher than the 2 week heatwave that has gripped France.

Our first stop was an extensive area of prime reeds and scrub at the village of Picquigny, 15km west of Amiens. Pleasingly, warblers were still calling, amongst them Garden, Reed, Chiffchaff and Whitethroat. We also stumbled across a family of Spotted Flycathers and a few dabchicks. Raptor wise we had a Hobby jetting over one of the "étangs" and a surprise Honey Buzzard, its long tail and protruding, cuckoo-like head giving it away ! Photography-wise the best of the bunch was a prime Dunnock, who sat up in the sun long enough to be snapped. I have added a page of photos of all our highlights on the left hand side of the blog.

Our destination was the popular reserve of Marquenterre in the Baie de Somme, but with it only opening up at 10am we had easily enough time to check out what was on offer at one of my favourite patches - Sailly Bray. Highlights included a nice pair of Marsh Harrier , another Hobby, this time being mobbed a Kestrel, and a zitting Reed Bunting

A quick drive alongside the small dykes opposite the Pont de Dien picnic site yielded some Meadow Pipits and a Spoonbill - a young bird by the looks of it, most likely from the Marquenterre colony. We couldn't manage Bluethroat though. If we dipped today it would be Jonty's fourth trip to the area without seeing this rare breeder. I was beginning to question whether he believed my past sightings...

In two minds whether to head straight to Marquenterre or to have one last effort we chose the latter and parked up alongside "Hunter's track" for a quick reccy. Almost immediately a strange, repetitve clicking sound alerted our attention. A smallish bird with a rufous tail popped up on a reed, but only for half a second. A female Bluethroat ! But Jonty only had a milisecond view. More clicking and more scanning soon revealed the prize, though. A fine male Bluethroat gave excellent views from midway up a bush ! Obviuously defending his nest site he stayed in good view for several minutes.

Spirits were high, our goal achieved. Luckily I had my camera to hand when this curious Sedge Warbler fledgling popped up in front of us. So off we went to Marquenterre, satisfied to have bagged the Bluethroat. To see such a prime bird is always a special moment.

Luckily the reserve wasn’t too busy, but there were still a fair few “robin strokers” all the same, most of whom were content to hang around the café and visitor centre, luckily for us.. We made straight for the famous heronerie where young Spoonbills, White Storks and Little Egrets were ready to leave the nest. We are pretty much at the back end of the breeding season for these birds.

We set off around the longest of the reserve's circuits but our views we hampered at each hide by the bizarre, and frankly illogic viewing holes. We kept adding birds though, particularly waders (Common Sandpiper, Ruff, Curlew) and ducks (Pintail, Shoveler, Shelduck). Sand Martins were present in large numbers too, with small flocks feeding from the water surface. Avocets had obviously been successful too, with many youngsters approaching full adult plumage.

The best of the action came at the later hides. One in particular gave us nice views of 5 resting Whimbrel, most likely en route for Africa already and plenty of Redshank, of which one young individual almost passed for a Lesser Yellowlegs! A lone Meditteranean Gull was also a nice bonus.

Heading back to the centre we fell upon a group of gorgeous Black-winged Stilts feeding in the shallows. These birds often form groups in July and August before migrating back down south. Summer is barely upon us and yet return migration is already in evidence, such is the birding world and its ever-changing calendar.

By the time we got home it was 4 o'clock. Time for a rest, a cup of tea and a slice of flan. Golf replaced birding as the evening activity but a birder's eyes (and ears) always stay on stand-by. Indeed some lovely purring Turtle Doves and a Quail piping from a wheat field were nice late additions to round off a thouroughly pleasant July day.

Urban Birding

After an epic road trip back to Northern France, I've spent the last few days in Amiens, doing a spot of 'urban birding'...

House Sparrows and Pigeons are commonplace around town as might be expected. However, singing Black Redstarts and Serins are two examples of birds you couldn't find in a Wigan or a Warrington! I also found a nice juvenile Spotted Flycatcher over the railway..



Amiens Cathedral had a pair of Kestrels on it, and I also added another to the mammal list



We visited the reserve at Etang de Saint Ladre this evening, 10 minutes out of the town centre. Straight away a large brown bird shot across the lakes in the reeds. It settled on some reeds, behaviour typical of this fantastic bird, the Little Bittern. Another one flew across the lake allowing X to get some long range record shots. Great Grebes, Grey Herons, Blackcaps, Garden Warblers and reeling Groppers made up the supporting cast. There's no doubt, though, that the Little Bittern was the star of the show.

Day 10 - Asco Valley

The final big day brought some real highlights. I drove up the Asco Valley into the mountains, noting the kind of species I`d found regularly in Corsica - Red Kites, Cirl Buntings, Red-backed Shrikes and, of course, Spotted Flycatchers.

Up in the Corsican Pine Forests, there were Coal Tits, Firecrests and Chaffinches, but alas, the Corsican Nuthatch remained out of sight and earshot. This snake did give me a surprise, though, on the side of the road.



Further up, above the village of Asco, the avifauna changed yet again. Here were birds of the mountains; Northern Wheatears, Alpine Swifts, Grey Wags and that classic bird of the holidays, the Alpine Chough. Best of all, though, were 3 magnificent Corsican Finches.

Note the brown back, a distinguishing feature of this species.


Futher down the mountain, a finch more familiar to those back home.



New birds today: Just ol` Alpine Chough

Day 9 -

Tyhrennian Wall Lizard (Apparently)

I was up at dawn again this morning - just as well considering the temperature topped 42 in the afternoon! Far too hot for doing much, less alone a big day's birding.

My destination was Col de la Croix near Galeria, mentioned in the Crozier guide as an excellent spot. The drive up there was fairly productive: Red Kites, Buzzard, Kestrel, Red-backed Shrikes, Tawny Pipits and in an dried up river bed, Sardinian Warblers, Montoli's (Subalpine) Warblers, Spotted Flycatchers, Grey Wagtails and 5 Rock Sparrows.

There were plenty of finches on telegraph wires at the Col. A few Goldinches, a dozen Greenfinches and then, fleetingly, one of the main reasons birders come here, a Corsican Citril Finch. It was a pretty scruffy juvenile and only stuck around for a few seconds. I couldn't relocate it despite plenty of trying.

This juvenile Cirl Bunting was one of a number in the car park.



I walked around the headland and scanned out at sea. There were a few Yellow-legged Gulls and 8 Mediterranean Shags on the water. Another one for the list.

Managed a bit of birding in the afternoon inland of Ile Rousse where I witnessed a spectacular mixed flock of 30 Ravens and 11 Red Kites making a whole load of noise. Underneath them was a Woodchat Shrike perched on a telegraph post, but again, all too briefly.

New birds: Rock Sparrow, Woodchat Shrike, Corsican Finch, Shag

New creatures: Western Whip Snake

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

Day 7 - Crau

My departure from the Cevennes was delayed today because I couldn't check out of the campsite till 8.30. This meant my birding at La Crau would have to be done in the searing heat of the afternoon - not ideal.

There was still a chance of seeing some great birds, though. A Turtle Dove and a Roller were the first two that I saw on La Crau. This gives an idea of the quality of the place!



I parked up at the Peau de Meau reserve and the sky was full of dark black shapes. At least 30 Black Kites were knocking around, attracted by the nearby rubbish dump. There was a White Stork in amongst them, and a few overflying Cattle Egrets. The vegetation was longer than when last I was here..it wasn't going to be easy to pick out the specialities. A family of Germans in the car park confirmed that it would be hard work - they'd been trekking round for 3 hours without seeing anything!

Undeterred, I set out across the vast stony desert.

The Crau is covered in piles of rocks ('Coussous'), and I used these to gain some height before launching some huge scan grenades across the plain. This technique proved successful, yielding a Hoopoe and another Roller.

There's a make-shift hide in an old sheepbarn in the middle of the Crau and I headed over there with an old French birder. He picked out a Lesser Kestrel, and then I spotted a couple of strange shaped birds on the ground. Bustards? Unfortunately not, but the pair of Stone Curlews were still a welcome addition to the list.

It was a long way back to the car, but en route I found a Southern Grey Shrike, some Tawny Pipits, Skylarks and 3 fine Short-toed Larks. A juvenile Short-toed Eagle made a kill pretty close to me causing 2 nearby Brown Hares to race away. It was no surprise that I dipped on the Bustards and Sandgrouse, coming at this time of the day and year. Still, birds like Rollers, Lesser Kes and the Shrike more than made up for it.

*Apparently the canal at La Crau is the best place in Europe for dragonflies, with over 50 species here. I recognised the Emperor, but thats about it!

I passed another rubbish dump on the drive onto my F1 in Brignoles. 2 ways of telling: a) the smell, and b) a cloud of 35 Black Kites floating around after a scrap or two.

New birds today: Lesser Kestrel, Roller, Short-toed Lark, Southern Grey Shrike, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull

I've started a page on the blog (left hand side) with my butterfly photos.

Day 6 - First Lifer

Awoke early this morning to explore the Causses Mejean, a large expanse of steppe land above the Tarn and Jonte. The narrow road had all my attention on the ascent, but once it flattened out I could begin to take note of the bird life. A party of 20 vultures floated over. 19 were Griffons...



Not that this rushed photo is too clear, but the twentieth was this fine Monk Vulture, one of the handful of reintroduced birds struggling for a foothold here in the Cevennes.

The searing heat meant that the Causses were fairly quiet, though I did find plenty of Tree Pipits, a Tawny Pipit, 2 singing Woodlarks and 2 Red-backed Shrikes (adult and juv) fairly quickly. The scenery was pretty nice as well. Reminded me of Gladiator.



Continuing onto the village of Le Buffre, a clown like bird flitted across the road in front of me. It was my first Hoopoe of the trip. It didn't hang around for long, but from the same spot I had Red-legged Partridge and a few Northern Wheatears.

Outside the tiny hamlet of Hures, I saw some strange looking birds in a patch of brambles. I stopped the car and got the bins out but could only manage fleeting views, not enough to confirm i.d. Luckily, one perched up on a post for a while, before starting to peck around for ants in the fields close to the car.



Unbelievable - a family party of Wrynecks. I certainly wasn't expecting to see them up here.

Satisfied with the mornings birds, I bashed on to Florac to set up camp and explore Mont Lozere, an area which had the potential to provide the first lifer of the trip. I drove up to the Col de Finiels, left the car, and headed towards the summit of Mont Lozere. I was pretty pessimistic to be honest - middle of the afternoon, windy and hot, and nothing was singing. So when two of these blighters popped out of the conifers, I couldn't believe my luck.



Finally thanks to these Citril Finches, I had my first lifer of the trip. They breed only above 1500 metres usually, so Lozere (1560m) is perhaps one of the only places in the Cevennes to find them. Though I heard Crossbills and some Crests, there was very little else up there bird-wise. Plenty more butterflies and flowers, including this 'some sort of Orchid possibly' haha.



New birds today: Monk Vulture, Woodlark, Goldcrest, Crossbill, CITRIL FINCH, Northern Wheatear, Wryneck

Butterflies: tbd after book consultation