Moeze / Oleron reserve naturelle trip (Part 2)

Here we go again then, part 2 of our birding trip to the Moeze / Oleron reserve on the Atlantic coast of France and the focus this time is on the many smaller birds that abound on the food rich saltmarshes.


Yellow Wagtails were one of the most obvious birds around and luckily from a photographic point of view also the most colourful. Yellow Wagtails are one of those birds that look different depending where in the world you see them .... nothing to do with planetary perspective, that would be weird, it's just that they have many sub species. In layman's terms you could say that they have many cousins. Yellow wags in the UK for example are almost completely yellow whilst in France and Spain they have bluish heads. Here's a nice one from our trip and below British race bird (courtesy of Google Images)

You'll see a slightly different race or 'cousin' of the same bird in Scandinavia and another in Italy but to my mind the British race is the most colourful. There's a similar thing going on with other wagtails ... here's a White Wagtail on the reserve which is in fact the main species and below it's much darker cousin found in the UK, the Pied Wagtail.

Right that's wagtails sorted lets move on!

Warblers are a tiny (smaller than sparrows as a rule) group of birds that you'll more often hear than see but they were very obvious on the reserve with Whitethroats and Melodious Warblers singing from bushes and tree tops everywhere. On our last day we spent about 3 hours on a viewing platform near the visitor centre and being at tree top height it was ideal for photographing both of these species. I struggled a bit with the Mi lad ohs (my slang for Melodious Warblers because they're so perky and bold) and this is the best I could do ....

Much better luck with Whitethroats and some good captures here .... even got one singing in mid flight!

Have to say I was pretty impressed with how all of these came out, the detail is very good and at this kind of range (within 20 meters) and more or less filling the frame this is one situation where the Canon EF400 really shines. Just as well because I've just received the estimate from Tamron for fixing my 200-500 and at £235 it may well end with a drink 'accidently' spilt on it, if you see what I mean! I do miss the extra reach though and maybe it's time to start looking at a 1.4 or 2x converter.

Ok, moving on, and I promised some non bird pics from the trip. To get some idea of the landscape of the place I think fits the bill, you even get the dubious bonus of some mad birder with a feather in his hat!

I don't get much chance to photograph frogs, sometimes I'm wishing they'd shut up so I can hear the birds but as I happened to look over a bank there were some croakers looking quite pretty in a ditch surrounded by water flowers and with the sun on them (pic left). No idea what kind of frog it is!

The only other obvious photogenic animals about were Hares, particularly active during the evening. Included one at the end of part 1 of this trip report but they were so handsome looking hare's another!

When we explored the coastal strip we came upon a nudist beach... Mark made a play of scanning out to sea (there is a type of sea bird called a boobie!)... anyway, I moved on and I took picture of this lighthouse!

Always nice to add a bit of colour to the blog and whenever I see nice flowers or butterflies I usually snap them up. Here's a nice pink flower that I'm sure someone will know the correct name for ...

...and here's a couple of butterflies that I do know the correct names for!



Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)



Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)

 In more ways than I'm going to make a swift return to a few 'odds and sods'  bird pics. Ever tried taking a picture of a Swift? Damned tricky and nearly always I've failed to get even half decent captures....they just fly so fast! I took loads from the viewing platform in the hope that maybe a couple would come out well enough to post. These are not nearly as good as I'd hoped but for the record ...

 A few more left overs from the many bird pics I took on the reserve

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

Little Egret

Spotted Flycatcher
  

And lastly here's a picture of some Yellow Flag Irises that Mark wanted me to take a picture so here you go matey!





Catch up time ....3 great birds, 3 great photo shoots

It seems to have been a real busy time over here for the past few weeks ... our band 'Beyond the Gap' have been practising almost non stop trying to get Mark (our bassist) up to speed with a full set before we set off on our Summer tour in aid of Cancer Support France (full article in the pipeline). I've had my mate (also called Mark) over for a week and for the past 2 weeks I've been fulfilling my Open University duties and marking student assignments (that's 3 Marks!).

Hardly full time 9 to 5 of course and I'm not complaining but certainly I've not posted a huge amount on here recently so here I am sat in bed at 1.00 in the morning posting something of a catch up.

A while back me and Mark were walking around the forested part of the Etang de Beauvour when we heard the distinctive trilling of a Wood Warbler, a good bird to have anytime, anyplace, except perhaps on an aeroplane sipping martini (the older generation will get that!). Anyway, we did a bit of stalking and crept as close as we could to where it was singing. In the end we just sat down against a couple tree trunks and waited for it come back to us, which it did and treated us with some splendidly close views ... he was so close in fact that on occasion I couldn't focus the camera! You'll see what I mean by this selection of photographs ....

On the same day I managed to get this reasonable close up shot of a 4 Spotted Chaser (pic below).... not sure whether this is classed as a dragonfly or a damselfly but nice detail and you can easily see the 4 spots (1 on each wing) and this is a female because of the yellowy brown body as a pose to the grey males ..... thanks
google!








On another occasion we were out on one of my regular treks and we came across a couple of very handsome Red Backed Shrikes, the male in particular was in tip top breeding condition and sitting very proud. Problem was when I got in to position to take what I thought was going to be 'gripper' of a shot there was no memory card in the camera ... doh! To add insult to injury a while later we had an equally lovely Melodious Warbler singing it's heart out less than 10 metres away (I could almost hear the memory card laughing at me from its cosy little socket back home in my laptop!)

Well I don't like to be laughed at by my digital devices so with the memory card rounded up I paid a later visit and as I suspected this was a nesting pair and still in the same place. As with the Wood Warbler there was plenty of stalking, creeping around and waiting to be done and whilst these birds weren't nearly as fearless my patience was rewarded by these lovely shots....

So there we go, a couple of great photo shoots of 2 splendid birds from the past couple of weeks and I must be on something of a hot (shot) streak because yesterday morning I managed to get these cracking shots of a Nightingale singing. Most people are aware that Nightingales have a beautiful song but how many of you have actually heard one or seen one? They're actually very common throughout mainland Europe but scarce and declining in the UK (a few pairs nest on Thorne Moor, S Yorks but pretty much absent further North). I usually see a flash of russet red tail feathers as they dart in and out of dense undergrowth from where they usually sing but this was my lucky day .... a gap in the trees, a decent lens and hey presto!

Looking at that singing Nightingale I'm thinking it's a shame you can't hear it so I'm going to try and post either a video (it will be of a bush!) or a sound clip to go with the above.

There we go, caught up a bit, just need to finish off and post part 2 of our trip to Moeze / Oleron and I'll be almost up to speed!

France is Rockabilly mad ..... DOCKABILLY'S TRIO

Have to say I've kinda missed decent live music since being in France and although I'm sure some decent acts get to the larger towns and cities, out here in the rural heart of things it's a case of make your own music or get to like ROCKABILLY!

I''ve absolutely no idea why rockabilly (think Stray Cats or if you're old enough Hank Williams) is so popular in France but the scene is vibrant and there's many very decent French acts rocking their merry way through the bars here. One of best and most entertaining I've seen are a 3 piece outfit called the Dockabillys - they play regularly at the Commerce bar in Montmorillon (Henri, the bar owner plays in a similar style band and is mates with many of these guys!) and as well as playing good, tight songs they do this amazing trick where the singer and guitarist balances himself on the double bass and continues to play and sing! Here's them doing just that last week (pic right)

Yeah, I know not the best of photographs but I'm not used to mobile phones!

The Dockabillys have a more than useful following over here and if you ever get a whiff of them playing near you I'd highly recommend. Here's their site - http://www.myspace.com/dockabillys

And here's a good clip of some of their best tunes

Moeze / Oleron reserve naturelle trip (Part 1)

My old mate Mark from the UK popped across to visit last week and we had originally thought of heading down to the Camargue but decided against it because of the travelling time ... France is such a big country and too much time stuck in a car is never good! We decided instead to head out to the Atlantic coast and ended up spending 3 days on the Moeze / Oleron reserve naturelle and the surrounding coastline.

Although we had persistent Northerly winds the weather was kind throughout with blue skies and plenty of warmth and sunshine. Lots of good birds with a total count of 108 species for the 3 days (list at the end) and of course plenty of good photographic opportunities.

The reserve itself is a designated wetland / saltmarsh area situated some 30km south of La Rochelle and is split between a mainland segment on the West coast and the East coast of Isle De Oleron. We stuck with the mainland part around the ancient fortified commune of Hiers Brouage - worth a look if you're ever down this way (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiers-Brouage )

If we're talking rarities then I guess the single Alpine Swift picked out amongst many passage Common Swifts would be your 'twitcher's' pick but the reserve is packed full of good birds such as Marsh and Montague's Harriers, Short toed Eagle, Hobby, White Stork, Purple Heron as well as many wading birds and passerines (small birds) and we had some cracking views of all.

Ok, bit of a photo montage but I know most folk just come on here to look at the pics!

First up are a selection of White Stork pics. Nesting platforms are commonly erected all over Europe to attract these harbingers of good fortune but it was good to see so many nesting in their natural habitat in trees. Anyway, here's my selection ....

Like those? I was very happy with the way these turned out, especially the courtship behaviour and twig bringing shots.

Sticking with the bigger birds here's a few raptor shots for you.

Marsh Harrier (oldish female)

Marsh Harrier - same bird as above

Montague's Harrier (Male)

Short Toed Eagle

Short Toed Eagle and the Moon!

Short Toed Eagle - same bird as above

Kestrel (Male)

Peregrine Falcon

Ok now I know this doesn't look like a bird of prey pic at first glance but for those of you with eagle eyes (excuse the pun) take a look at the nesting box and you'll see a Kestrel and for those of you who like me that need reading glasses for just about everything, below is a close up and hey presto he's caught some kind of rodent, think its a mole!

Kestrel with prey (mole?)

Here's the last of my bird of prey pictures from Moeze, a bit fuzzy but this is a Common Buzzard being mobbed by a Kestrel

 

 

Rounding off part 1 of this photo montage of our Moeze trip with the rest of the bigger birds, here's selection of some of the wetland species, most of these were taken near the information hut. Most of these birds with perhaps the exception of the Spoonbills will be familiar with British birders.

There were plenty of wading birds about and here's a nice shot of Ruff in flight and if you look closely you might be able to spot a single Redshank in the frame ...

Here's the Spoonbills and yes their bills really are like spoons!

Lots of Shelduck about ... here's just the one

Rarely do Black Winged Stilts make it across the channel but it has to be said they are the ubiquitous wading bird on any saltmarsh / estuarine habitat throughout mainland Europe and often taken for granted. I've always found them very photogenic though so here's a couple of this dainty long legged wader. Nice comparison of light conditions light here with the soft tones of the bird in flight (shot in the evening sun) contrasted with the much harsher midday sun shot in the second pic.

 

Little Ringed Plover's are total experts in the art of disguise and are often unseen as they stand stock still blending in with the background. I was already on to this one as I was walking across a wet field on our last evening but true to form when I got too close 2 other, previously hidden birds flew off from the same spot! The camouflage is obvious in this shot.

Ok, as promised, here's a list of species seen over the 3 days for all the birding nuts that like to see such things and I'll post part 2 within the next few days featuring the smaller birdies and non bird pics.

 

 

Common Pheasant [sp] (Phasianus colchicus)

Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)

Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)

Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)

Eurasian White Stork [sp] (Ciconia ciconia)

Eurasian Spoonbill [sp] (Platalea leucorodia

Cattle Egret [sp] (Bubulcus ibis)

Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)

Purple Heron [sp] (Ardea purpurea)

Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)

Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)

Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)

Merlin [sp] (Falco columbarius)

Eurasian Hobby [sp] (Falco subbuteo)

Peregrine Falcon [sp] (Falco peregrinus)

Black Kite [sp] (Milvus migrans)

Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus)

Western Marsh Harrier [sp] (Circus aeruginosus)

Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus)

Eurasian Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)

Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)

Common Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)

Black-winged Stilt [sp] (Himantopus himantopus)

Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

Grey Plover [sp] (Pluvialis squatarola)

Ringed Plover [sp] (Charadrius hiaticula)

Kentish Plover [sp] (Charadrius alexandrinus)

Black-tailed Godwit [sp] (Limosa limosa)

Bar-tailed Godwit [sp] (Limosa lapponica)

Eurasian Curlew [sp] (Numenius arquata)

Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)

Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)

Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

Ruddy Turnstone [sp] (Arenaria interpres)

Dunlin [sp] (Calidris alpina)

Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)

Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)

Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

Whiskered Tern [sp] (Chlidonias hybrida)

Woodpigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)

European Turtle Dove [sp] (Streptopelia turtur)

Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)

Common Cuckoo [sp] (Cuculus canorus)

Tawny Owl [sp] (Strix aluco)

Alpine Swift [sp] (Tachymarptis melba)

Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)

Common Kingfisher [sp] (Alcedo atthis)

Common Hoopoe [sp] (Upupa epops)

Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)

Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)

Red-backed Shrike [sp] (Lanius collurio)

Eurasian Golden Oriole [sp] (Oriolus oriolus)

Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)

Common Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)

Eurasian Jackdaw [sp] (Corvus monedula)

Rook [sp] (Corvus frugilegus)

Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)

Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)

Blue Tit [sp] (Parus caeruleus)

Collared Sand Martin [sp] (Riparia riparia)

Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)

Northern House Martin [sp] (Delichon urbicum)

Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)

Crested Lark [sp] (Galerida cristata)

Eurasian Skylark [sp] (Alauda arvensis)

Zitting Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola juncidis)

Cetti's Warbler [sp] (Cettia cetti)

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)

Eurasian Reed Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)

Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta)

Willow Warbler [sp] (Phylloscopus trochilus)

Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)

Western Bonelli's Warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli)

Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)

Common Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia communis)

Firecrest [sp] (Regulus ignicapilla)

Winter Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Short-toed Treecreeper [sp] (Certhia brachydactyla)

European Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)

Eurasian Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)

Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)

European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)

Common Nightingale [sp] (Luscinia megarhynchos)

Black Redstart [sp] (Phoenicurus ochruros)

Common Stonechat [sp] (Saxicola torquatus)

Northern Wheatear [sp] (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Spotted Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa striata)

Pied Flycatcher [sp] (Ficedula hypoleuca)

House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)

Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)

Yellow Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla flava)

White Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla alba)

Meadow Pipit [sp] (Anthus pratensis)

Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)

European Greenfinch [sp] (Carduelis chloris)

European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)

Common Linnet [sp] (Carduelis cannabina)

Corn Bunting [sp] (Emberiza calandra)

Yellowhammer [sp] (Emberiza citrinella)

Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)

And just to prove that I do take photographs of other things apart from birds here's a good Hare I managed to get some good evening shots of.

1. Common Pheasant [sp] (Phasianus colchicus)

2. Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)

3. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

4. Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

5. Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)

6. Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

7. Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)

8. Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)

9. Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)

10. Eurasian White Stork [sp] (Ciconia ciconia)

11. Eurasian Spoonbill [sp] (Platalea leucorodia

12. Cattle Egret [sp] (Bubulcus ibis)

13. Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)

14. Purple Heron [sp] (Ardea purpurea)

15. Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)

16. Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)

17. Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)

18. Merlin [sp] (Falco columbarius)

19. Eurasian Hobby [sp] (Falco subbuteo)

20. Peregrine Falcon [sp] (Falco peregrinus)

21. Black Kite [sp] (Milvus migrans)

22. Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus)

23. Western Marsh Harrier [sp] (Circus aeruginosus)

24. Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus)

25. Eurasian Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)

26. Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)

27. Common Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)

28. Black-winged Stilt [sp] (Himantopus himantopus)

29. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

30. Grey Plover [sp] (Pluvialis squatarola)

31. Ringed Plover [sp] (Charadrius hiaticula)

32. Kentish Plover [sp] (Charadrius alexandrinus)

33. Black-tailed Godwit [sp] (Limosa limosa)

34. Bar-tailed Godwit [sp] (Limosa lapponica)

35. Eurasian Curlew [sp] (Numenius arquata)

36. Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)

37. Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

38. Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)

39. Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

40. Ruddy Turnstone [sp] (Arenaria interpres)

41. Dunlin [sp] (Calidris alpina)

42. Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

43. Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

44. Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)

45. Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)

46. Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

47. Whiskered Tern [sp] (Chlidonias hybrida)

48. Woodpigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)

49. European Turtle Dove [sp] (Streptopelia turtur)

50. Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)

51. Common Cuckoo [sp] (Cuculus canorus)

52. Tawny Owl [sp] (Strix aluco)

53. Alpine Swift [sp] (Tachymarptis melba)

54. Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)

55. Common Kingfisher [sp] (Alcedo atthis)

56. Common Hoopoe [sp] (Upupa epops)

57. Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)

58. Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)

59. Red-backed Shrike [sp] (Lanius collurio)

60. Eurasian Golden Oriole [sp] (Oriolus oriolus)

61. Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)

62. Common Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)

63. Eurasian Jackdaw [sp] (Corvus monedula)

64. Rook [sp] (Corvus frugilegus)

65. Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)

66. Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)

67. Blue Tit [sp] (Parus caeruleus)

68. Collared Sand Martin [sp] (Riparia riparia)

69. Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)

70. Northern House Martin [sp] (Delichon urbicum)

71. Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)

72. Crested Lark [sp] (Galerida cristata)

73. Eurasian Skylark [sp] (Alauda arvensis)

74. Zitting Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola juncidis)

75. Cetti's Warbler [sp] (Cettia cetti)

76. Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)

77. Eurasian Reed Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)

78. Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta)

79. Willow Warbler [sp] (Phylloscopus trochilus)

80. Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)

81. Western Bonelli's Warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli)

82. Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)

83. Common Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia communis)

84. Firecrest [sp] (Regulus ignicapilla)

85. Winter Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)

86. Short-toed Treecreeper [sp] (Certhia brachydactyla)

87. European Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)

88. Eurasian Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)

89. Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)

90. European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)

91. Common Nightingale [sp] (Luscinia megarhynchos)

92. Black Redstart [sp] (Phoenicurus ochruros)

93. Common Stonechat [sp] (Saxicola torquatus)

94. Northern Wheatear [sp] (Oenanthe oenanthe)

95. Spotted Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa striata)

96. Pied Flycatcher [sp] (Ficedula hypoleuca)

97. House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)

98. Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)

99. Yellow Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla flava)

100. White Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla alba)

101. Meadow Pipit [sp] (Anthus pratensis)

102. Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)

103. European Greenfinch [sp] (Carduelis chloris)

104. European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)

105. Common Linnet [sp] (Carduelis cannabina)

106. Corn Bunting [sp] (Emberiza calandra)

107. Yellowhammer [sp] (Emberiza citrinella)

108. Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)

Bird Report March / April

Doh .... late again with my bird report!

After a dismally dreary January and a particularly freezing cold February never has the month of March and early Spring been so welcome .... note to self  'never spend another Winter in this part of France!'

Rant over and on to the sightings. March was a very good month for early migrants with a ridiculously early Cuckoo calling along the River Gartemps on March 8th, my earliest ever by a country mile and didn't have another until the 30th (pic right). The day after on the 9th I had a singing Chiff Chaff  just outside the village which was probably a returning migrant rather than an overwintering bird and on the 10th I had a further 2 singing in the Rouflamme Valley plus 2 splendid male Blackcaps in the village (in a garden tree). There was a very gradual increase in numbers of both of these early returning warblers as the month wore on but the big influx came in the first week of April with up to 30 Blackcaps and 20 Chiff Chaffs recorded locally on the 6th.

A morning's birding at the Etang de Beauvoir on the 11th March saw in my first Sedge Warbler along with a first record of Stock Dove for me in France (5 beating North), about 200 Common Cranes in adjacent fields (pic left), a couple of Black Redstarts and a splendid male Hen Harrier displaying in the sunshine. The 2nd week of March was also good for northward passage of Lapwings and Golden Plover with up to 800 of the former and 60 of the latter overhead on the 11th being typical numbers. Good to see a few Golden Plovers standing fields ... almost like being back in Yorkshire!

The first Swallow of the year is always a magic moment for us birders and although mine was a brief glimpse of one sat on telegraph wires on the 13th March as I was driving (just outside Saulge) it was as iconic and welcome as ever .... 'hurrah, sunny days are just around the corner!' that's what my first swallow always says to me! I actually saw the same bird on the same telegraph wire the next day and had to get out of the car just to make sure it was real (it was!)

There was a minor influx of thrushes on the 14th March with 10 Redwings, c25 Song Thrushes and c15 Mistle Thrushes in local fields but the very poor showing of Fieldfares continues with none at all recorded in either March or April around here.

Etange des Landes

On the 14th March I took a trip out to a place called Etange des Landes in the Creuse area which is about 70k south of here. This is a large lake surrounded by forest and a well known birding and fishing spot. Glorious sunshine all day and my long drive was rewarded by some good birds including a high flying Black Stork, several returning Black Kites, 3 Black Necked Grebes, a displaying male Hen Harrier and a female Marsh Harrier ..... all returning Summer visitors or passage birds on their way further North. Lapwings were also heading North in good numbers with up about 200 over in the 3 hours or so that I was there, whilst on the lake itself there were still good numbers of Winter ducks including about 70 Wigeon.

On the way back I stopped off at Gueret and sat for half an hour on a bench I found at the top of one of the hills around there. It was just grand sitting in the sun and watching Chaffinches fly North over the tops of trees along with a couple of Skylarks, a Sparrowhawk and 4 Common Buzzards. Obviously a day for birds of all kinds to make a move!

The 26th of March seemed to be another good day for passage with clear skies and a slight easterly breeze. I didn't go very far, didn't have to ... just sat outside the barn and came on to a Black Stork circling on high, followed by an Osprey bombing North, followed in turn by a Black Kite floating in the same direction. I had my first House Martin shortly after that and to complete a full house of migrants over the barn I had 2 high flying Short Toed Eagles later on in the day.

A good haul of avian goodies for March so far you would think but the month had several other surprises up its sleeve yet with my earliest ever Hoopoe on the 30th (heard nr Saulge) and a Tawny Pipit on the same day in local fields. Corn Buntings landed in  the area and were singing from this date too and there were 2 Red Crested Pochards on the Etang de Beavoir on the same date ... so, all in all a very good month.

Into April then and the trickle of migrants turned into a predictable flood with big numbers of Chiff Chaff, Blackcaps and Cuckoos arriving in the first week or so and filling the woods with Summer song. I heard my first Nightingale on the evening of the 5th and before the month was out they were singing their beautiful melodies from nearly every hedgerow in the area. Just as tuneful but far less obvious are Wood Warblers and although I didn't manage to clock one I had single singing males on the 6th and 7th. Much less tuneful but we wont hold it against them, Whitethroats arrived on the 7th with 4 in the RouflammeWillow Warblers are common enough in the UK I find them very elusive over here so I was please to hear and see one on the same day, none since though  .... why is that? Anyone out there know why?

More 'firsts of the year' during the month  .... Tree Pipit (7th), Montagues Harrier (9th), Garden Warbler and Quail (both on the 13th and both heard and not seen!).

Resident birds of note included a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calling on the 5th and a couple of Hawfinches overhead on the 16th. Not a bird but of note nonetheless I had at least 6 Swallowtail Butterflies in an uncultivated field on the 7th and very nearly captured them mating on camera. I've seen them before around here but never so many and hoping this is going to be a good year for this stunning insect.

I was back in the UK for 2 weeks at the end of April and although I had just the one birding trip it was a good 'un .... a day out in the Derwent Valley. Already posted this of course but click here if you can't be bothered to scroll back!
http://timbobagginsabroad.blogspot.fr/2012/04/dodging-april-showers-in-derwent-valley.html