Migrants Still Arriving

I was going out locally to day with pal Alan McBride and we started at the Minerve area where the Peregrine was still on her ledge.  We hunted around to the north of the village and to begin with found little except for Woodlarks and Kestrels.  Coming down from above La Caunette we did find a Blue-headed Wagtail and a Tawny Pipit.  Heading back to Montcelebre for lunch we stopped to admire a couple of Woodchat Shrikes which appeared to be a pair.

One of the Woodchat Shrikes

After lunch we set off to an area where the very scarce Bonelli's Eagle nests.  Without any effort we stopped by the roadside and enjoyed excellent views of a bird soaring overhead.

Bonelli's Eagle

We headed home and transversed the vineyards near Cesseras and Azillanet and immediately caught up with at least 40 Rock Sparrows feeding amongst the vines. We were also pleasantly surprised to find 3 male Ortolan Buntings.

Rock Sparrow

I returned to the area in the evening and managed to get a photo of one of the Ortolans and also heard a Quail calling.

Male Ortolan Bunting

From tomorrow I will be co-leading a tour from Honeyguides from the UK and am really looking forward to sharing the astounding wildlife of this area with 14 people.