It's BirdFair Time Again

Tomorrow afternoon I will be heading for Rutland Water to enjoy the 24th British Birdwatching Fair.  It is an annual event not be missed and is often described as the Birder's Glastonbury.  It is a great opportunity to meet up with old friends as well as making new ones.  It is a truly International event with stands and delegates from all corners of the Globe. It all starts on Friday through to Sunday evening.




The BirdFair


There is much to do:  try out the latest optics and cameras, attend lectures on many subjects, be entertained by events in the tented theatre, find a birding holiday and much, much more.  If you look carefully you might get to see one of England's nesting Ospreys.

Osprey

If you have never been to BirdFair it is not too late.  Come and join 20,000 birders having a good time and help raise money for conservation projects on the Asian Flyway.

A Balmy Half Hour



River Tywi from Cilsan Bridge


I had a moment spare so parked up by Cilsan Bridge on The River Tywi.  The sun was warm and the day balmy.  I stood looking on the river where a Cormorant perched motionless on a rock, 2 Mute Swans fed by the river's edge and a family of Goosanders fed in the distance.

Female Goosander

My attention was then attracted to a number of Brown Trout below me in the river all facing into a strong current.  It was rare opportunity to look through binoculars at a beautiful fish.  In the rotten weather the UK has experienced in recent years this was a perfect moment in a glorious setting.

Back to Wales

The World is such a small place thanks to people like Ryanair.

Woodchat Shrike

Yesterday morning we were sitting in the garden in superb weather watching Woodchat Shrikes hunting from overhead wires, a Hoopoe probing our grassy areas and a family of Golden Orioles making their way across the hill.  The male Oriole was constantly calling whilst the rest responded with their raucous cat-calls. Hoardes of juvenile Sardinian Warblers were feeding in our shrubs too.  After a quick lunch we were off to Beziers and then home via Bristol.




Young Sardinian Warbler

Luckily we woke this morning to wonderful sunshine and a lush garden thanks to all the rain.  Back to reality.

Black Day for Birders in France

I checked out the wet meadows at Le Petit Tournebelle this lunch time.  Not much had changed - there were now about 120 Black-winged Stilts, still 40 Wood Sandpipers, 8 Lapwings, Curlew and 3 Glossy Ibis.  Also a White Stork flew over.

Black-winged Stilt

Wood Sandpiper

At home a little activity in the garden this evening.  Twenty Rock Sparrows paused on overhead wires before moving off to roost, 13 Crossbills flew over calling and a Pied Flycatcher fed from the pines near our terrace.

Pied Flycatcher

All of this was overshadowed by the news that three of my friends went to La Viala near Capestang to see the Black-shouldered Kite this morning and returned back to their cars to eventually find their tyres had been tampered with.  One had a tyre burst whilst in motion.  One had to replace all four tyres and the other two.  Only one other person was in the area and suspicion points to him.  Whatever having been on the end of an aggressive confrontation with a local hunter three years ago it seems this could be yet another cynical and frankly dangerous act to discourage birders visiting this wonderful site.  It is amazing because most people visit the marsh to see the amazing bird life not to interfere with hunters legitimate activities.  Sadly, many of the hunters see us in a category of "greens" which they fear will stop their pastime.  What stupidity!  We probably want at least 90% of what they want.  Clean air, clean water and a countryside of rich habitat.   Resorting to vandalism, threatening behaviour and endangering life itself will not stop birdwatchers looking for birds everywhere.

French Twitch

I cannot remember ever going to see a rare bird that somebody else has found in France.  When my good friend Serge Nicolle French birder and superb Wildlife Artist left a message to say he had seen a Black-shouldered Kite at the marsh at Capestang one of my regular haunts yesterday I was so tempted.  This species which is very common in places like India and Africa was originally restricted to Spain and Portugal in Europe.  In recent decades it has increased its range and up to 50 pairs have colonised that part of coastal France just south of Bordeaux. These birds are much rarer elsewhere and this would be my first for France.

Black-shouldered Kite - photographed in India

So this afternoon at 4.30pm I drove down to the marsh on the east side and started looking.  Nothing at first so I strolled a little way down the path.  Almost immediately this superb bird was hunting the hay meadow to my right quartering with a bouncy buoyant flight.  Before I could raise my camera the bird flew over my head and headed off high to the south-west into the sun.  After that I lost the bird for half an hour.  Eventually I found it again way across the marsh sitting at the top of a dead tree.  The bird was preening and being mobbed by a Magpie and observed by a Roller all in the same tree.  I hoped the bird might return but I left it in peace.  Also on this trip I noted a Southern Grey Shrike, c40 Bee-eaters and a Short-toed Eagle.  Another splendid experience. By the way unlike UK I was the only person on the twitch.

High Up Away From The Heat

Ron, Jonathan and Paul ready for action

The current hot weather prompted Ron Bennett, Jonathan Kemp, Paul Williams and myself decided to take the drive down to Prats de Mollo Reserve Naturelle in the French Pyrenees.  Our main quarry was to see Lammergeier a iconic bird of this region and one which is seen here on a regular basis.  We began by driving up a very bumpy road to just over 1700 metres.  Here the ground is open and ideal for watching raptors.

Prats de Mollo

It was obviously cooler here with little sunshine but soon we were watching raptors.  A Golden Eagle made a brief flight along a cliff face and then Griffon Vultures began to appear.  We watched them carefully checking carefully their identity.  A passing Peregrine and a Kestrel harried the great scavengers who seemed to ignore their attention.  The Griffons were congregating around a large rock and were very approachable.

Griffon Vulture

Griffon Vultures on their rock

We spent a few moments admiring an Alpine Marmot sitting on top of a lofty crag and then Wow! an adult Lammergeier appeared and put on a wonderful show quartering the ground just underneath us.  An enormous but beautifully designed and specialist vulture thankfully now slowly increasing its numbers in Europe.  Ron had not seen one for years, for Paul it was his first one - Jonathan and I are more familiar with this bird but we all gasped at its spectacular show.

A splendid Lammergeier

There was more to come.  First a superb Short-toed Eagle flew over and this was followed by an amazing Honey Buzzard.  The latter was in full display first lunging upwards whilst clapping its wings at least three times above its head. This is followed by a shallow stoop and then the whole process starts again.  I had only seen this behaviour a couple of times before and was so mesmerised by the whole process I forgot to try a photograph.

Rock Bunting

After a picnic lunch we started our descent looking for passerines. Crossbills regularly flew over chipping and we also managed Water Pipit, a couple of Rock Buntings and a few Mistle Thrushes. We tried a walk in mixed pine and beech forest.  Jonathan heard a brief call of a Black Woodpecker but to Ron's dismay we could not find it.  Plenty of Jays and a Crested Tit were all we could find.  A cup of coffee followed and we headed for home well satisfied with our days work.

Wetland Joy

Shopping requirements lead to us leaving home at 8am but first we decided to check out the rice fields and wet meadows at Le Petite Tournebelle near Le Roc at Gruissan.  This superb habitat has been a bit dry recently but it seems to take overflow water from the rice fields and today it was in great condition.

Wet meadows at Le Petit Tournebelle

Amongst the herd of Black Cattle were the usual flocks of Cattle and Little Egrets together with c40 Black-winged Stilts and at least the same number of Wood Sandpipers.  There were also 2 Green Sandpipers, 5 Common Sandpipers and a single Snipe.

Wood Sandpiper

A little more obvious was 5 Purple Herons and 5 Glossy Ibis.  Two of the latter carried white plastic rings which suggest they originate from the colony in Coto Donana, Spain.

Juvenile Purple Heron

Glossy Ibis

Our splendid hour ended with a couple of Black Kites and a Marsh Harrier.