Looking Locally

A very obliging Turtle Dove

A pleasant day but a northerly wind.  We took a drive north of Minerve checking for any new migrants.  There was not much to report until we got east of Le Boisset and took the track high into the hills.  A Raven flew over and after a bit of searching a pair of Red-backed Shrikes were located on a potential nesting site.  This species is very much part of my youth in Suffolk so I get a thrill every time I come across them.

Male Red-backed Shrike

We moved back to Minerve and looked again in vain for Red-rumped Swallows.  Where are they?  They are usually back by now even gathering mud from puddles in the track by our house.  We did see a male Blue Rock Thrush, 3 Crag Martins and an Alpine Swift.  The latter was the first for Minerve for us this year.

Alpine Swift

After listening to the football on the radio I checked out a few places down in the plain. Not much really - two pairs of Black-winged Stilts and a Golden Oriole at Homps sewerage lagoons and c20 Bee-eaters just east of Olonzac and a very posy Turtle Dove.

Day at Home

Female Pied Flycatcher

I spent today working in the garden, cutting grass etc but did have time to notice 30 Honey Buzzards flying over.  There was also a male Black Redstart and a female Pied Flycatcher in the garden.

The Marsh again and Feeling like a Grandfather again

Jonathan Kemp came over from Limoux today to join me in his first visit to the marsh at Capestang.  A bit cloudy and cool to start with and we picked up 5 Honey Buzzards flying over the road near Cabezac.  Arriving at the marsh we hoped we might see more of this species but that was it for today.  Walking down the track we noted a Great White Egret and up to 4 Black Kites and somewhat surprisingly a female Golden Oriole flew over.  This was quickly followed by a calling Grey Plover.  Up to 10 Lapwings were also present.

Lapwing

Great Reed and Reed Warblers dominated the singing from the marsh but we also saw and heard Water Rail, Cettis Warbler, Fan-tailed Warbler, Blue-headed Wagtail, Reed Bunting and Bearded Tit.  There were plenty of Purple Herons and to our delight a Squacco Heron got up and flew a short distance before dropping down again.

Squacco Heron

Arriving back at the car we stopped to enjoy a sandwich and the birding got even better.  First a Gull-billed Tern flew up the canal really close and then a pair of Great Spotted Cuckoos settled in nearby bushes and finally a superb Hobby flew over our heads.

Great Spotted Cuckoo

We moved on to meet up with Stuart Gregory and went off to check a precious Bonelli's Eagle site.  Before reaching the site we saw at least a couple of Woodchat Shrikes and a Tawny Pipit. Reaching our destination we were thrilled to find the female in attendance with two downy chicks.  With only 30 pairs of this super raptor in France every successful nest is vital.  I had to confess it felt like being a Grandfather again.

Coastal Loop

Short-toed Eagle hovering

Another promising day weather wise had us doing our coastal loop starting at Etang de Vendres, Apart from a lot of activity at the large heron colony not much else to report.  We drove on crossing the meadows at Fleury where we were delighted to have great views of a Roller and a Woodchat Shrike.  We checked the reedbed at Lespignan and could immediately hear a Bittern booming.  A Short-toed Eagle hovered overhead before being seen off by a Kestrel. We also drove up the small vineyard road adjacent to the marsh where we counted sixty Cattle Egrets all in breeding plumage.  Further on we stopped to listen and heard three singing Ortolan Buntings and a Golden Oriole.

Cattle Egret

We headed back to Pissevache and took a look round before having lunch.  Two Little Terns stood out amongst a group of Black-headed Gulls.  Two adult Mediterranean Gulls flew over calling and 2 sub-adults were noted sitting amid 100 Sandwich Terns out on the small islands.  We took a walk to the back of the sewerage lagoons where at least 12 pairs of Black-winged Stilts seemed to be nesting with fewer Avocets.  Three Common Sandpipers called incessantly and 6 Greater Flamingos and 3 Gadwall flew over.  Getting back to the car for lunch a Bar-tailed Godwit and 4 Grey Plovers flew by and 9 Slender-billed Gulls kept us amused us feeding nearby.

Common Sandpiper

We moved south to Gruissan and really began by driving through the vineyards behind the coastal road.  Two male Woodchat Shrikes stood out sitting together in one bush and later a beautiful male Black-eared Wheatear perched on the edge of a bush.  We continued to the area around Le Roc but it was exceptionally quiet probably due to a bi-plane we had seen spraying something over the area.  The small marsh by the museum had a couple of White Storks feeding with a few Black-winged Stilts.  The storks are nesting nearby.

Male Black-eared Wheatear

The Mandirac area was also quiet with a Purple Heron probably the highlight.  Three feral Pink-backed Pelican soared over with the same number of White Storks which might also originate from the African Wildlife Park at Sigean.  I hope they look after their big cats better.

Bumper Day!

I began the day by taking my Land Rover down to the garage at Azillinet.  It was going to be 2 hours getting repaired so I took a walk west towards the Olonzac - Cesseras road through a small vineyard road.  I eventually crossed the main road and went about 400 metres beyond the Cesseras washing plant.  I only had my bins and no camera but the birding was great.  Firstly I found 3 pairs of Turtle Doves my first of the year and as usual there were loads of Corn Buntings a few Nightingales and a Melodious Warbler singing.

Turtle Dove

Presssing on I stopped for a moment to watch a Tawny Pipit carrying out its spectacular song flight when I heard a familiar sound.  I could hear an Ortolan Bunting singing and found it perched on a vineyard post.  Within the next half an hour I heard a minimum of 4 Ortolan Buntings.  This was a surprise as I did not know this species was here.  I had driven these roads often but never stopped long enough to hear them. It shows the benefits of walking. The other good news was  I discovered a Southern Grey Shrike in its regular spot.  I added another Tawny Pipit, Wheatear, Whinchat, Woodchat Shrike and Buzzard before going back for the car.

Ortolan Bunting

After lunch we needed to replenish our wine stocks so first we drove up to St.Jean de Minervois and noticed a Short-toed Eagle over the village.  We then moved down through Bize Minervois to Cabezac where we noted a Honey Buzzard and a few Bee-eaters.  We took our purchases home and then I decided to go out again as I had a feeling there might be some good birds to find.  Driving through Cesseras I passed the local Roller territory and to my astonishment there was the pair already in and sitting on wires.  I took the opportunity to grab some shots.

The Rollers have returned to Cesseras

These bird give me hours of pleasure watching their antics

I moved on the the Pepieux end of the vineyard roads and added another Tawny Pipit and 2 Woodchat Shrikes.  Next stop was Lac de Jouarres which usually flatters to deceive.  I was about to leave when I noticed 4 Great White Egrets preening in the reeds and then a small raft of darkish birds caught my eye.  I reached for the telescope and was thrilled to find 7 Black-necked Grebes in full breeding plumage.

Black-necked Grebe

Leaving the lake I checked the sewerage ponds at Homps and was pleased to find 5 Black-winged Stilts.  Then I turned off to check out the Bee-eater nesting site east of Olonzac.  There were about 30 of these beautiful birds in the area but they did not seem to be taking much notice of the nest holes.  Again they posed beautifully.  There was also a Great Spotted Cuckoo and a Turtle Dove in attendance.

Bee-eater perched near the colony

Bee-eater tossing up an insect before swallowing it

A perfect day ended with our local Short-toed Eagles indulging in a talon grappling display over our garden as we enjoyed supper on our front terrace.

Spring at last

I awoke to the most gorgeous morning.  Bright sunshine, no wind and quite warm.  I set out on a long walk around our hill.  The first thing that struck me was how many Nightingales were singing.  There must have been around 50 in a two hour walk.  Orphean Warblers are also now well in as are Melodious Warblers.  Bee-eaters called overhead for most of the walk and Swift movement was almost continuous.

Melodious Warbler

As I approached a vineyard coming back towards home I noticed a male Woodchat Shrike sitting on a post.  Indeed looking closer there were 4 male Woodchats all close together with two of them singing.  It looked as if they were migrating together and had all dropped down to feed.  They were extremely approachable and allowed me to photograph them.

One of the 4 Woodchat Shrikes

Today was so warm we had supper outside for the first time this Spring.  Hordes more Swifts were going over with a few House Martins.  If this weather continues we can expect more migration as everything is still at least two weeks late.

Stormy Day

A low flying Honey Buzzard from a previous visit.

Breakfast saw showers followed by a promising sunny and warm spell.  This period saw a lone Honey Buzzard battling a strong wind up our little valley.  It flew so low over our garden that I could see every detail.  Soon dozens of Swifts followed and then a stunning male Golden Oriole flew across the garden into the pines and sang for a few minutes before moving on.  After that a violent thunderstorm for a couple of hour followed by more gentle rain for the rest of the day.