Shopping but a Few Birds as well

After a little bit of a lie in after my tour leading we set off for Narbonne shopping.  First we did a little birding.  The first of note was a splendid Hobby chasing hirundines at La Viala.  Moving on to Lespignan we found a male Red-backed Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Black Kite, Short-toed Eagle and 10 Honey Buzzards battling there way north.

Honey Buzzard

We moved on to Pissevache and lo and behold met up with the same four wonderful Danish birders we had encountered at Bugavach earlier in the week.  As we spoke dozens of Avocets and about 200 Sandwich Terns called around us.  We also picked up a Hobby and then still a small group of marsh terns.

Sandwich Terns

Looking through the marsh terns there were still 4 White-winged Black Terns, 8 Whiskered Terns and a Little Gull.

White-winged Black Tern - The best I could do

We checked out some waders which turned out to be 20 Little Ringed Plovers and 30 Kentish Plovers and headed for the shops.  On arriving home a couple of Bee-eaters flew low through our garden calling.

Beautiful Weather and a Return to Normality

I guess it is sods law but after dropping the Honeyguiders at Carcassonne Airport I returned home in warm sunshine and after a brief rest took a walk around our hill.  Common Redstart and Golden Oriole were heard singing as well as a number of Orphean Warblers.  It was butterflies that caught my attention with Glanville Fritillaries and Chequered Skippers very obvious.

Glanville Fritillary

Chequered Skipper

Later I took a trip out first around the local vineyards.  A Montagu's Harrier and a Short-toed Eagle flew over and I found two male Red-backed Shrikes and a Quail called nearby.

Red-backed Shrike

At the Lac de Jouarre 2 Common Sandpipers were located and near the Homps sewerage pools at last 2 Rollers were found.

Roller

Lastly as I headed home a Turtle Dove flew up from the roadside.  Now the migrants are coming.

Honeyguiders return home

The last week has been spent guiding 14 splendid people around the area looking for wildlife.  Despite some dreadful weather much was seen.  The following is a summary of the events.

Honeyguiders botanising

April 25th - Honeyguiders arrive and after checking in at Chateau de Siran we go up to the Fauzan area.  We start by trying out the Curiosity Lauriole and then go to look at a large show of Pyranean Snakesheads before looking at Dwarf Irises and many more plants.  I was shown a new orchid for me in Provence Orchid.  A Montagu's Harrier flew over and Orphean and Subalpine Warblers sang in the scrub.

Provence Orchid

April 26th - A cold day and we begin at Minerve and walk down to the village.  Again many plants to occupy the botanists and a few butterflies too with Cleopatras attracting the most attention.  Birds were represented by lots of Common Swifts, 4 Alpine Swifts, 6 Crag Martins and 4 Red-rumped Swallows.  A splendid Blue Rock Thrush sang from a bush on the top of the Gorge Brian.  We moved on an took lunch by the meadows near Bois Bas.  The huge display of Green-winged Orchids attracted much attention as did a wonderful display of Wild Tulips.  We moved on to the Gorge above La Caunette for more flowers and views of Woodlarks.

Kentish Plover

April 27th - We headed off to the coast and stopped first at Etang de Vendres but the strong cold wind meant we did not go far.  We noted a Marsh Harrier and Grey Herons and Little Egrets nesting. Moving on the the meadows at Fleury we failed to find any Rollers or Bee-eaters and ended up at Pissevache.  The were a few waders present which were mostly Kentish Plovers but there was a superb Curlew Sandpiper in full summer plumage. The weather was very unpleasant as we headed south to Gruissan.  We noted a few subadult Greater Flamingos and tried the vineyards where we discovered a couple of Whinchats and a pair of Black-eared Wheatears.  The lagoons at Mandirac produced 40 Greenshanks and 20 Wood Sandpipers.  Four White Storks fed in one area where another sat on a nest.

Pair of Lesser Kestrels

April 28th - We headed off for St.Pons de Mauchien to enjoy a morning with the Lesser Kestrel colony.  We were not disappointed and saw dozens of these wonderful birds as they perched on TV aerials and rooftops.  We also enjoyed a great view of a Hoopoe singing from a roof. We eventually headed for Bessan to try our luck with other species.  As we arrived there were a few Buzzards around and we located a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos flying in a scrubby area.  Eventually we did have great views of a number of Little Bustards flying around and displaying from the ground.  The botanists added Tongue Orchid to their list.   We had lunch at the end of the runway of Beziers Airport where three more Little Bustards called.  Our early success and no rain tempted us back to Pissevache and that turned out to be a good decision.  Here we discovered a rare sight of 12 White-winged Black Terns feeding with 15 Whiskered Terns over the sewerage ponds.  Scanning the tern flock on the shallow lagoon we identified 130 Sandwich Terns, 4 Common Terns, 4 Little Terns and a solitary Caspian Tern.

Black-winged Stilt

April 29th - Today we headed south to the Leucate area.  Checking the shore pools we could only find a couple of Kentish Plovers, 2 Oystercatchers and a few Black-winged Stilts.  Heading up to the Cap a cold wind and low cloud caused us to abandon the site immediately.  We stopped in a coffee shop at Le Franqui for an hour to escape driving rain and afterwards enjoyed a brief walk around the sewerage works in a rare dry period.  Here we found a Snipe, Wood Sandpiper and some Yellow Wagtails and a bedraggled Pied Flycatcher.  We had to find a place for lunch and ended up at Peyriac sur Mer.  A violent thunderstorm interrupted our lunch so we gave up and headed back to the hotel.

Subadult Greater Flamingos

April 30th -  Given the disappointment of the previous day we went back to Leucate.  This time we were able to walk the Cap and look at plants and search for migrants.  Early successes included a Hoopoe and a Common Redstart.  Soon a number of Northern Wheatears and 2 pairs of Black-eared Wheatears were discovered.  One particular area seemed to hold a number of birds most of which were Common Whitethroats but we did find a few Whinchats, a Pied Flycatcher, a Garden Warbler, Tawny Pipits, 2 Red-throated Pipits and best of all a Wryneck.  We watched some resident Sardinian Warblers and then surprisingly a Spotless Starling.  We walked a bit at Le  Franqui seeing Hoopoe, Cuckoo and plenty of Whinchats and Northern Wheatears. Some glimpsed some distant Bee-eaters flying over.  Heading home we stopped to watch a few Avocets and Greater Flamingos near Bages.

Baton Blue

May 1st - Last day and the best weather of the week.  We stop in a Corbiere Gorge where the Nightingale song is deafening.  Overhead Crag Martins and 6 Alpine Swifts dash by and on a crag a Blue Rock Thrush appears.  More plants are discovered and Orange Tip butterflies are very obvious. We move on to another area near to Queribus Castle where we do not see many birds but find Green Hairstreak and Baton Blue butterflies on meadows full of impressive Lady Orchids.  Our eventual destination was Bucarach where friend Jonathan Kemp was arranging us the opportunity to watch Griffon Vultures being fed.  We assembled on a hillside as the food was laid out.  Up to 40 Griffons quickly appeared but seemed reluctant to descend.  We also saw Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Hobby and a superb Red-footed Falcon.  A great end to a difficulty but productive week.

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.




The Sun Brings Out The Flowers and Insects

It was beautiful and warm today with temperatures over 20 degrees by lunch time.  Coming back from Olonzac market we saw a Black Kite and 3 Woodchat Shrikes. Nearer home we also noted a super male Pied Flycatcher.

Pyrenean Snakeshead

This afternoon I drove around a couple of good sites for wild flowers on the edge of the Cesse Gorge.  My timing was perfect as there were good shows of Bearded Iris and Common Jonquil but the best displays yet of Pyrenean Snakeshead and some excellent stands of Lady Orchids

Lady Orchids

There were plenty of butterflies about today as well.  Large Whites and Swallowtails have been all I have seen until today but there were lots of Cleopatras and Clouded Yellows on the wing.

Cleopatra

Sitting on the terrace this evening we saw our first Short-toed Eagle of the spring and there were hordes of Common Swifts overhead as well.

Over the Border in Spain

We decided to get up early and go to the Aiguamolls de l'Emporda Natural Park which is a regular habit of ours.  It only takes about two hours to be birding there.  Leaving Cesseras we noticed 6 Common Swifts flying over which were the vanguard of hundreds seen during the day. On arrival at the Park we hurried to the first hide where several Whiskered Terns were hunting and a Great White Egret stood out among the many Little Egrets,  There seemed to be a lot of infant school groups around so we gave up our seats to them and moved on.  The second hide produced about 40 Greenshanks, 20 Pallid Swifts, many Black-winged Stilts about 30 Greater Flamingos and the biggest shock of the day.  There asleep on a a small island was an Egyptian Goose the first of this species I have seen in Europe outside the UK and the Netherlands.  This feral species is getting everywhere.

The Egyptian Goose asleep

We walked on with a deafening chorus of Nightingales and Cetti's Warblers.  Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins were passing south in large numbers as where Common Swifts but we did also pick out 4 Alpine Swifts overhead as well.  We soon arrived at the area of wet meadows and here picked up a couple of Bee-eaters passing south as well as 2 Black Kites and 4 Marsh Harriers.  The meadows held at least 60 Black-winged Stilts and 12 Wood Sandpipers.  The wetter areas had two fine male Garganey feeding in the shallows.

Male Garganey

Walking back past wetlands we could hear Great Reed and Reed Warbler and single Collared Pratincole and Squacco Heron flew over.  We had a snack in the car park and afterwards I revisited the first hide by the HQ.  It was quiet now.  A Marsh Harrier put up all the birds and I could add Shovelers, 2 male Wigeon, 6 more  Garganey and 20 Black-tailed Godwits to the day list.  Also a large group of Fallow Deer were now grazing by the water's edge.

Part of the group of Fallow Deer

We then moved on to another area of the Park north of the town of the town of Castello d'Empuries.  Stopping by one of the small bridges we noted a Cuckoo, Marsh Harrier, 2 Purple Herons and another group of about 20 Whiskered Terns.  The highlight though was an assembly of around 150 White Storks.  Every now and then a small group would get up find a thermal and head off north to cross the nearby mountains.  It was a spectacular sight.

White Stork in flight

White Stork feeding

 

A great day!  Back at home writing this blog I heard a familiar noise and opening the front door could hear my first Scop's Owl of the year calling from the garden.

 

 

More Birds turning up

Less wind today and a bit more sunshine.  A Black Kite flew past the window at breakfast and as soon as I went out onto the garden I could hear an Orphean Warbler singing.  Nightingale, Hoopoe and Cuckoo joined in the chorus and a beautiful fresh Swallowtail butterfly flew by. A pair of colourful Cirl Buntings also came to feed on our grassy areas.

Swallowtail butterfly

Later whilst visiting neighbours John and Hanny we noted a female Pied Flycatcher and a Nightinglae in their garden.  We spent the afternoon visiting more friends and on our return stopped at Minerve to watch 4 Red-rumped Swallows, 2 House Martins, 2 Crag Martins and a Swallow.

Red-rumped Swallow

We checked a local Golden Eagle site and noted a bird on the nest.  Scanning with a telescope I was amazed to see a female Peregrine apparently sitting on a clutch of eggs.  Obviously the eagles are not around this year.  On the way home a handsome Woodchat Shrike sat on a roadside bush.