For a variety of reasons (see my blog name), the primary bird I wanted to see in France was the Monk Vulture, also known as the Black Vulture.
For quite some time, all four species of European vulture were extirpated from France. For a fascinating article about this, focusing on Michel Terrasse, who first reintroduced Griffon and Monk Vultures to the Gorges de la Nesque in the Cevennes National Park, go here and click the text or PDF files at the bottom.
Christian Tessier followed suit in 1991, reintroducing Griffon Vultures near the charming medieval village of Remuzat, in the Drome department north of Vaucluse. It was a perfect location, since the Rocher du Caire, a cliffside which comes to a point like a ship's prow, towers over the village on the far side of the Eygues River. The Griffons took to their new location so beautifully, Monk Vultures were added in a couple of years back. The result, to everyone's delight, was the spontaneous reappearance of Egyptian Vultures. So, at the right time, and with a little luck, you can go to Remuzat and see three of Europe's four vultures in one spot.
That's exactly what I hoped to do. I rented a car and got a room in the town's only hotel, the Hotel Baudoin, a remodeled 17th c. carriage inn.
I looked out the window at the cliffside and BAM, there were the vultures. The innkeeper told me I could access a road through the next town over, St. May, and get to a point where I could walk to the clifftop. I plopped down my bags and did just that.
The Griffon Vultures are by far the most gregarious of the lot, soaring together along the cliff and even nesting communally on its shelves. The Monk Vulture is quite solitary and nests in trees.
Hiking through lovely subalpine meadows, one does connect with a path that skirts the entire cliffside. The impressive result is that one is often looking down on the vultures. That is, when they don't loft up to scrutinize the status of your mortality. The Griffons were abundant, but just as I got to the top overlook, a Monk Vulture lofted up on my right, greeting me like a long-lost cousin. It's the only one I would see, and though I went up twice, I dipped on the Egyptian.
The meadows provided me with two other lifers: Linnet and Ortolan Bunting.
I decided to go home via Mont Ventoux. This is the famous Provencal mountain that provides the Tour de France bikers with their most arduous challenge and the only place to pick up alpine species in the area.
My main target was Black Woodpecker, said to inhabit the mature mid-slope pine forests. Well, I searched everywhere I could and didn't even hear a woodpecker of any kind, much less see one. I also scoured the bare scree at the top for Alpine Accentor, but the best I could do was Northern Wheatear. The other lifers I picked up on Ventoux were Citril Finch and Crested Tit.
Posted by MadMonk at June 4, 2004 01:24 PM