April 27, 2006
A two Redstart day...
... is always a good day. This male Black Redstart (Rougequeue noir) was photographed outside my office window...
... while this Common Redstart (Rougequeue a front blanc) has been singing its heart out outside my flat for the last few days.
April 24, 2006
Birthday birding part 2: Camargue specialities
Blue skies? Warm temperatures? Marshes teeming with herons, stilts and other waterbirds? The Camargue in the springtime is certainly up there with the finest wetland birding experiences in California and Florida. Activity is all around; it's really hard to pick out highlights from the few hours I spent here on Sunday, but I'll try. The Mas d'Agon marshes are well-known for attracting quantity and quality. I had great views of Purple Herons (Héron pourpré)...
... and Squacco Herons (Crabier chevelu) - shame this grotty immature was the only one which stuck around for photos!
Black-winged Stilts (Echasse blanche), Fan-tailed (Cisticole des joncs) and Cetti's Warblers (Bouscarle de Cetti) were abundant and noisy. If you stare at this photo for long enough you should spot one of the many Wood Sandpipers (Chevalier sylvain) on passage through the region right now.
On the rare side, I saw one of the two Glossy Ibis (Ibis falcinelle) present here, and spotted a stonking adult White-winged Black Tern (Guifette leucoptère) amongst the many Whiskered Terns (Guifette moustac). Neither stuck around for photos...
Heading into the saltmarsh and coastal habitat around Saintes Maries de la Mer and Grau du Roi yielded masses of Greater Flamingos (Flamant rose), a couple of Gull-billed Terns (Sterne hansel), and a single bathing Little Tern (Sterne naine).
Shorebirds included many Oystercatchers (Huîtrier pie) and a few Kentish Plovers (Gravelot à collier interrompu).
I felt rather voyeuristic watching these Redshanks (Chevalier gambette) copulating through a gap in the reeds. A little dancing...
... here we go...
... almost there...
... and back to feeding as though nothing had happened!
The Petite Camargue on Saturday evening: I had my only White Stork (Cigogne blanche) and Great Reed Warbler (Rousserole turdoïde) of the trip here.
Birthday birding part 1: gorgeous gorges
This weekend I 'celebrated' leaving my mid-twenties and entering my late twenties with a mix of eating, drinking, sightseeing and (for me) leisurely-paced birding in the south of France. Saturday morning was spent birding around the hotel (Mas de Baumes) in the hills north of Montpellier. The area supported a rich diversity of Mediterranean-scrubland birds: displaying Woodlarks (Alouette lulu), singing Bonelli's Warbler (Pouillot de Bonelli) and Nightingales (Rossignol philomèle) everywhere! The Sylvia warblers (Sardinian and Orphean; mélanocéphale et orphée) were typically skulking, and a Hoopoe (Huppe fasciée) showed well, if briefly. The highlight for me was seeing Rock Sparrows (Moineau soulcie) setting up territories on the hotel buildings themselves - only the second time I've ever seen this species.
In full song it was often possible to pick out the diagnostic yellow throat patch.
White Wagtails (Bergeronnette grise) were apparently nesting too.
Hawfinches (Grosbec casse-noyaux) were surprisingly common and relatively easy to see in the stunted trees.
It wasn't clear whether these two male Whinchats (Tarier des prés) were prospecting breeding sites or on their way north.
Both redstart species were in song; this Common Redstart (Rougequeue à front blanc) was my first of the year.
This tall Asphode sp was abundant...
... but I only found a single Giant Orchid.
In the afternoon we drove our way up many winding roads towards the Gorges of the Tarn and the Jonte. I was surprised to see several large snow patches on the high tops - this was not the climate I had come dressed for! Our destination was the vulture viewpoint in the Gorge de la Jonte, and sure enough, we soon spotted several giant Griffon Vultures (Vauture fauve).
A most welcome bonus was a pair of Egyptian Vultures (Vauture percnoptère), apparently prospecting a nest site. Choughs (Crave à bec rouge) and Alpine Swifts (Martinet à ventre blanc) were wheeling around the cliffs, while Crag Martins (Hirondelle de rochers) and a single Dipper (Cincle plongeur) were feeding along the river. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the fantastic scenery.
Easter in the Dordogne
I spent a very pleasant Easter weekend visiting friends, eating, drinking and sleeping in the picturesque Dordogne region.
Birding wasn't much on the agenda, but a good selection of rural birds was on offer. Black Kites (Milan noir), in particular, were everywhere.
Bonelli's Warblers (Pouillot de Bonelli), Cirl Buntings (Bruant zizi) and Crested Larks (Cochevis huppé) were all singing in the vicinity of our lodgings. The grassy hillsides supported good numbers of Green-winged Orchids...
... among them, this pale (aberrant?) individual.
The garden pond supported a noisy collection of frogs. I'm afraid frog ID is not my forté, but my best guess is that these are Marsh Frogs from their loud 'chuckling' calls. Any thoughts on the ID welcome.
This guy's impressive throat sacs obviously did the trick!
local stuff, scope whinge
It's been a while since the last update, due in part to being busy (why oh why did I agree to give a 45 minute talk in French to the department?), and part to the ongoing saga of my scope. After waiting 3 weeks for a quote for the repairs, I was finally told that Leica doesn't have a policy of glueing broken parts back on, and would have to replace the whole of the body armour, which would cost... 900 Euros!!! I bought the scope when it was about 6 months old (thus voiding the warranty, apparently) for somewhat less than their repair quote, so guess I'll repair it myself with superglue. When my Swarovski bins (also bought used) had a similar mechanical problem, Swarovski's US branch fixed the problem for free, and replaced the body armour at no extra cost. So, Swarovski one, Leica nil.
Anyway, back to birds. The oak trees in my garden are really beginning to leaf out, and are consequently attracting much bird activity from the local Blackcaps (Fauvette à tête noire)...
... and Willow Warblers (Pouillot fitis).
I've been hearing lots from male Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (Pic epeichette) both in my street and on campus. They have done a good job of eluding the camera so far, but here are a couple of 'record shots' I was able to grab on the way to work.
Spring is slowly but surely advancing here: Bluebells have finally appeared en masse in the woods around the campus...
... and Hedgehogs are making their presence felt in my neighbourhood.
April 9, 2006
Etang de St-Hubert/Rambouillet
This morning I joined Romain Lorrilliere and his girlfriend Sandrine for a walk around the Etang (Lake) de Saint-Hubert and the Foret de Rambouillet. The omens were good when I saw a vocal male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Pic epeichette) as I left the flat! Several migrants were seen or heard around St-Hubert including the three common hirundines (les trois hirondelles), Cetti's and Sedge Warbler (Bouscarle de Cetti et Phragmite des joncs), Nightingale (Rossignol philomele) and Cuckoo (Coucou gris). I was extremely pleased to hear the last two after an absence of three years. Among the waterbirds, the most interesting sighting was this distant Great White Egret (Grande Aigrette) standing next to one of many Grey Herons (Heron cendre).
We then drove to an open area of the Foret de Rambouillet surrounded by conifers - it reminded me very much of the Brecks or parts of the New Forest in England.
The good birding started from the car park - the first bird we heard was a singing Wryneck (Torcol fourmilier), my 7th species of woodpecker in France this year! Soon after we had a couple of flyover Crossbills (Bec-croise des sapins) and the first of many Tree Pipits (Pipit des arbres). While the few Woodlark (Alouette lulu) we saw were silent, the Tree Pipits were in full song, and doing their 'parachuting' display flight.
Willow Warblers (Pouillot fitis) were abundant, and good numbers of Linnets (Linotte melodieuse) and Stonechats (Tarier patre) were also present. A single Brambling (Pinson du Nord) was on the late side. On the way back to the car, we had great views of a/the Wryneck, although by the time I had my scope set up, distance and heat haze hampered any chance of a decent shot.
Back at home, I decided to put my newly-fixed oven through its paces by roasting some potatoes, red onion, courgette and aubergine. Here are the results:
It seems I wasn't the only one who thought the roasted veggies smelled good...
April 8, 2006
Around the block
Unusually for me, I'm having a relatively relaxed weekend at home in Orsay. Having added singing Black Redstart (Rougequeue noir) to the garden list this morning, I decided to walk up the road to my local woods, and was soon rewarded with the first of two calling Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (Pic epeichette). This Red Squirrel (Ecureuil roux) chose a less than convincing hiding place!
The arable fields at the edge of the woods appear to have healthy populations of Skylarks (Alouette des champs) and Meadow Pipits (Pipit farlouse). However, the best birding was in a row of poplars which were just coming into bud. Among the feeding frenzy were two Willow Warblers (Pouillot fitis)....
... and at least 6 Tree Sparrows (Moineau friquet)...
... along with large numbers of Goldfinches (Chardonneret elegant)...
... and a singing Siskin (Tarin des aulnes).
Great to have such healthy rural bird communities right on my doorstep!Bordered by woodland, orchards, arable land and a good-sized pond, and with good views to boot, this would have to be my dream home in Orsay.
The view from my somewhat more modest lodgings.
Springtime colour
A week of warm temperatures and sunshine has prompted a blaze of colour on campus - life is good!
April 6, 2006
Spring singers
My broken scope has apparently found its way to Leica HQ in Germany, and I'm still not sure when I'll be getting it back. In the mean time, I'm making do with my trusty old Kowa TS-611 which had been gathering dust at my parents'. Today was a beautiful morning, so I decided to have a stab at digiscoping with it. Black Redstarts (Rougequeue noir) are back in force on campus - one has been singing continually from outside my office window for about a week.
I was impressed at how well this shot of a singing male Blackcap (Fauvette à tête noire) came out.
Chiffchaffs (Pouillot véloce) seemed to be everywhere too.
My first Willow Warbler (Pouillot fitis) of the spring was singing too, along with Serins (Serin cini), Stock Doves (Pigeon colombin), a Firecrest (Roitelet triple-bandeau) and a House Martin (Hirondelle de fenêtre). A less welcome sign of spring was the emergence of several non-native Red-eared Sliders on the campus ponds.
A lucky 'grab shot' of a Long-tailed Tit (Mésange à longue queue).
Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised by the Kowa's digiscoping capabilities. I serves perfectly well for 'record shots', such as this Woodpigeon (Pigeon ramier)...
... although close-up I think it loses something in image sharpness and colour rendition compared with the (much more pricey) Leica.
On a random note, apprently this is my 300th blog entry in just under two years of blogging. I'm starting to feel old...
Lisbon
Last weekend I jetted off to Lisbon to meet up with an English guy living in Switzerland, a Mexican girl I met in Cambridge and a French couple I knew from Canada - small world! Birding wasn't really on the cards, but I was happy just to explore and soak up the sun and the wonderful 20°C temperatures. One bird you can't miss though, are the thousands of wheeling Pallid Swifts over the city - I've never seen such a concentration!
Other typical city birds were Serin and Black Redstart, while Firecrest and Blackcaps were both singing in the greener areas. This Lesser Black-backed Gull (digibinned) looked like it had seen better days.
It was a joy to see butterflies out and about, including this Wall Brown (?)
and Red Admiral.
I'll finish with a selection of scenic shots from the weekend. Here's a typical, hilly street.
Blue sky!
Views over the city.
The monastery, market and orange tree at Belem.
Lisbon or San Francisco? Apparently this bridge was designed by the same team responsible for the Golden Gate Bridge, but is even longer!
Palms in the Botanic Gardens.
Cheeky advert.
