April 24, 2006
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!
