A Brit abroad

Barcelona

... such a beautiful horizon!

I wasn't expecting to blog about my short weekend visit, as it was supposed to be cultural rather th an birding-based (I didn't even take my bins): However, as always, I ended up seeing a few interesting odds and ends right in the city centre, which may be of interest to the visiting birder. The above photos were taken from the Mointjuïc park, an extensive wooded area which on my visit was full of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Sardinian Warblers. On the castel itself, Black Redstarts were abundant and Crested Tits called from the surrounding conifers.

The amazing, organic Sagrada Familia is a must-see, and I even jammed a Peregrine flying about one of the highest turrets.

Every green space and palm tree-lined avenue was full of the introduced Monk Parakeets (lesser numbers of Ring-necked Parakeets were also seen). I watched this one swooping down pigeon-like a scrap of bread...

... and deftly devouring it with some nifty foot-beak action.

The harbour front at Barceloneta was teeming with fish, attracting attention from the Great Cormorants, Black-headed and Yellow-legged Gulls.

Here's a Spotless Starling sitting amongst some more fearsome looking birds on the Columbus monument.

The train from the city to the airport goes through some interesting-looking wetlands, which held several Cattle Egrets. From the plane itself I watched a falconer flying his Lanner-type falcon next to the runway, presumably to keep other birds at bay. Sunset from the plane.

Pas grand chose

Since coming back from Ouessant, I haven't managed a whole lot of birding. This is in part due to my flatwarming, and the departure of my Kiwi pal Leigh back to NZ (seen here enjoying a tipple at the minibar).

We had a very cold (but sunny) week, followed by unseasonably warm weather. During the cold snap I took a wander around the campus and neighbouring basins. The campus is looking great as the leaves turn.

Save for some flyover Redwings (Grive mauvis) and a single calling Chiffchaff (Pouillot véloce), there was little activity in the basin, so I took a few shots of this Grey Heron (Héron cendré).

Back on the campus, the first Chaffinch (Pinson des arbres) flocks are forming, and I heard both Black and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (Pics noir et épeichette) vocalizing. I decided to wait a while at a pond which has been a good spot for Hawfinch in the winter. I immediately flushed a Kingfisher (Martin-pecheur), a species I rarely see on campus. A male Bullfinch (Bouvreuil pivoine) and accompanying Blue Tits (Mésange bleue) made for colourful drinking companions.

This Grey Wagtail (Bergeronnette des ruisseaux) was also creeping around the edge of the pond.

A trip to the south of France produced much warmer weather and a different selection of birds - one vineyard I wandered round was a hive of activity, with a large mixed flock of Tree Sparrows (Moineau friquet) and Goldfinches (Chardonneret élégant) accompained by smaller numbers of Serin (Serin cini), Sardinian Warbler (Fauvette mélanocéphale) and Woodlarks (Alouette lulu). A Sunday hike up into the gorges around St-Gillem-le-Desert produced plenty of Wallcreeper habitat (but no sightings).

We tried a few of these strawberry-like fruits, called arbouses,

... and were assailed by a giant cricket.

Just when things were beginning to look dull, my boss came up with an amazing proposition for me - check back in early December if you want to know more...

Ouessant

Just got back from a very pleasant 4 days spent on the island of Ouessant, an ornithological mecca for French birders due to the incredible list of vagrants that have shown up over the years. Flat calm seas made for a pleasant crossing - fellow birders Romain and Sandrine looked suitably relieved.

Seabird sightings were scarce on the crossing, though we had some nice, close fly-bys of Northern Gannets (Fou de Bassan), and a few Guillemots (Guillemot de Troil). A Marsh Harrier (Busard des roseaux) and Merlin (Faucon emerillon) were unexpected sightings as we approached Ouessant.

The weather on arrival was perfect for cycling and enjoying the scenery: dry, no wind, overcast with occasional prolonged sunny periods. Unfortunately, these conditions are also conducive to mass departures of migrant birds, so no sign of the previous day's Blyth's Pipit or Lesser Grey Shrike...

The long-staying Barnacle Goose (Bernache nonnette), was still on show near the Crea'ch lighthouse - the swirling seas made for a photogenic backdrop.

The rock formations at the western tip of the island are impressive...

... and harboured a few migrant passerines, including this Black Redstart (Rougequeue noir).

Back at the other end of the island, we quickly located a vocalising Yellow-browed Warbler (PGS=Pouillot à grands sourcils) at Stang ar Stiff, a species that proved to be surprisingly common during our stay. A flyover male Ring Ouzel (Merle à plastron) was a highlight at Porz Arland. In the last of the daylight, we found a silent Siberian-type Chiffchaff (Pouillot véloce de Siberie) and a mystery Hippo/Acro warbler (uniform brown in colour, and a short 'trrr' alarm call were all we got on it), at an excellent-looking migrant trap below the dam at Merdy lakes. Overnight was calm and clear, and impressive numbers of Redwings (Grive mauvis) and Song Thrushes (Grive musicienne) were heard flying overhead.

Next morning bashing the bushes produced impressive numbers of Chiffchaffs, with a few Goldcrests and Firecrests (Roitelets huppé et à triple bandeau) mixed in, but not the hoped-for rarity. I French-ticked Dartford Warbler (Fauvette pitchou) on the heathland covering the north of the island, and saw the first of many Choughs (Crave à bec rouge).

After Sandrine's departure, Romain and I birded our way back towards the youth hostel. Just before dusk we bumped into Louis and Boris, who informed us that a Dusky Warbler (Pouillot brun) had just been found at Stang Meur. We raced after them, but after several wrong turns, brushes with limb-shredding brambles and boots filled with muddy water, it was well and truly dark when we arrived at the site! Water Rails (Râle d'eau) squealed with laughter as we waded our way back to our bikes.

After a much needed beer, we had an early night and returned to Stang Meur at dawn the next day. We were the only birders there, and were treated to great views of the Dusky Warbler over the next 30 minutes before heading back for breakfast. We also found another Siberian-type Chiffchaff at this site. A large chunk of the day was spent at Stang Korz trying to relocate a Booted Warbler - no luck with that, but we did find a Yellow-browed Warbler and the first Fieldfares (Grive litorne) of the autumn.

In the late afternoon we birded the rocky shores of the southwest peninsula of the island - here's a Shag (Cormoran huppé) in its typical surroundings.

Smaller numbers of Great Cormorants were also about - the size difference between the two species was obvious.

We were briefly excited by the appearance of this Wheatear amongst the Rock Pipits (Pipit maritime), White Wagtails (Bergeronnette grise) and Black Redstarts feeding in the kelp, but it turned out to be 'just' a Northern (Traquet motteux).

After another gorgeous sunset, we returned to the youth hostel to find a young Black Redstart causing a commotion on the dining room!

On our fourth and final day on the island, a westerly wind (finally!) started to blow, so we decided to spend much of the day seawatching. Our morning efforts at Pern produced Great and Arctic Skuas (Grand Labbe; Labbe parasite), 4 Common Scoter (Macreuse noire), and a single Balearic Sheawater (Puffin des Baléares) among the thousands of Gannets and Kittiwakes (Mouette tridactyle) streaming by.

A small party of Choughs gave good views close to the lighthouse.

A quick stop-off at Merdy yielded a Pied Flycatcher (Gobemouche noir), Firecrest and Yellow-browed Warbler in the same tree! In the afternoon we braved the stiff winds to seawatch from Kadoran - the birds showed much closer from this vantage point, and we had excellent views of Sooty Shearwater (Puffin fuligineux) and Great Skua. We weren't the only ones to think that seawatching was a good idea!

This rather pale looking Whinchat (Tarier des prés) was about the only passerine on show on this exposed headland.

After a last look at the Stiff Yellow-browed Warbler, we boarded the boat back to Brest. Rays of sun shining through gaps in the cloud cover made for dramatic lighting.

Seawatching from the boat was excellent - the highlights were close views of 2 Atlantic Puffins (Macareux moine) and 2 Leach's Storm-Petrels (Océanite culblanc), neither of which I get to see very often. Streams of Gannets, Kittiwakes and Guillemots, and smaller numbers of Razorbills (Pingouin torda), Sooty Shearwaters and Great Skuas were also seen.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable trip. The weather was just too good to produce the mega-rarities; nonetheless, the sheer number of common migrants, notably Meadow Pipits, Robins and Redwings, was a spectacular sight. I didn't see any life birds, but enjoyed catching up with many species I'd seen only a few times before, in beautiful scenery. I estimated the average age of birders on the island to be about ten years younger than me - I'm getting old! I hope that I can return for a little bit longer next autumn, and also that the weather's a whole lot worse!