November 2, 2006
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!
