A Brit abroad

Migration in Orsay

Since getting back from Corsica, it seems like migrants have arrived in force this week. Flocks of Swifts (Martinet noir) are swirling above the campus, and Garden Warblers (Fauvette des jardins) and Nightingales (Rossignol philomele) have arrived back in the clearings of the Bois des Rames. Yesterday evening I wandered up to my old local patch on the plateau, to find it hopping with birds. Of particular note was a singing Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticole des joncs) - a new colonist of this site. A minimum of 3 Grasshopper Warblers (Locustelle tachetee) were singing, one close enough to the path to get a couple of photos.

Common Whitethroats (Fauvette grisette) were also back in numbers and singing from any available prominent perch.

A Common Redstart (Rougequeue a front blanc) was singing, less than a km from where a male held territory over a month last year. Biggest surprise of the evening was a Tree Pipit (Pipit des arbres), obligingly perched right next to the path, and presumably just migrating through.

By the time I left the sun had already gone down, and this large chafer-type beetle crash-landed in the bushes next to me.

Given yesterday's success, I decided to head back to La Troche this morning, with a Whinchat (Tarier des pres) being the best of the migrants.

At least 2 pairs of Stonechat (Tarier patre) look set to breed again this year.

This Willow Warbler (Pouillot fitis) was foraging in low scrub.

In the Bois des Rames, it appears that 'my' Black Woodpecker (Pic noir) has found a mate. I spent an hour or so watching the nest hole, during which time she only popped her head out twice - I guess this means she's still on eggs.

An inquisitive Red Squirrel provided a welcome distraction during the nest-hole vigil.

Corsica

I just got back from a hugely enjoyable trip to the 'Ile de Beaute', an appealing destination with turquoise seas, empty beaches, spectacular gorges, snow-capped mountains and, of course, many interesting birds. I recorded just under 100 species during the week, including two lifers and pushing my French list up to 300 species - yippee! Below is a day-by-day account of the trip.

Monday 16th: Welcome to Corsica

We took the overnight ferry from Toulon, arriving close to Corsica by dawn. Seawatching was extremely quiet, and I only managed one each of Yelkouan and Scopoli's (Cory's) Shearwaters (Puffins yelkouan et cendre). A couple of Yellow Wagtails (Bergeronnette printaniere) and Robins (Rougegorge familier) provided entertainment on the crossing. We made straight for our accommodation in Porticcio, picking up the first of many Hooded Crows (Corneille mantelee) in Ajaccio, and struck lucky with a Hermann's Tortoise crossing the road.

In the afternoon we drove north to the Liamone estuary, picking up a Tawny Pipit (Pipit rousseline) in the sand dunes. A few passage (and breeding?) waders were visible from the road bridge, including single Whimbrel (Courlis corlieu), Bar-tailed Godwit (Barge rousse) and Sanderling (Becasseau sanderling), plus a small flock of Avocets (Avocette elegante) and a few Little Ringed Plovers (Petit Gravelot).

We decided to head up into the Foret d'Aitone,

which supports extremely high densities of the local subspecies of Chaffinch (Pinson des arbres)

and Coal Tit (Mesange noire) - or is that Bearded Tit?

We pressed on to the Col de Vergio, where we found a lot of bird activity, including my first Corsican Finches (Venturon corse) of the trip. A very pretty finch, and apparently much easier to see than its mainland cousin.

Also present here were many displaying Water Pipits (Pipit spioncelle).

We encountered a small group of Mouflon, though none had the full ram's horns.

Any further thoughts of birding vanished with the arrival of Hell's Angels...

Driving back down towards Evisa, we made a random stop at the car park promisingly signed 'Sentier de la Sitelle' (nuthatch path). I think I heard a male Corsican Nuthatch (Sittelle corse) sing once, but it never repeated itself. The general area was excellent for forest birding, with more Corsican Finches plus the local races of Treecreeper (Grimpereau des bois), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pic epeiche), Mistle Thrush (Grive draine) and a confiding Crossbill (Bec-croise des sapins).

Sunset over the Spelunca Gorges.

Tues 17th: wot no Nuthatch?

Today we left Porticcio to head to our other accommodation in the mountains, stopping off near Vizzavona again to dip the Nuthatch. The afternoon was spent
hiking in the dramatic Gorges de la Restonica.

From our start point at the end of the road, we quickly encountered Alpine Chough (Chocard a bec jaune) and Crag Martins (Hirondelle de rochers) flying around the cliff face. The rocky slopes held a few Water Pipits (Pipit spioncelle), perhaps the target of the smart male Sparrowhawk (Epervier d'Europe) we encountered. Several lizards were seen right up to the snow line!

The highlight of the day was a majestic Lammergeier (Gypaete barbu) which soared overhead.

On the drive out of the valley, we made several short stops for Corsican Nuthatch, but to no avail. Equally a walk through pine forests close to our accommodation in Vezzani drew a blank. Perhaps the males had already paired up and were singing less frequently - was I going to miss the star bird of the island? A whistled conversation with the local Scops Owls (Petit-duc scops) in our garden resulted in a brief twilight sighting.

Wed 18th - northwards and eastwards

I got up at the crack of dawn in the hope of hearing a nuthatch sing, but again no luck. I did at least get some great views of Cirl Buntings (Bruant zizi)

and Corsican Finches (Venturon corse) from the garden.

This impressive sized longhorn beetle was on the walls of the house.

In the late morning we drove north, pausing for a singing Moltoni's (Subalpine) Warbler. Our destination was Ile Rousse, a tourist resort with an attractive headland, from which we had excellent eye-level views of Crag Martins (Hirondelle de rochers), plus a few Hooded Crows (Corneille mantelee).

Midday turned out not to be the best hour for seawatching, but nonetheless a few distant Yelkouan Shearwaters (Puffin yelkouan) were recorded. Spotless Starlings (Etourneau unicolor) were easily encountered in the town.

We drove east across the southern tip of Cap Corse (unfortunately we didn't have time to bird the peninsula), and a pit stop at the Bocca di Vezzu lookout in the desert des agriates provided the only trip sighting of Black Redstart (Rougequeue noir) and better still, a display-flighting Marmora's Warbler (Fauvette sarde). Just before arrival in Bastia we found a large thermalling flock of Ravens (Grand Corbeau), Yellow-legged Gulls (Goeland leucophee), Red Kites (Milan royal) and a single Short-toed Eagle (Circaete Jean-le-blanc). The nearby Etang de Biguglia is a classic spot for Audouin's Gulls (Goeland d'Audouin), and sure enough we located a pair taking a siesta.

The lake also held a pair of Slender-billed Gulls (Goeland railleur), Cormorant (Grand Cormoran, the only place I saw them) a few Flamingoes (Flamant rose), while migrants included a Redstart and Hypolais sp. Luckily this Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticole des joncs) landed right in my scope view - if only it were always this easy!

Thu 19th - Nuthatch or bust

We left the mountains today, so this morning was make or break for Corsican Nuthatch (Sittelle corse). I decided to re-try the Sentier de la Sittelle, where I suspected I had heard one previously. Perseverence finally paid off when I followed up on some nuthatch-like call notes, and found a pair attending a nest. It's a really small, fast-moving little bird, so I only managed a couple of blurry shots of the birds as they left the nest-hole.

Nonetheless I was thrilled to finally connect with it - I didn't realise at the time, but this was my 300th French species in the 15 months I've lived here. I imagine getting to 400 will take substantially longer!

The drive down to the coast took us through some fabulous scenery in the Spelunca Gorges and the Calanches - a migrating Honey Buzzard (Bondree apivore) was the avian highlight here.

After four days of driving on windy roads we took some well-earned beach time. A quick stop at the bridge over the Liamone River yielded a lone Ruff (Combattant varie).

Fri 20th - Bonifacio

Today was our last long-haul trip, a two-hour drive to the clifftop town of Bonifacio.

It was already quite hot on our arrival late morning (not so good for finding skulking Sylvias), but we did get good views of a migrant male Montagu's Harrier (Busard cendre), plus a few Alpine and Pallid Swifts (Martinets a ventre blanc et pale) up in the stratosphere. We took an afternoon boat out to uninhabited Lavezzi island.

During our 90 minute stay I recorded 2 dark brown snakes (species unknown) and several of these lizards.

Given the relative lack of vegetation, the Sardinian Warblers (Fauvette melanocephale) sing from exposed rocks. Heat haze made photography tricky, but I managed some reasonable photos of Shag (Cormoran huppe),

Peregrine (Faucon pelerin, one of a pair)

and Blue Rock Thrush (Monticole bleu).

The sea was flat calm, and the only Scopoli's Shearwaters (Puffin cendre) we saw were a group of 15 sitting on the water. An excellent end to the day was a pale morph Eleonora's Falcon (Faucon d'Eleonore) seen flying along the cliffs at Bonifacio on the return leg of the boat trip.

Sat 21st - Birthday birds

After all the travel of the last few days, I didn't have any big plans. In the morning I got up early to check some reasonable-looking scrub habitat on the hills close to our accommodation. Before sunrise I managed to connect with this Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler singing its heart out.

This singing Woodlark conveniently landed right next to me.

Several of this orchid sp. were in flower - a Pink Butterfly Orchid, perhaps?

Breakfast on the balcony produced heard only Cuckoos, Turtle Doves and Wryneck, while raptors included the local race of Common Buzzard and a Hobby. Blue Tit and Tree Sparrow both posed for photos.

I decided to leave my bins, scope and camera at home to enjoy some rest time on the beach. Of course, this turned out to be a stupid idea, as a glorious adult Audouin's Gull made several passes just overhead as it prospected the beach. I ended my birthday in style, tucking into an enormous dessert!

Apr 22nd: Porticcio

I got up early again (no rest for the wicked) to check out a promising-looking area of habitat close between Porticcio and Ajaccio airport. I was rather surpised to find this migrant Wheatear (Traquet motteux) on the beach. Given the (relative) lateness of the date and a warm brownish tinge to the grey upperparts, could this bird be a Greenland Wheatear?

The coastal scrub held a badius race Woodchat Shrike (Pie-grieche a tete rousse),

many Sardinian Warblers (Fauvette melanocephale),

and the local race of Goldfinch (Chardonneret elegant).

Bee Eaters (Guepier d'Europe) hunted over the pasture nearby.

Perhaps the morning's highlight was the arrival of a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins feeding relatively close inshore. I even managed a few digiscoped photos of them performing their acrobatics.

A lake surrounded by reeds here looks like it has the potential to be a great birding spot - this morning I recorded Squacco Heron (Crabier chevelu), Great Reed Warbler (Rousserole turdoide), Little Stint (Becasseau minute) and Wood Sandpiper (Chevalier sylvain). In the process of trying to photograph the Great Reed, I narrowly avoided being stampeded to death by a rather large flock of sheep!

Cetti's Warblers (Bouscarle de Cetti) and Nightingales (Rossignol philomele) were abundant here, and I managed a couple of 'record shots' of these skulkers.

During our last lunch at a beachside restaurant, the waiters were unimpressed with my attempts to chum in Italian Sparrows (Moineau cisalpin) with my leftovers (smart bird though).

The ferry back was exceedingly uneventful bird-wise, with a couple of migrant Black Terns (Guifette noire) breaking the monotony mid-journey. Around sunset, and just as we were approaching Toulon harbour, we started to see large number of Scopoli's Shearwaters (Puffin cendre), including some excellent close fly-bys. A great end to a great trip!

Birthday blogfest - Slender billed stunners

The blog turned 3 years old today, so here are a bunch of posts relating to what I got up to on the easter weekend. One of the highlights was getting great views of Slender-billed Gulls (Goeland railleur) - even birders who hate gulls can't help but be impressed with this elegant, rose-hued beauty.

This feeding bird would spin like a slowed-down phalarope before pouncing on its prey - note the ring on its right leg (I wasn't fast enough to read it).

This pair showed marked sexual dimorphism - who's bigger?

Two apparently involved in a courtship display - perhaps Slender-necked Gull is a more appropriate name?

Local patches

Being car-less, my everyday birding is more or less limited to sites I can reach by foot from Orsay. My flight path back from Montpellier took me more or less directly over Orsay, providing me with a bird's eye view of my regular stomping grounds. So here's a quick guide to my local patches (incidentally, all fairly easily reachable by public transport from central Paris).

1. Bassin de Bures. This area of wet meadow bordered by the river Yvette holds a bunch of interesting birds throughout the year. Winter brings many Grey Wagtails (Bergeronnette des ruisseaux) and a few Water Pipits (Pipit spioncelle) to the site, while summer breeders include Fan-tailed and Grasshopper Warblers (Cisticole des joncs; Locustelle tachete) and Reed Buntings (Bruant des roseaux). Just off of the photo, the Coupieres basin is smaller, but tends to hold more water and has more extensive reeds, hosting Reed and Marsh Warblers (Rousserolle verderolle), wintering Snipe (Becassine des marais) and breeding Water Rail (Rale d'eau).

2. Orsay campus. Where I work. A nice combination of woodland, scrub and open areas, the campus is excellent year-round for finches - Hawfinch (Grosbec casse-noyaux) is reliable and irregular winter visitors include Crossbill (Bec-croise des sapins) and even a 'trumpeting' Northern Bullfinch (Bouvreuil trompetteur). From a UK perspective, interesting breeding birds include Serin (Serin cini), Black Redstart (Rougequeue noir), Crested Tit (Mesange huppee) and Firecrest (Roitelet a triple bandeau). Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Pic epeichette) and Kingfisher (Martin-pecheur) can often be found along the River Yvette.

3. Bois des Rames. Great for woodpeckers, including Black (Pic noir), Short-toed Treecreeper (Grimpereau des jardins), breeding Kestrel (Faucon crecerelle), Sparrowhawk (Epervier d'Europe), Common Buzzard (Buse variable) and Tawny Owl (Chouette hulotte), and passage migrants including Pied Flycatcher (Gobemouche noir).

4. Plateau de Saclay. The farmland, meadows and patchy woodland here are a haven for many birds declining in the UK: Grey Partridge (Perdrix grise), Corn Bunting (Bruant proyer), Tree Sparrow (Moineau friquet), Turtle Dove (Tourterelle des bois) and Skylark (Alouette des champs) can all be encountered in good numbers here. Last year Common Redstart (Rougequeue a front blanc), Melodious Warbler (Hypolais polyglotte), Hen Harrier (Busard Saint-Martin) and Hobby (Faucon hobereau) were all present in the breeding season.

5. Etangs de Saclay. This large pair of lakes have enormous potential for pulling in migrant and wintering waterbirds, but unfortunately viewing is limited to a busy causeway, and birds at the far end of the lake are nigh-on impossible to ID! Oddities I've seen here include Ring-necked Duck (Fuligule a bec cercle), Little Tern (Sterne naine), Smew (Harle piette), White-fronted and Bean Geese (Oies rieuse et des moissons), while breeders include Little Bittern (Blongios nain).

Languedoc coastal birding

My easter birding experience started before my plane touched down at Montpellier airport - the white dots in these pictures are Greater Flamingos (Flamant rose)!

A quick trip over to the Petite Camargue produced my first Purple Heron (Heron pourpre), Med Gulls (Mouette melanocephale), Caspian and Whiskered Terns (Sterne caspienne; Guifette a moustac) of the year, while a nearby flooded field held a new French species for me - the soon to be extirpated Sacred Ibis (Ibis sacre).

A Cattle Egret (Heron gardeboeufs) standing on a 'wild' white horse, digibinned from car - how Camargue can you get?

On Saturday a return visit to Cap Leucate turned up trumps when I finally connected with one of my long-time Euro bogey birds... Great Spotted Cuckoo (Coucou geai).

These birds were vocal and surprisingly numerous, and I bumped into this pair several times.

A much less desirable tick.

There was quite a lot of migrant activity, and I saw my first Sand and House Martins (Hirondelles de rivage et de fenetre) , Common and Alpine Swifts (Martinets noir et a ventre blanc) and Hoopoes (Huppe fasciee) of the year.

Inland, a lone female Montagu's Harrier (Busard cendre) was the only sign of raptor migration, and as the day heated up, bird activity soon died away. I finally managed a decent-ish shot of a car park Crested Lark (Cochevis huppe) digiscoped through the car window.

The Great Spotted Cuckoos were duly toasted on a beach picnic.

Just before flying home, a beach walk at Maguelone produced 4 distant Yelkouan Shearwaters (Puffin yelkouan) and a handful of Gannets (Fou de Bassan), more Common Swifts and the first Common Terns (Sterne pierregarin) of the year. The local flamingoes seemed to have taken up line-dancing to attract mates!

St Jean de Bueges

I took a rare break from birding to join Florence and Andrew for a hike and picnic in picturesque St Jean de Bueges.

I of course immediately regretted not taking my scope along when a Cirl Bunting (Bruant zizi) posed for me in perfect light, and I can only imagine how well this singing male Blue Rock Thrush (Monticole bleu) on the church tower would have come out...

I managed a few new butterfly species including Moroccan Orange-tip, Cleopatra and this tiny Baton Blue.

I guess these are Six-spotted Burnets, but have no idea of their range outside of the UK...

Early Spider Orchid made an attractive addition to my orchid list.

Birds and blossom

I spent easter weekend in the south of France, and passed a tranquil Good Friday morning watching birds flock to this blossoming tree. I managed to photo Tree Sparrow (Moineau friquet)

Serin (Serin cini)

Greenfinch (Verdier d'Europe)

and a skulking male Sardinian Warbler (Fauvette melanocephale).

Other visitors to the tree included Blackcap (Fauvette a tete noire), Great Tit (Mesange charbonniere), Cirl Bunting (Bruant zizi) and Goldfinch (Chardonneret d'Europe).

Quiet time

The spring migrants are slowly trickling in (singing Black Redstart/Rougequeue noir 14/3, Swallow/Hirondelle rustique on campus 26/3, Willow Warbler/Pouillot fitis in Gif 3/4), but am still waiting for the migration to begin in earnest. It's so quiet that I learned how to make quiche!

A walk on the campus last week produced many singing Serins (Serin cini).

Hawfinches haven't reappeared in the roost spot, but Bullfinches (Bouvreuil pivoine) are congregating to feed on the tree buds.

I spent a fair amount of time watching this bird, gradually convincing myself that it had a matt cap, pale wing-bar and a large-ish messy bib (all pointing towards Willow Tit/Mesange boreale, a very scarce bird in these parts), only for the bird to produce a loud 'Pitchoo' - yet another Marsh Tit (Mesange nonnette).

Stock Doves (Pigeon colombin) are often seen display-flighting in the evenings. I was hoping to get some photos before the trees leaf out, but they always seem to choose a perch obscured by the maximum number of branches.

The Ring-necked Duck (and, in fact, most of the other birds) has moved on from Saclay, and instead I enjoyed watching a Great Crested Grebe (Grebe huppe) nest-building.

In general, the US has Europe thrashed when it comes to brightly-coloured birds (think Garden Warbler vs Parula), but Blue Tits (Mesange bleue) beat their chickadees hands down.

The blog has its third birthday next week - let's hope some good birds show up to mark the occasion, otherwise I'll be posting pics of more culinary creations!