April 5, 2007
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!
Posted by rjhall at April 5, 2007 10:05 AM