May 13, 2007
Stringing in the rain
The nature reserve at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines only opens to the public very sporadically, so in spite of the gathering clouds, I decided to brave the 3 trains and a 20 min walk to the reserve entrance. During the latter I came across a Rook (Corbeau freux) with a very odd bill.
By the time I reached the reserve entrance, the first flashes of lightning were already illuminating the ever-darkening sky, but it was too late to turn back now.... fortunately the reserve has several hides, one of which I was stranded in for over 2 hours with a bunch of soggy birders. A decent selection of shorebirds was on view, including LRPs (Petit gravelot), Ruff (Combattant varie), and both Common and Green Sandpipers (Chevaliers guignette et aboyeur).
This fox appeared between hail showers...
... forcing this drake Garganey (Sarcelle d'ete) out of hiding .
In the midst of the storm, a big gull landed in front of us.
The bird seemed heavily-built, pale-headed and -breasted with a pink bill base. After consulting the 'Guide ornitho (Collins guide in the UK)', the consensus in the hide was for Great Black-backed Gull (Goeland marin). Given their scarcity inland, I reeled off a few photos before the bird departed. On reviewing them at home, I started to have some doubts, and consultation with some larophiles on BirdForum confirmed that it was indeed 'just' a Yellow-legged Gull (Goeland leucophee) - oops.
After the storm, I decided to check out the now-flooded Coupieres Basin. Nothing outlandish, but a Nightingale (Rossignol philomele) singing relatively out in the open was a treat...
... as was this territorial Grey Wagtail (Bergeronnette des ruisseaux).
This Beautiful Demoiselle was my first dragonfly of the year.
Up on the plateau, a male Common Redstart (RQFB) seems to be holding territory not far from last year's bird, and the local Stonechat (Tarier patre) babies have already fledged.
