June 10, 2007
Saint-Quentin soiree
I recently joined Thierry Fournet for some late afternoon birding around Saint Quentin en Yvelines. Spring migration seems to have trickled to a halt (though one Black Tern/Guifette noire was lingering), and nesting has begun in earnest, with the first young Black-headed Gulls (Mouette rieuse) and a tiny humbug of a Black-necked Grebe (Grebe a cou noir) chick making an appearance. No chicks yet for the local Little Ringed Plovers (Petit Gravelot)...
Marsh Warbler (Rousserolle verderolle) and Turtle Dove (Tourterelle des bois) are back in, and a male of the latter species gave great views as he purred and preened in the evening sunlight.
This pair of Garganey (Sarcelle d'ete) were inseparable during their brief visit.
A good number of Common Teal (Sarcelle d'hiver) were also hanging around - will they breed?
Yellow-legged Gull (Goeland leucophee) and rabbit.
A big surprise was the appearance of a group of Wild Boar, about as good a view as I've had of this species.
Fox meets boar (and runs away shortly after).
In the last of the daylight we visited the Toussus Aerodrome for a chorus of singing Quail (Caille des bles), Grey Partridge (Perdrix grise) and Corn Buntings (Bruant proyer), while a Long-eared Owl (Hibou moyen-duc) hunted in the distance. To cap off an excellent evening for mammals, a Beech Martin sat in the road in front of us for a good few minutes before disappearing into the fields.
Posted by rjhall at June 10, 2007 9:49 PM