After taking the late afternoon ferry from Ouessant (no birds to speak of, but was fun to chat to a group of Spanish birders revolutionising birding in the NW corner of the country - many of their photos can be seen on the European Rarities page on Surfbirds), we decided to stay overnight in the port of Le Conquet.
The hotel has a fabulous creperie, and a good view over the harbour.
A very pleasant surprise was the presence of several Arctic Terns (Sterne arctique) in the harbour, often perched on buoys or flying by at close range.
Several Shag (Cormoran huppe) and a single Black-necked Grebe (Grebe a cou noir) were swimming between the boats.
Multiple Kingfishers (Martin-pecheur) were also present.
Great Black-backed Gulls (Goeland marin) lined the chimney pots.
Inland from the harbour, the saltmarsh held a selection of shorebirds including a couple of Black-tailed Godwits (Barge a queue noire) close to the road.
After a brief hike out on a neighbouring headland, we drove back to catch the TGV from Morlaix in Tristan's loveable old banger, a Renault 4L - they don't make them like this any more!
Posted by rjhall at November 1, 2007 11:41 PM