November 1, 2007

Brittany trip part 4 - Le Conquet

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