January 21, 2008
Wallcreeper, Richard's Pipits and sunshine
I headed down to the south of France this weekend, where the weather was unbelievably good - very much like the first days of the English spring in mid-March! We decided to go hiking in the Alpilles on Saturday, making an obligatory Wallcreeper (Tichodrome echellette) and crepe stop in Les Baux de Provence. When this was my number one most wanted bird, I dipped it multiple times at this site and elsewhere, but since then I've had an 100% success rate here. This bird gave amazing views on the south face: heat haze prevented me from getting crystal-clear photos, but I suppose I shouldn't grumble :-)
After lunch we walked out to the radio tower at La Caume. Strong winds meant the walk was virtually birdless, but the visibility was amazing, with the snow-capped Alps clearly visible out to the east.
Mont Ventoux has a decent covering of snow this year.
On the way home we made a stop at Mas Chauvet and struck lucky again with great views of the wintering Richard's Pipits (Pipit de Richard), much closer to the road than I've seen them previously and easy to spot in the freshly-mown fields. Buggers to digiscope in strong wind though!
Large numbers of Black Kites (Milan noir) were also making use of the fields, congregating in large groups much like Swainson's Hawks in the US.
On Sunday we walked up the Pic St Loup, hoping for eye-level views of soaring raptors. We didn't see this, though we were treated to the equally amazing sight of a glider being towed out and released into a thermal.
Typical birds of the habitat were seen, including Blue Rock Thrush (Monticole bleu), Dartford and Sardinian Warblers (Fauvettes pitchou et melanocephale). At lower elevations, a Long-tailed Tit (Mesange a longue queue) flock whizzed by...
... and a singing male Great Tit (Mesange charbonniere) added to the spring-like atmosphere.
January 17, 2008
Urban birding
Since the new year Les Ulis has been my temporary home. Not what you'd call scenic...
... but at least my walk into work takes me through a wooded park with a couple of decent-sized duckponds. 3 or 4 Grey Herons (Heron cendre) are always in attendance.
More of a surprise were 5 Great Cormorants (Grand Cormoran) actively fishing.
The grass around the ponds is mown short by oodles of Moorhens (Poule d'eau)...
... and Coots (Foulque macroule)
Hefty hoofs!
The landbirds are much the same as those present on campus. Green Woodpeckers (Pic vert) and Jays (Geai des chenes) provide a welcome splash of colour on a grey January day.
Siskins (Tarin des aulnes) are the most abundant finch in the park...
... while Redwings (Grive mauvis) have been fairly scarce locally - perhaps due to the mild weather?
Peregrinations
Seeing friends and family, plus the never-ending job search, has left precious little time for birding (although Great Grey Shrike at 130km/h next to the autoroute was a French tick). Here are some non-birdy photos from my yuletide wanderings. Christmas in the south of France dawned bright and sunny.
About the most interesting birds I saw on my post-lunch stroll.
A sinister-looking santa (and you thought America was the world leader in tacky Christmas decorations...)
Heading north over the Millau bridge.
Puy de Dome.
Arriving in the Parisian region.
New yurrs in Brizzle
The Clifton suspension bridge
La Grande Arche de la Defense
Notre Dame
Sunny Saarfend
Wot no Ring-billed Gull?
