May 8, 2008
French Alps 2008 - best of the rest
While Rock Partridge and Eurasian Pygmy Owl were undoubtedly the icing on the cake, other excellent birds were seen at the different habitats and altitudes on the Termignon-Bellecombe road.
Our Friday evening scan from the car park yielded calling Citril Finch (Venturon montagnard) and and Black Woodpecker (Pic noir), plus a smart male Ring Ouzel (Merle a plastron).
On the Saturday morning snow hike we were often accompanied by Willow Tits (Mesange boreale), singing a very different song from that we hear in Britain.
The first Rock Bunting (Bruant fou) of the trip was seen close to where we first heard Rock Partridge.
Both Red-billed and Alpine Chough (Crave a bec rouge, Chocard a bec jaune) were feeding in the snow-patch meadows, with the latter species being by far the most numerous.
Interesting mammals included Mountain Hare, Alpine Ibex and many Chamois.
Following our success with Pygmy Owl, we got up at 4am to try our luck with Tengmalm's Owl (Chouette de Tengmalm), and sure enough, we enjoyed killer looks at one by torchlight. We drove the road hoping for Hazel Grouse or Three-toed Woodpecker, but no joy. A short and very cold walk in the forest did yield a singing Firecrest (Roitelet a triple bandeau), Common Treecreeper (Grimpereau des bois), a few calling Nutcrackers (Cassenoix mouchete)...
... and a female Black Woodpecker (Pic noir).
We were able to hear the bubbling call of lekking Black Grouse (Tetras lyre) while watching Rock Partridge the previous day, but it wasn't until Sunday that we were able to see a lone distant. This truly awful digiscope is nonetheless an improvement on the photo I got two years ago!
Back in our base of Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis birds around town included nesting Crag Martin (Hirondelle de rochers), Black Redstart (Rougequeue noir), White and Grey Wagtails (Bergeronnettes grise et des ruisseaux) and Serin (Serin cini). A distant male Rock Thrush (Monticole de roche) to the east of town was the only one we saw. Since all the high mountain passes in the area were closed by snow, the bulk of our remaining birding was limited to the stretch of road between Termignon and Bonneval-sur-Arc at the foot of ascent to the Col de l'Iseran.
Many Water Pipits and a few Tree Pipits (Pipits spioncelle et des arbres) were seen close to Bonneval, as well as our only sighting of Dipper (Cincle plongeur). The road just beyond Bonneval yielded the first of a handful of Pied Flycatchers (Gobemouche noir)...
... and an extremely obliging Western Bonelli's Warbler (Pouillot de Bonelli).
The wildflowers all along the valley were stunning.
A random stop in a place where we had heard a Wryneck (Torcol fourmilier) proved fruitful, playing host to a Fieldfare (Grive litorne) colony, Whinchat (Tarier des pres), numerous finches and a Common Redstart (Rougequeue a front blanc).
This male Red-backed Shrike (Pie-grieche ecorcheur) was the only one recorded.
A drive up towards the Col de Mont-Cenis produced our only Golden Eagle (Aigle royal) in display flight before landing on a stone cabin (very distant, but note the huge size).
The meadows surrounded by pine forest looked ideal for Citril Finch, though we never had a confirmed sighting. Nonetheless we recorded several finch species, including Crossbill (Bec-croise des sapins) and Repoll (Sizerin flamme). I'm being deliberately ambiguous about the latter - according to BWP only Lesser occurs in the Alps, though one of the males we saw looked like a good candidate for Mealy/Common...
Among the passerine flocks on the drive out was a single Ortolan (Bruant ortolan), a French tick and a very satisfying end to Saturday's mega-birding. After leaving the high mountains on Sunday afternoon, we drove up the winding road to Chamrousse, near Grenoble.
The 'where to watch' guide claims that Ptarmigan and Snow Finch are gettable here, but the sunny weather had brought out the crowds and we didn't fancy our chances. A few Northern Wheatears (Traquet motteux) were looking to be the most interesting birds until we found a car park frequented by many Citril Finches (Venturon montagnard), including this singing male.
