Foreign holidays and work meant that not much local birding was achieved during the two months. Here is a selection of the highlights: 2/8/10 Pagney – 4 Turtle Doves, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 immature Purple Heron, 8 Red-backed Shrikes and 1 immature Water Rail. Osselle- 2 Black Kites, 2 Hobby, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 6 Black-headed Gulls, 2 adult and a juvenile Bee Eater, 2 Red-backed Shrikes and a few Melodious Warblers. 4/9/10 Pagney – 1 Whitethroat, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Grebe, 1 eclipse male Red-crested Pochard. Osselle – 1 female Teal, 1 male Pochard, 1 Snipe, 1 Wryneck, 1 Tree Pipit, 4 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Cirl Buntings. 23/9/10 Pagney – 1 Red Kite, 1 Snipe, 1 imm Marsh Harrier, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Black woodpecker, 1 Meadow Pipit.

As usual, work and heat mean less birding than usual. Happily for me, during the period, there were two pairs of Red-backed Shrikes that managed to fledge young next to where I work in Temis. On the 3rd June, there were 3 males, on the 26th a lone male and a pair, then on the 1st July there was 1 fledgling with an adult male, and a pair with another fledgling nearby. A Tree Sparrow was seen there on the 3rd June and a Melodious Warbler was seen carrying food on the 1st July.

On the 13th June, I headed to Osselle and Quingey, to look for the Short-toed Eagles that had been knocking about – of course I didn’t see them – one Honey Buzzard being the best I could manage raptor-wise. Osselle was rather quiet apart from recently-fledged Blackcaps, Tree Sparrows and Great Tits, there was also at least one Melodious Warbler and 2 Cuckoos. A male Reed Bunting was singing. Near Quingey there were Turtle Doves, another singing Melodious Warbler, a singing Dunnock, Hawfinches and a female Cirl Bunting. Butterflies were everywhere, with Marbled Whites and Heath Fritillaries being the commonest.

A quick visit to Deluz on the 20th June yielded 3 Crag Martins, a Little Egret and a female Redstart.

The 20th July saw me heading up to the hills and forests of the Jura mountains. In the Risol forest I had small groups of Crossbills flying over and a female Hazel Grouse sitting in a sunny part of the forest. By Lac St Point there were at least two Marsh Warblers, one of which was singing its head off. Highlights at Bouverans were 9 Red-crested Pochards, a Great White Egret, Marsh warbler, Red-backed Shrike, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and 4 Black-headed Gulls.

At l’Etang Lucien, there were about 15 Lapwings, an adult Greenshank, 4 Wood Sandpipers and 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls.

The Lesser Spotted Eagles were at the usual site.

As always a month with lots to see and plenty to wish for, the month started off on the 2nd by leading a field sketching day trip to Pagney. Highlights of the day were Purple Heron, 2 male Red-backed Shrikes, 2 Curlew, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper, 10 Lapwings, up to 5 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, 3 vocal Great Reed Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Golden Orioles, a Hobby, 3 Bee Eaters and a Fieldfare. The Great Crested Grebes had 3 newly hatched chicks. A Hoopoe was heard singing.

On the 4th I went back to Pagney to see a Spoonbill that had been reported the day before – I got lucky and saw it fly over me. Also present were 1 Black Tern, 1 Whinchat, 12 White Storks, Reed Warblers, Little Ringed Plovers mating, a leucistic Carrion Crow and Fieldfares carrying food to their nest.

I continued the day at Osselle where a pair of Lapwing were present – also a Wryneck and a Cuckoo.

The 9th saw a return to Pagney where Wryneck and Water Rail were heard, 13 White Storks were around, along with 4 Bee Eaters, a female Red-backed Shrike, the Fieldfares’ nest with 4 rather large chicks in it, 2 Common Sandpipers and the leucistic Crow

Pagney again was the venue for a trip out on the 16th again a Black Tern and 13 White Storks were present, a pair of Tufted Ducks, 2 Common sandpipers and 2 pairs of Great Crested Grebes with 2 young each. Continuing to Osselle afterwards resulted in the pair of Lapwings, a Common Sandpiper, 1 Alpine Swift, 2 Bee Eaters, a Melodious Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat.

Pagney held Little Ringed Plover, Curlew, 4 Bee Eaters, a female Red-backed Shrike, Wryneck and the Great Reed Warblers on the 21st, with a Little Egret nearby. Nearby Thervay had an interesting hybrid male Woodchat x Red-backed Shrike that was seen singing, in the are were at least 2 Quail, 4 Curlew, 10 Black Kites and a male and female Red-backed Shrikes. A visit to Osselle afterwards produced Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper the Wryneck and a Melodious Warbler – the Lapwings had given up their breeding attempt – after being almost constantly trodden on by trespassing fishermen and dogs not on leads, the nest had been predated.

A beer or two in the park Gare d’Eau in Besançon on the 22nd produced 2 Honey Buzzards going over together. On the 27th at Temis, 3 male and 2 female Red-backed Shrikes were seen and a Nightingale was heard. On the 28th a female Goosander was with 5 chicks under the Pont Denfert Rochereau in Besançon.

2 Hobbies were hunting together opposite the paper mill in Novillars, Reed warblers sang. Further along the river, 2 families of Goosander were at Chalèze – 1 female with 2 ducklings and another with 8.

Pagney – 2nd April

The month started quietly with a trip to Pagney where at least 42 Mute Swans were present with 40 together in a field and 7 Lapwings were displaying. On the gravel pit there were 2  male Teal and a male Pochard, at least 3 Blue-headed Wagtails were present. The Dotterel that was present the day before(that I didn’t see) had buggered off.

Fort Bénoît – 3rd April

An afternoon at this site in Besançon produced at least 2 singing Firecrests, a Short-toed Treecreeper and Marsh Tits inspecting a nest site.

Osselle and Arc-et-Senans – 8th April

A commission to produce an information board on Little Owls for the LPO took me to the Arc-et-SEnans saltworks, a beautiful Unesco site that is lucky to have several pairs of Little Owls nesting in some impossibly small trees around its perimeter, after walking round the entire site checking all the trees and drawing a blank, one leaped out of a tree and flew a few trees down where it disappeared again. Retreating to a safe distance, I sat and waited, over the next few hours, it reappeared several times, spending a good 20 minutes peering at passers-by from a wall. Also seen there were about 15 Alpine Swifts. As Osselle was on the way, I called in. As usual, there was very little around since the shoreline path has been opened. A Snipe, a Lapwing and a Common Sandpiper were the only waders. Around 50 each of Barn Swallow and Sand Martin contained also 5 House Martins. A Black-headed Gull was also present. A Cuckoo sang and a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen.  At least 3 Blue-headed Wagtails were ‘singing’ from the edges.

 Pagney – 10th April

A bit more exciting today, highlights were a Whimbrel, 2 Spotted Redshanks, a Purple Heron, a Great White Egret, at least 2 Snipe, 3 Teal (2 males) a male Garganey, the first Nightingale was heard, a male Whitethroat was the first of the year and a pair of Fieldfare were in Banne. The 40 Mute Swans were still in their field with others on nests around the area.

Marais de Saône – 17th April

Helping out with an LPO field trip on birdsong resulted in a nice day spent watching lots of Tree Pipits, a Redwing was rather late. Plenty of singing birds included Blackcaps and Willow Warblers everywhere, a Nightingale, a discretely singing Golden Oriole, Willow Tits and a Cuckoo. A summer-plumaged Water Pipit was in a ditch. By the airfield there were 3 Snipe, 2 Cuckoos and more Tree Pipits, a Meadow Pipit provided a nice comparison.

Besançon – 18th April

The first Swifts – about 15 over the Pont Battant while I enjoyed a pint.

Besançon and Chapelle des Buis – 19th April.

Having heard that the Bonelli’s Warblers were back, I went to see them in a place where they are usually very easy. How nice to just walk there and have great views of a singing bird. A Common Sandpiper was on the river.

Petit Noir – 22nd April

There is always too much to see in this wonderful area. Highlights were: 3 Stone Curlews, 2 Curlews, 1 Whimbrel, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers, Green Sandpiper,  3 Marsh Harriers, at least 4 Montagu’s Harriers, Osprey, Hobby, Great Reed Warbler, 7 Common Terns, 4 Great White Egrets, 1 Little Egret, Purple Heron, Turtle Doves, Cuckoos, Bee Eaters, Blue-headed Wagtails, Whinchats, Wheatears, Redstarts, a Pied Flycatcher, Lesser Whitethroats, Nightingales, Corn Buntings, 1 Melodious Warbler and 2 Red-backed Shrikes were rather early. So much to see and sketch that I still haven’t made a start on the paintings from the day. So here is a Montagu’s Harrier from last year with a few of the day’s sketches.

28th April – Avanne

To finish the month, a wander from Avanne back to Besançon, the best birds were a Wryneck (well at least the tail-end of a Wryneck flying off) good views of Nightingale, a pair of Raven and a Red Kite.

5th March – Pagney.

Highlights among the wildfowl were 9 male and 1 female Garganey, a pair of Wigeon, 8 Teal and a female Pochard. A Greylag Goose was present in fields next to the pit along with 7 Great White Egrets, 2 Curlew, a minimum of 116 Lapwing, 100 Skylarks, 6 Song Thrush and 6 Corn Buntings. 2 Red Kites and the first Chiffchaff of the year were also present. A Hare was also seen.

7th March – St Vit and Osselle

A report of a diver at the gravel pits at St Vit turned out to be a rather splendid Black-throated Diver.  Whilst watching the diver, an Egyptian Goose flew through and a Chiffchaff was seen in the snow. Later on, a trip to Osselle produced a female Teal, a female Shoveler, 2 male and 1 female Gadwall, 11 male and 2 female Pochard and a ringtail Hen Harrier. A pair of Black Redstarts and a pair of Stonechats were in, also about 20 Song Thrush were part of a large scale invasion of the species.

13th March –  St Vit, Osselle, Amagney, Osse

A trip to St Vit failed to produce the diver. Way too many anglers for its liking. It had not relocated to Osselle either which was equally empty, apart from more Song Thrushes moving through. Fields between Osselle and Besançon held around 40 migrating Lapwings and around 30 Fieldfare.

A Red Kite was seen in a place where nesting occurred last year, and a new pair was seen building a further 2.5km down the road, the first Black Kite of the year was also seen here. The local pair of Peregrines were at their nest site.

Amagney produced a migrating Black Stork and 10 Water Pipits with 2 Meadow Pipits and a Chiffchaff.

Up on the plateau, Osse produced a male and a ringtial Hen Harrier and another Red Kite.

15th March – Red Kites

A quick visit to check on the new pair of Red Kites saw the site unoccupied, but I wasn’t able to spend long enough there. A White Stork flew over and about 15 White Wagtails were in a field where a male Green Woodpecker was busy  feeding.

17th March – Red Kites again.

The afternoon was spent trying to determine which exact nest sites one of the old pairs of Red Kites were using this year. A pair of Black Kites have also taken up residence in the same wood, as have a pair of Buzzards. A Raven flew over, as did 14 White Storks and about 50 Woodpigeons. A Chiffchaff sang, as did a Short-toed Treecreeper, a Nuthatch was seen plastering mud round its nesthole. Three pairs of Gadwall were present on the river. The first two Swallows were seen.

18th March – Besançon.

A walk around the town followed by a beer with friends also produced 5 Kestrels, a Peregrine, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls and at least 2 Black Kites. 2 Red Kites flew past my flat in the afternoon.

19th March – Chapelle des Buis

A nice walk to the viewpoint overlooking the whole of Besançon was great for viewing raptors, the local Buzzards, Black Kites and Sparrowhawks were seen on and off, Kestrels and a Peregrine were seen over the town, and an Osprey was seen leaving its roost at Bregille and heading West. A few Redwings were migrating, a Swallow was seen high over the town, the first Blackcap was back, a few Chiffchaffs sang, as did a few Firecrests. 5 Little Grebes were on the river.

21st March - Besançon, Pagney and Marnay.

A dawn check for Red Kites near Besançon drew a blank, there was a Sparrowhawk and 3 Serins. Plus the Coots are violently in territorial mode.

A group of 35 Mute Swans at Pagney also contained a Crane (a lifer for me) and a male Pintail. A male Hen Harrier put up three Snipe as it was being mobbed by 3 Black-headed Gulls and 3 of the 5 Swallows present. 3 Corn Buntings sang their heads off and a male Blue-headed wagtail was a very welcome sight. In a woodland pool nearby, two Common Frogs were busy drowning two Fire Salamanders in the mistaken belief that they were just exceptionally pretty lady frogs with tails.

At Marnay about 30 White Wagtails were seen to roost in a patch of reeds, along with a Blue-headed Wagtail. A ringtail Hen Harrier quartered the fields at sunset where a group of around 30 Meadow Pipits were present.

23rd March - Amagney and Vaire.

Mainly a wander round my atlas squares to pick up a few new breeding codes. The main highlights were a Brambling, 3 Linnets, a singing Short-toed Treecreeper and a fair few Black Kites. One from each old pair of Red Kites was seen, the new pair seem to have disappeared.

24th March – Besançon.

2 Singing Black Redstarts were around the town, and a Coal Tit was singing in Parc des Glacis.

25th March – Marais de Saône.

On the Saône side, highlights were a male Bluethroat in a ditch, a female Teal, at least 5 Water Pipits, singing Firecrests, a Blackcap, the first Willow Warblers, a Little Grebe and my first ever Penduline Tit.  On the La Vèze side, there were 6 Snipe, more Willow warblers, a good few Willow Tits and a Red Kite. A good number of Redwing were moving through.

28th March – Pagney, Osselle, Marais de Saône.

The weather was atrocious, it rained all day! At Pagney, there were 3 Shelduck leaving as we arrived. Over the water about 100 Swallows contained 1 Sand Martin and 2 House Martin. A female type Marsh Harrier was quartering the North side of the pit, and 8 Snipe were seen flying around. A female Wheatear was the first of the year here. 38 Mute Swans were present in the usual field.

At Osselle there were at least 8 Alpine Swifts amongst about 50 Swallows, 3 Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk, at least 4 Black Kites and an Osprey that landed in the dead trees by the river. 2 female Goosanders appeared.

At the Marais de Saône (La Vèze) there were one Snipe and a female type Hen Harrier. The first Cuckoo of the year was singing, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was heard.

Spring is starting to show in the town. An outdoor beer was accompanied by 45 White Storks heading over. Later on a walk up to the top of Chaudanne produced a female Wigeon (first I’ve seen in the town) on the river with the usual Mallards and Goosanders, also a Little Grebe, a Moorhen, a White Wagtail and 3 Cormorants. 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, including 2 females showing agression to each other. Singing birds included Blue and Great Tits, a Short-toed Treecreeper and Greenfinch. About 10 Greenfinches were at the top of the hill with a Green Woodpecker, Goldfinch and Long-tailed Tits. 2 Buzzards and a Peregrine carrying prey were seen. 15 Herons were spread out over 10 platforms in the colony near the new road.

An LPO outing in the rain along the river in town produced the stunning male Red-breasted Merganser that has been in the area for a while, I like to think it is the returning young male I saw 2 years ago. He was doing his very bvest to impress a female Goosander, but she was having none of it! Also 2 male and 2 female Tufted Ducks, a good few Goosanders and a few Little Grebe. 3 Siskins were in the trees nearby and a Greenfinch gave a burst of song.

The heronry contained 19 Grey Herons, of different ages, so not all birds that will breed.

2 Peregrines were on the cliffs by the Citadelle, and along the banks of the Doubs there was a Mistle Thrush, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 27 Woodpigeons, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Buzzard, 2 Short-toed Treecreepers and several Jays. A Wren was singing.

The time is going by so quickly and I’ve been neglecting my blog. Here’s a summary of January’s sightings.

3rd January – 7 immature Common Gulls on the airfield at Thise.

5th January – Male Hen Harrier, Red Kite, Water Pipit, 2 Skylarks and a Yellowhammer at Osse/Nancray

3 Mistle Thrushes, Willow Tits and Siskins in the Marais de Saône.

22nd January – Wallcreeper and 2cy Common Gull in Besançon.

A male Black Redstart was seen foraging on windowsills in the town centre on 22nd December.

A search for Wallcreeper on the 29th December didn’t produce the bird I wanted, but there was a female Green Woodpecker on the cliffs and a Jay.

Osselle is getting more and more depressing, this once fantastic gravel pit with mud and shingle edges is already showing the signs of being a fishing pit. Trees have been planted round the edges, neat lawn has been mown, a fishing pitch has already been installed, and a brand new gravel path has been traced all the way round the pool. So gone are the large groups of resting wildfowl, herons and waders and the stupidity of the village Mayor has led to the continued demise of this site. I don’t see the need for yet another fishing pool when this pool is already sandwiched between two others, just down the road from an entire complex of fishing pools. What was really needed was a pool with a Sand Martin colony (bulldozed away) where Common Sandpiper could still breed and the Yellow Wagtails wouldn’t have their nests shredded by summer mowing.

 Anyway, I didn’t see many birds, between the fog lifting and everything being disturbed by walkers exercising their new right to go all round the pool, there were 3 Wigeon, a Common Sandpiper, about 15 Siskin and at least 4 Reed Buntings.  

Thoroughly pissed off, I headed for Pagney, a similar site, but one that will be developed for birdwatching, including a hide being put in place. There amongst the commoner stuff of Great Crested Grebes, Coots, Moorhens, Mallards and Mute Swans, there was a female Pintail that flew over, a Pochard, 5 Snipe and 15 Skylarks. A late Clouded Yellow butterfly was enjoying the sun.