Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
 Corsican Nuthatch |
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With targets of Marmora’s Warbler, Corsican Citril Finch and Corsican Nuthatch, 9 Greater Peterborough Ornithological Group members went for a six day break in Sardinia and Corsica during the May/June half term. The days were split with three nights on Sardinia and two on Corsica, with the need for success on Corsica being particularly great since Corsican Nuthatch can only be found on Corsica (Corsican Citril Finch is also found on Sardinia in good numbers). Using other trip reports as our guide, we visited many hotspots and used as much time as possible birding to maximise our success.
Tuesday 30th May 2006
An early start saw us departing from Stansted Airport at 06.25, arriving at Alghero in Sardinia a couple of hours later. The first species seen from the tarmac included a single Common Kestrel, a few Hooded Crows as well as the many pairs of House Martins nesting under the roof we were queuing under. We were fortunate to land a few minutes before the anticipated arrival time, but this time was quickly lost in queuing for the Hertz hire car.
By 10.35 we were on the road to our first destination of the day; Capo Caccio. According to other trip reports this is a favoured area for seeing Barbary Partridge which we planned to get up early for on the last morning, before our flight. The journey to Capo Caccio produced very little of note other than a cream capped Marsh Harrier and our first couple of Alpine Swifts of the trip.
Conditions at Capo Caccia, were clear but rather on the windy side which meant looking for any hoped for Marmora’s Warblers was near impossible with all of the 3 Sardinian Warblers being seen only briefly. Aerial species included two Ravens and a couple of stunning Alpine Swifts which performed really well for the car load that hadn’t seen them on the journey to the site. A few Crag Martins also did some impressive fly pasts by the lighthouse but unfortunately the car park was full so we didn’t get out the car.
Back at Alghero, we headed south to Bosa, taking the mountainous road, with a slight hiccup when we took a wrong turning and ended up on the coast earlier than expected. This de-tour actually got us some excellent birds, with Red-backed Shrike, male Blue Rock Thrush and Cirl Bunting giving good views. Several stops in the mountains got us some good quality birds, highlights being, 2 Lesser Kestrels, Hawfinch, 1 Little Owl, 2+ Nightingales, Crag Martins and 2 Griffon Vultures, but no hoped for Eleanora’s Falcon.
The long drive to our accommodation, Hotel Su Pallosu, at Su Pallosu, gave us just enough time to explore the nearby, largely dried up, saltpans. We found a single Greater Flamingo, to our surprise, but little else of note. Several Bee-eaters were feeding on the wires and one field produced a number of displaying Calandra Larks, the first of 8 lifers for Will.
Back at the Hotel, whilst enjoying our beers in the sun, the owner told us about some Bee-eaters nesting nearby. These just had to be investigated and amazingly we found a whole colony (eventually!) nesting in the road verge itself, which could only have been 30cm off the road at it’s highest! The nearby houses held Spanish Sparrows and Spotless Starlings in good numbers. A couple of Gull-billed Terns battled the increasing winds offshore, along with several Shags (desmarestii).
Wednesday 31st May 2006
Most of the group got up for an early morning wander, around the area of the hotel which proved rather productive. Roger and Mac had several ‘Scopoli’s’ Cory’s Shearwaters flying past, offshore, as well as a large group of Shags on a small island. Trevor’s lot managed to find an excellent little area which held Tawny Pipit, male Spectacled Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, 3 Quail and several Sardinian Warblers.
After breakfast the whole team went back to the same area and we caught up with a female Spectacled Warbler, but no sign of the male. About 20 or so Pallid Swifts joined the Common Swifts present.
Our journey from Su Pallosu to Oristano was filled with plenty of stops around any suitable habitat, with one pool holding 50+ Greater Flamingos, somewhat more impressive than the single bird we had the day before.
A Woodchat Shrike (badius) was seen by one car load on our journey down to the coastal tower at Capo San Marco, but unfortunately it wasn’t there on the journey back. Compensation at the tower came in the form of a dark morph Eleanora’s Falcon, which was soaring high up at first, but eventually got lower and right over our heads, giving astounding views. Eventually it moved back to it’s tower, but this was only for a moment, as it spotted a hirundine. An amazing change from lazy, soaring to a speeding, direct flight, saw the Falcon catch the hirundine, which didn’t have a chance to dart out of the way, and consume the bird on the wing! Amazing stuff!
On the road towards Cabras, a fish farm held plenty of Coot and a few Mallard and a Great-crested Grebe was also found. Both Little and Common Terns were diving on the fish and a few Little and Cattle Egrets flew by. A family party of Spectacled Warblers showed extremely well, sitting out on top of the vegetation, giving everyone superb scope views, and 2 Tawny Pipits showed just as well. Carrying on, further down the track we came across another pool holding over 100 Greater Flamingos and a flock of 30+ Slender-billed Gulls. A pair of Kentish Plovers also performed well here.
A nearby field held two Stone Curlews which caused an emergency pull over by both cars into a gateway. Unfortunately the heat haze was such that no photos could be obtained, despite the fact the birds showed reasonably well.
From the Oristano area we made our way towards Uras taking in more wetlands on the way. Highlights of which were several breeding pairs of Black-winged Stilts, Greater Flamingos, c20 Collared Pratincoles, 3 Purple Herons and couple of singing Great Reed Warblers.
Getting into higher ground, the scenic, Uras to Ales road produced two Woodchat Shrikes, one of which showed very well, 1 Little Owl, 2 Cirl Buntings (one down to 3 metres!) and a Blackcap.
The winds got steadily stronger as the day went on and by the time we were on the coast again they were causing some massive waves. Before we reached the coast we stopped at some more wetlands which failed to produce much of interest besides a Red-crested Pochard.
On the coast, we decided to get to a headland just south of our hotel, from here we got excellent views of ‘Scopoli’s’ Cory’s Shearwaters as they streamed north, hugging the rocky coast. A Skylark was also heard singing here, but the most bizarre sighting was of a Kentish Plover which bunkered down on a small outcrop, sheltering from the sea spray.
Back at our accommodation the Bee-eaters were performing well near their road verge nest site.
Thursday 1st June 2006
The strong winds continued through the night and it seemed unlikely that any early morning wanderings would produce much of interest, so the majority of the group had a lie in. Richard and Will, however, decided to brave the winds.
There wasn’t really anything new to report from the previous morning, though a pair of Peregrines fighting in the sky was quite impressive as they got swept along in the wind. The Tawny Pipit was still displaying well and as was as a Raven and a Carrion Crow flew by. The population of this latter species must be somewhat limited here. A couple of ‘Scopoli’s’ Cory’s Shearwaters sliced through the winds, offshore.
The journey from Su Pallosu to Oziari via Monte Paidorzu, took us right through prime Roller country, unfortunately we didn’t strike it lucky and non were seen on the wires, where you would expect. The weather approaching Monte Paidorzu, deteriorated rapidly, and as we got higher up low cloud cover meant visibility was virtually non existent. Thankfully before things got too bad we happened across a Barbary Partridge running on the side of the road, before running up a track, where it paused giving one car load good views as it cowered under a gate before heading deep into cover.
On the flat top of the mountain, where the visibility was extremely poor (viewing was often restricted to just the ditches each side of the road) there was an abundance of Corn Buntings and 1 male Cirl Bunting was a nice glimmer of brightness in the dreadful conditions.
Our target here was Corsican Citril Finch, but viewing was near impossible, however just as we started to speed up and loose all hope of seeing them, a small finch, popped up on a fence by the side of the road. It was a stunning male Corsican Cirtril Finch. Back on to us, it’s brown mantle was extremely obvious as well as greyish nape; it then turned revealing a lovely yellow front. After posing for a bit, the bird flew, deep, into cover. The first target of the trip successfully ticked, we all breathed a deep sigh of relief, though there was no doubting this was perhaps the easiest of the hat trick to find.
Our first search of the trip for Little Bustard produced a blank in the Tula area, with highlights from here including 1 Stone Curlew, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, several displaying Calandra Larks, 1 Woodchat Shrike, 1 Hoopoe, several Bee-eaters, 1 Sparrowhawk (wolterstorffi), 1 Turtle Dove and a singing Quail.
The drive though the mountains to Santa Teresa was extremely tedious, as the roads are winding, with very few opportunities to overtake or go fast. The only birding highlight from this journey was a pair of Lesser Kestrels.
We didn’t have too long to wait in Santa Teresa before the ferry arrived, with just enough time to grab a bite to eat and drink some excellent coffee from the café. Yellow-legged Gulls were the dominant species here with a Peregrine over head flushing them briefly.
Neil picked up a single Audouin’s Gull from some distance, sat on a rock at the entrance of the bay. Eventually, it flew closer and into the bay, passing the ferry, settling several times on rocks on the shore. From the outstanding, close views in flight we got some reasonable images which are displayed below and on the following page.
Above Corsica, an impressive thunderstorm was brewing and heading in our direction. It wasn’t long into our Ferry journey before we hit our first ‘Scopoli’s’ Cory’s Shearwaters, but the storm stopped play and we were forced into shelter half way through our journey. By the last quarter the rain had cleared though, and we enjoyed some excellent, reasonably close views of the ‘Scopoli’s’, as they followed the storm.
Getting off the ferry was a reasonably smooth operation, and it wasn’t long before we had our first Red Kite of the trip, over the cars. There was also good numbers of Spotless Starlings recorded on the journey to Vignale.
The weather really was a treat; with the evening sun being the warmest it had been all day. The heath across the road from our accommodation at Vignale, looked promising, and although there were a few bits and pieces of interest it didn’t really do the business for us.
A pair of Dartford Warblers played hard to get as they collected food for the their young at the nest and a female Spectacled Warbler showed only briefly, but gave tremendous scope views for those who got onto it. A single Zitting Cisticola held territory in the area, but no hoped for Marmora’s or Subalpine Warbler.
In the pines of another local caravan site, a couple of Serin sang among the Greenfinch (madarszi), Goldfinch (tchusii) and Chaffinch (tyrrhenica) present in the tops of the pines and a Great-spotted Woodpecker (parroti) was a missed photo opportunity, as it paused in a tree next to us for a few seconds.
After an excellent meal outside, at a local restaurant, we came back to find two calling Scop’s Owls, one of which eventually was seen flying to and from the top of a tall pine above our chalets. It eventually landed on one of the chalets give excellent views in the half light from the outside lamps. This actually turned out to be a highlight of the trip for some. There was also a Nightjar churring from somewhere nearby.
Friday 2nd June 2006
Seen by all as the make or break day; the easy Corsican Finch was under the belt, but there were two targets still firmly in mind, one being Corsican Nuthatch, a species that, judging by past trip reports, wasn’t going to be particularly easy. The whole of the day could be pretty much dedicated to finding this species, if necessary, and it seemed it might be.
For those willing to get up early enough, even better views of the Scop’s Owl were obtained shortly after dawn. As well as calling constantly, the bird made frequent visits to a nest hole under the chalet roof tiles, pausing briefly on the opposite roof. A couple of Serins were singing from the pines and ‘Italian’ Sparrows were chirping as we got into our hire cars.
The weather failed to get any better, with strong winds increasing. The winding roads from Vignale to Col de Sorba produced 3 Red Kites over our cars but little else of note. Rain eventually set in and as we got higher up the mountains, the rain turned to sleet, which turned to snow. This was clearly not going to be any good for our search for the Nuthatch or Marmora’s Warbler, so we headed back down the mountain through the rain.
With the heavy rain making birding nearly impossible, we decided to have a mug of something warm in ‘Le Chalet Restaurant’. However the locals had other ideas, and it was only after some discussion among themselves that they decided to serve us (clearly they didn’t realise some of us could speak French). The headlines on the local papers, “Snow before Summer” clearly indicated this wasn’t normal weather and that we were unlucky in our timing.
After enjoying our various hot drinks, the rain appeared to ease off somewhat, so the group split up to search the immediate area for Marmora’s Warbler. Several family parties of Woodlark were flushed in our search and a rather damp Cirl Bunting was also found on the hill immediately behind the building.
Some of the group went along the broken up road that was running down the side of the hill behind ‘Le Chalet Restaurant’ and they came across a singing male Marmora’s Warbler. Unfortunately the rest of the team were still around the building, so a runner was sent to collect them. By the time they had made it back the Warbler had disappeared.
Now together, the group continued down the track where they eventually located one calling, which showed very well on top of the scrub. Another bird shortly followed and the group enjoyed excellent views of them, presumably near a nest site. Whilst watching the warblers a few male Woodlarks displayed over our heads and a Great-spotted Woodpecker called. There was also a couple of Blackcaps singing in the area.
The temporary gap in the rain didn’t last for long and the group were soon running back for shelter to the hire car. Both cars drove along the D69, stopping at 2.8km along the track, as suggested in Rich Bonser’s report. Unfortunately the rain failing to stop, so both car loads were reduced to eating their lunch early, as looking out the windows was even a near impossible task.
Whilst waiting for the rain to stop though, Richard re-read one of the many reports (by David Bird) he had brought along which described a spot a little further along the road which had 3 pairs of Corsican Nuthatch along a track running off it.
We found the spot, and parked up again waiting for the rain to subside. This time though, several members of the group ventured out of the cars taking shelter under the lifted boot doors. From this spot we had several calling Blue (cogliastrae), Coal (sardus) and Great Tits (corsus), a Great-spotted Woodpecker showed and we enjoyed views of our only Treecreeper (corsa) of the trip.
In the valley below a couple of Corsican Citril Finches put in a brief appearance and a few Cirl Buntings, including a singing male entertained us. The Chaffinches feeding around the car also attracted a female Corsican Citril Finch which gave awesome views as it fed virtually under the cars!
As we looked down the valley, we could see an approaching dry patch, this was our window of opportunity and the group made good use of it. Yet more Corsican Citril Finches were seen extremely well (perhaps 10 or more were seen by our group in this area) and Neil was the one to find a pair of Corsican Nuthatches. Yet again not all the group were together, but Richard successfully rounded up the stragglers in time, to enjoy superb views of the pair working a dead tree, above our heads. They worked the outer branches mainly and gave excellent views in the dead tree before moving into live, thicker pines. The views were still good though, and it soon came apparent that the pair had a nest in another nearby dead tree. Poor light and very active birds meant that no decent photos were obtained.
Unfortunately the nest hole was behind the trunk and there was no way of viewing it, so the views of the birds became restricted when they started feeding out of sight, to just brief flittings to and from the nest.
Behind us, a Wryneck called a number of times from a dead tree and eventually gave Will very brief views. Eventually the group decided to explore further down the track and Mac got onto another Corsican Nuthatch, whilst other highlights included 2 Spotted Flycatchers (tyrrhenica), 2 ‘Corsican’ Crossbills (corsicana) and 2 Mistle Thrushes (deichleri).
Our luck with the weather didn’t last for long as the rain fell again, but with the target species now in the bag, the mood was more relaxed and we felt we could enjoy the next few days whatever the weather. This was just as well, since we failed to get any decent weather until the morning of our departure!
Corte was our next destination, on our way up into the mountains in the hope of a few specialties such as Alpine Chough and Lammergier. The weather really closed in though, so we turned around before we got going, just having a quick look at the stream, which produced a White-bellied Dipper, sitting it out in the rain.
Several stops to scan the rivers between Corte and Aleria were in the hope of catching up with the Corsican race of Grey Wagtail, but alas we failed. A male Corsican Citril Finch was nice compensation and we got some stunning views of Crag Martins.
Back in the lowlands, by the coast, there was the occasional break between rain storms. One such break came in the Etong 'durbino area which produced some thrilling encounters with a flock of Bee-eaters, which were casually perched along the wires, occasionally hawking insects. One bird was actually sat on a post right next to the car, unfortunately grass got in the way, and so only a head shot could be obtained.
We ventured down several tracks in this area, off the main road which produced 2 Cattle Egrets, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Hoopoe, 1 Nightingale, 2 Turtle Doves, 2 Shelduck flew over and 1 Red Kite.
With yet more heavy showers stopping play, we decided to retreat back to our accommodation and head for meal after a successful, but damp, day’s birding. On our return from the local restaurant, the Scop’s Owl was calling but didn’t show as well.
Saturday 3rd June 2006
The male Scop’s Owl was still calling at dawn, making several visits to the nest hole and spending quite a few minutes in a small, low tree in the middle of the chalets, calling. It then made a visit to the nest hole and flew off not to be seen for another 15 minutes. At about 5.35 it reappeared causing a nearby Great Tit to get extremely agitated and alarm called constantly.
Seemingly unsure where the call was coming from, the Owl remained outside it’s nest hole on top of the roof for some minutes, allowed Richard and Will to obtain superb views as it moved about, on the roof, looking for the source of the noise.
As the morning went on several male Serins started to sing and show well at times in the pines. A quick walk round the nearby heath before the fine start gave way to heavy rain again produced little more than a single Zitting Cisticola.
With heavy rain setting in from the north, covering the mountains we decided to give the lowland wetlands a try at but unfortunately the rain soon hit us here as well. A large piece of wetland at Casamozza, looked excellent habitat and no doubt does well during migration times but we decided in such conditions in early June it probably wasn’t worth the walk, so quickly retreated to the hire cars.
A single Nightingale and Cetti’s Warbler were singing heartily in the cover and a Zitting Cisticola showed extremely well here. Two Corn Buntings were also noted.
With the rain seeming to clear in land and up the mountains the team decided we should go back to our original plan and hit the highland areas of Col de Bovella on the way to the ferry. As we made our way up the winding roads, highlights included two male and a female Red-backed Shrike all very close to each other and a Turtle Dove.
Up on higher ground the sun finally started to poke through and up high above the mountains we picked up several groups of Alpine Chough another lifer for several members of the group, circling round. Several crests were calling though, frustratingly non were actually seen and a few Coal Tits were also calling.
At another stop we had excellent views of a male Cirl Bunting singing from the top of a pine tree. Unfortunately and rather typically the bird disappeared as soon as the cameras were out. A Spotted Flycatcher also showed well in the tops of a group of pines and a male Blue Rock Thrush was located singing on top of a crag.
The highlight of this stop though came in the form of a pair of adult Golden Eagles which performed beautifully, often going in front of the mountains showing off their mixtures of gold, tawny and white in the plumage. Whilst watching the Eagles a group of 6 Alpine Swifts made a low fly past and circled round for a bit and 2 Ravens also circled round. Magic!
A rather long but entertaining wait (largely due to the arrogance of one of the drivers getting on board) for the ferry to depart back to Sardinia, from Bonifacio, saw the sun finally come out properly. Some fine adult Yellow-legged Gulls showed well allowing for some shots on the water to be taken.
The first quarter of the crossing was seeming a bit dead as far as birds were concerned, which was particularly disappointing because this was the part of the crossing that had given us our best views of ‘Scopoli’s’ Cory’s Shearwaters on the journey to Corsica. Thankfully, things soon started looking good again when a few ’Scopoli’s’ were picked out distantly and a few hoped for Yelkouan Shearwaters were also picked up (if a little distant at first).
Half way through the journey things really started to hot up when several ’Scopoli’s’ decided to follow the back of the Ferry; eventually one even got up and started circling with the group of Yellow-legged Gulls that were hanging in the wind just off the back of the boat. This of course allowed everyone to get staggering views and some good photographs (see page 21 & 22).
A Yelkouan’s also decided to follow the ferry at one point and gave stunning views. Compared to the ’Scopoli’s’ this favoured hugging the waves much more tightly, making it more difficult for any photographs to be taken.
Trevor, Neil and Will all went to about as far back in the Ferry as was allowed to try and get some decent shots of the ‘Scopoli’s. Whilst down here several groups of Yelkouin’s (probably around 70 birds in total) fluttered by giving excellent views especially as one group seemed to do a circle round the boat.
Rather kindly one of the ferry workers allowed us access to the very end of the Ferry; unfortunately most of the action had passed us by but his generosity was still most welcomed. Other highlights from the ferry crossing included a Common Tern and several groups of Shags flying by.
Back in the harbour of Santa Teresa on Sardinia, the 3rd summer Audouin’s Gull was still present at the harbour’s entrance, along with several Yellow-legged Gulls.
Our next destination was a return trip to the Tula area, for another go at Little Bustards. Unfortunately we drew yet another blank, but some compensation came in the form of a very late passage Black Kite which moved quickly through the area. Other birds of note in the area included shed loads of Spanish Sparrows, 2 Calandra Larks (including one posing nicely), 2 Buzzards, 1 Tawny Pipit and several Bee-eaters.
After checking into our accommodation at Fertilia near Alghero, where there was little of interest other than breeding colonies of House Martin and Spanish Sparrow, we moved on to Lago Baratz. The wires on the minor road to Lago Baratz were aligned with the usual Bee-eaters and several Turtle Doves, which had proved to be a scarce bird on our trip thus far.
Lago Baratz proved to be one of the more productive sites of the trip, with the lake teeming with birdlife and plenty to keep the team interested. The almost instant highlight was a stonking Purple Gallinule which was sat out on the edge of the reeds along with Coots and several Moorhens.
Two Marsh Harriers were hunting the reedbeds and at one point a large, brown falcon came to join one of the Marsh Harriers, and those who saw it agreed there was little size difference between the two. Unfortunately it disappeared shortly after being located and was never seen again by any of the group.
The air was alive with Barn Swallows and Swifts, with Common Swift being the main species present with a few Pallid and Alpine Swifts also giving breath taking views as they flew low over our heads. They proved rather difficult to photograph, often coming just too close for the DSLR, amazingly though, shots with just the Canon Powershot were more successful (by Trevor).
With the evening sun starting to go down, we decided to head back to Fertilia for our last evening meal of the trip, which was most enjoyable and a fine way to (nearly) finish the trip with one last prospect of birding to come, the next morning.
Sunday 4th June 2006
With Barbary Partridge under the belt from earlier in the week, we made a return visit to the superb Lago Baratz. Unfortunately there were no Bee-eaters on the wires along the minor road down to the Lake, like there had been the evening before, as the light was superb this morning and viewing wouldn’t have been into the sun. A couple of Turtle Doves were still present though.
The Lake itself was still packed with Little Grebes and Coots, with Trevor making a count of 118 of the former. Moorhen and Mallard were also in fair numbers with one particular female type, big billed duck, presumably a hybrid, receiving a fair bit of attention. Three Red-crested Pochards were still present and a female Marsh Harrier was the only raptor present of note.
Swallows and House Martins were already present on our arrival with adults actively feeding freshly fledged young which perched precariously on small posts in the water. It wasn’t until the sun had warmed up a bit that the Common Swifts arrived with 10+ Pallids showing extremely well, in the early morning light, but no Alpines were noted this morning.
A male Sardinian Warbler showed superbly as it sang in the scrub behind us and a singing Cetti’s Warbler also showed briefly in flight revealing it’s paddle like tail. The pines behind us also produced some calling Firecrests which eventually gave themselves up for the group with at least one adult and two juveniles showing well. We then left for Alghero airport and arrived back on English soil just after mid-day.
Firecrest was the final species of the trip, which had been hugely successful with 109 species recorded. With all three target species encountered, the highlight for most was the sight of the fabulous pair of Corsican Nuthatches, which after such a build up, did not disappoint, giving superb views.
For more photos from the trip please visit the Peterborough Bird Club website.
Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
Great-crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus
Cory’s Shearwater, Calonectris diomedea diomedea
Yelkouan Shearwater, Puffinus yelkouan
Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis
European Shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii
Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
Little Egret, Egretta garzetta
Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea
Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea
Greater Flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus
Common Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Red-crested Pochard, Netta rufina
Black Kite, Milvus migrans
Red Kite, Milvus milvus
Eurasian Griffon Vulture, Gyps fulvus
Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus
Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus wolterstorffi
Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo arrigonii
Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos
Lesser Kestrel, Falco naumanni
Common Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
Eleonora's Falcon, Falco eleonorae
Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus
Barbary Partridge, Alectoris barbara
Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix
Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio porphyrio
Coot, Fulica atra
Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus
Stone Curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus
Collared Pratincole, Glareola pratincola
Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus
Slender-billed Gull, Larus genei
Audouin's Gull, Larus audouinii
Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis
Little Tern, Sternula albifrons
Gull-billed Tern, Gelochelidon nilotica
Common Tern, Sterna hirundo
Feral/Rock Dove, Columba livia
Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus
Collared Dove, Streptopelia dacaocto
Turtle Dove, Streptopelia turtur
Common Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus
Eurasian Scops Owl, Otus scops
Little Owl, Athene noctua
European Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus
Common Swift, Apus apus
Pallid Swift, Apus pallidus
Alpine Swift, Apus melba
European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster
Hoopoe, Upupa epops
Wryneck, Jynx torquilla
Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major parroti
Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha calandra
Woodlark, Lullula arborea
Skylark, Alauda arvensis
Crag Martin, Hirundo rupestris
Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica
Red-rumped Swallow, Cecropis daurica
House Martin, Delichon urbicum
Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris
Dipper, Cinclus cinclus
Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes koenigi
European Robin, Erithacus rubecula
Rufous Nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
Stonechat, Saxicola torquata
Northern Wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe
Blue Rock Thrush, Monticola solitarius
Common Blackbird, Turdus merula
Mistle Thrush, Turdus viscivorus
Cetti's Warbler, Cettia cetti
Fan-tailed Warbler, Cisticola juncidis
Great Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus
Marmora's Warbler, Sylvia sarda
Dartford Warbler, Sylvia undata
Spectacled Warbler, Sylvia conspicillata
Sardinian Warbler, Sylvia melanocephala
Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla paulucii
Firecrest, Regulus ignicapillus
Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata tyrrhenica
Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
Great Tit, Parus major
Coal Tit, Periparus ater
Corsican Nuthatch, Sitta whiteheadi
Common Treecreeper, Certhia familiaris corsa
Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio
Woodchat Shrike, Lanius senator badius
Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius corsicanus
Alpine Chough, Pyrrhocorax graculus
Jackdaw, Corvus monedula
Carrion Crow, Corvus corone
Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix
Common Raven, Corvus corax
Spotless Starling, Sturnus unicolor
Spanish Sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis
Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs tyrrhenica
European Serin, Serinus serinus
Corsican Citril Finch, Serinus corsicanus
Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris madarszi
Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis tchusii
Linnet, Carduelis cannabina
Common Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra corsicana
Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes
Cirl Bunting, Emberiza cirlus
Corn Bunting, Emberiza calandra
Total: 109 species.