Back in France

September 2013

Back in France, bit of birding and general holiday stuff to keep herself happy. Planning a visit to Sene, it was closed at the time of our last visit. I'd made the mistake of planning a visit in the early morning as my experience tells me the birds are most active. Clearly not in Southern Brittany as the reserve didn't open until 14:00!

Places planned for birding are Sene, Briere, Duer Marshes and the local area to our gite.

She who must be has planned visits to various places to coincide with market days.

The weather forecast is very good for the duration of our holiday!

Thursday 19 September

Today, 1st day, Sene planned. Up early, breakfast, nice weather, gear ready, quick look at the reserve leaflet (in French) for hides etc. Check opening hours, find reserve closed on 31 August!!!!! Only open Sunday afternoons. Am I mistaken, is this not migration time, are there no birders here other than me! I should have learnt from last time to read up first.

Change of plans to now visit Duer Marshes and Suscinio.

The salt marsh along this stretch of coast is excellent. I'd remembered a raised area where I could overlook a large part of it using the scope and wasn't disappointed. The tide was ebbing so all the birds were fairly distant nevertheless there were :

>20 spoonbills

Countless little egrets

Redshank

Curlew

Spotted redshank

Dunlin

Various gulls

Bar-tailed godwits

Onto Suscinio where herself wanted to visit the chateau. Parked up and walked to the imposing chateau and thankfully she had decided she didn't want to go in, external views ok for me!

Went down to the beach and parked up. First birds was a mixed flock of goldfinches, adults and many juveniles. It was quiet on the beachside bushes until I noticed a pair of stonechats, stunners but nor co-operative on the photographic front.

After the initial disappointment of the day it ended up right good and enjoyable, especially in the good weather.

A visit to Sene now planned for Sunday afternoon.

The weather is panning out as forecast, lovely and mild with pleasant sunshine.

Turtle dove heard from the garden (Saturday), rushed to get bins but couldn't locate it and it had gone silent. 

Saturday 15 June, Southern Brittany and Loire Atlantique

This is the 'non' birding holiday with my other half. Well that's not strictly true of course, there are a number of reserves/sites around here within a 70 mile radius of where we are located. I'm amazed that we found a gite so centrally placed for these birds - sheer luck, or, maybe a pointed search in Google helped.

Anyway I have 1 and only 1 target bird, my bogy the bluethroat. The decision was made to visit the Briere marshes and one of the reserves within this massive area of >150 sq miles. We arrived, having remembered the place from a visit some years ago. Sadly on last occasion muggins was ill so didn't take it in properly. 

As we walked onto the reserve and the 1/2km walk to the reserve a kestrel was perched up on a post, 2 posts to the right sat a resplendent male bluethroat - result but too far to photograph. I say resplendent, it was well into moult actually. Other birds around were countless sedge and reed warblers, cetti's shouting out from many bushes. I didn't count the marsh harriers we saw but it must have been into double figures. Great white egret and grey heron also around us. A flyover spoonbill was excellent and turtle dove calling away. 

As we approached the reserve, having taken about 45mins to walk the 1/2km I could see massive gates, it was closed and only open 1 July to 31 August. A bird reserve closed at the main time!!! A member of staff drove up, wouldn't let us in and said it was budget cuts! Strange that they are spending a fortune upgrading the footpaths and cobbles in many of the village/town squares but a member of staff can't be paid for. the cynic in me would say we as part of the great EU are paying for all the ongoing work and it really is everywhere.

We decided to try another area and drove into the marsh of a place called Fedrun island passing a field with >50 cattle egrets, grey herons and a sacred ibis. After a superb and leisurely lunch moved onto another reserve, this was manned but was also a commercial enterprise with boat trips. Here we had the terns with whiskered and white-winged blacks around, plus more sacred ibis.

Within the general area where we are staying there seem to be cuckoo's everywhere along with blackcaps and garden warblers. Chiffchaffs also seem to be in every tree. Also turtle dove close by but can't find it. Hirundines are everywhere in great numbers.

On walk back, in same area as male bluethroat, we found this immature.

Aside from the birding having serious trouble with the vino de memory loss. Its cheap and good so the temptation is to drink more! Luckily these days I do not get serious hangovers, just mild headache and that's not surprising after 3 bottles of wine!!!

Day 11 - Friday 10 May

Well our last day. With an early afternoon departure from the hotel we had a walk around the Kalloni Pool, Christou river and the hotel area. Lovely Kentish Plover on the mudflats around the river. The pool had house had spanish sparrows, a favourite of mine.

So that was it, the end of a great birding trip, not rained on once. Good food in the Taverna's, good company with all the birders we met. Thanks to Chris and Tom for the company.

Thanks to everyone for the sharing of news and to Steve D for his tireless organisation and help for all the birders visiting the island. Last but not least to the Pasiphae Hotel for looking after us, the Dionysos and Australia Taverna's and big thanks.

An uneventful and timely journey back to the UK with Aegean and a drive back home from Heathrow then saw us arrive at 01:00.

Day 10 - Thursday 9 May

Well our last full day. We decided on a long day to finish off, as usual I was out early around the Saltpans. Nothing photographed today though.

Our first location was to be the Makara Valley, hopefully to pick up chukar, sadly we missed out on this species. However there was plenty more to occupy us, this little owl flew down onto the ground and was enjoying a dust bath, whilst also keeping an eye on us.

Next was a whinchat sat up close to the car, almost too close!

We were really taking our time on this road enjoying the variety of species. Down at the beach this stonechat was collecting food for its young.

On the way back up to the main road we encountered many crezschmaher's buntings.

A lovely, although a little distant black-eared wheatear.

Plus one of the many crested larks.

Next was to be another, and last visit, to the Meladia valley.

First stop had us watching a family group of rock nuthatches and this unidentified species.

At the next stop was really surprised when this rock nuthatch popped up next to us, almost too close to focus and definitely to large in the frame for me.

Down at the ford we pulled off the road and I saw this little bittern sat on top of the bushes, except it was on the wrong side of the car! This image is thanks to Chris.

Nothing new at the chapel so onto the Old Sanatorium where a subalpine warbler was being very  co-operative.

Our last day ended with another trip to the Saltpans but nothing new was added.

Day 9 - Wednesday 8 June

Time is flashing by now, Easter is over so we can visit areas which would have been popular with local families having a picnic over the holiday period. There was only one place in mind and it has been eagerly awaited - Achladeri Forest, the famous kruper's nuthatch site. 

However to start the day I was off out early again around the Saltpans, only one species photographed today - the black -headed bunting and in a different setting. I did however have a flyover male mallard.

We were first there and immediately on the bird, we stood back and enjoyed the action with adults coming in to feed their young, it was just magical and the bird I had been most looking forward to seeing. Of course there were a few photographs taken as well, not as close as some but I am happy with them and they serve as a great reminder of the bird.

Next stop was to be the Polichnitos saltpans, we were really disappointed here. There were birds here but no new ones for us and our anticipated carpets of wildflowers did not materialise. Decision was taken to move onto Alikoudi pool. We found the track easily and then after about 500m found we couldn't get down any further. It looked like irrigation of the fields had run off and the track was impassable for our car. Then I had the experience of reversing up the narrow track. It hadn't seemed much driving down, it was hard reversing back up it!

Where next? Decision taken to go back 'Up North' and try and find the quarry for the blue rock thrush. Result, straight onto it and again no apologies for number of images, there could have been many more! 

Firstly the female, more distant so again a record only.

and now the 'blue bird'!

Sadly the light was bad with it now being cloudy and quite dark in the quarry, I was on ISO 1600 so there is a bit of noise.

Last place for the day was again the Saltpans and this little owl was sat watching us on the track.

Tuesday 4 June - a day in Norfolk!

Been a bluethroat at Cley for a few days and its a bird I have wanted to see for a long time and never had the opportunity. Do I go, or, not is the question. Its a long way for one bird - yes. Quick call to a birding pal, is he interested and another yes. So its an 04:00 rise and on the road by 04:35.
Arrived at Cley to see a huddle of birders along the East bank, looks promising! Of course when we walked out after parking, where a cetti's warbler was singing away, we find its not been seen today - typical!! So we gave it a good go, over 1 1/2 hours stood there scanning the bushes. Having said that it was by no means quiet with reed and sedge warblers singing away, a reed bunting singing and constant dive bombing by countless swifts. This was spectacular and more than compensated for not seeing the bird. Plenty of marsh harrier activity with 3 up in the air at times and good close flybys. On the other side looking towards Arnold's Marsh were greylag and egyptian geese, shelduck and a good variety of waders. So what do we do for the day, decided on Titchwell and then a text from  friend saying pectoral sandpiper at Frampton Marsh (we had already planned to call in on way back). Initially we had thought about going to Lakenheath for the savi's warbler but decided against it when no reports on RBA (was reported in the evening).
Quick visit down the Beach Road for sandwich and common tern, quite windy and relatively cool. Onto Titchwell after a coffee and cake at Stiffkey Post Office, to be recommended for both!
Titchwell was just stunning, by far the best visit for 18 months. Started with a pair of garganey and supporting cast on the recently opened pools. Then we walked out through the reserve to my least favourite hide anywhere, the Parrinder. But the birds from here were wonderful, grey plover in full breeding plumage, turnstone similar. Ringed and little ringed plover together giving an  excellent comparison. Again the reserve was alive with swifts and we had a family group of bearded tits.
Onto Frampton where our list kept growing, no sign of the pec sand though! One of those days with the rarities. Frampton has matured superbly since my first visit in its early days and is really becoming a birding mecca.
By this stage we were shattered so it was homeward bound.
We missed the target rarities but all in all a superb days birding and a total of 71 species with no effort at all. If we had done a bit more searching we could easily have got over the hundred.

Day 8 - Tuesday 7 May
I was up early and decided to have a run around the Saltpans and the track though the Tsiknias Lower Ford and along the river side back to Skala Kallonis. It was a lovely morning with great light in early morning before 06:30. The Saltpans held the expected species with wood sandpipers, black-winged stilts and little stints in abundance. 10 black storks were still on the drain along with little egrets, they moved off as I drove along the road and others were photographing them. I amused myself with a black-winged stilt and little stint, 2 amazing waders. It is incredible how difficult it is to judge the size of little stints when there is no reference species with them, well it is to me!

This little egret needs no introduction from me!

There is definitely something about the light in the early morning and evening which is excellent for photography in my eyes.

This eastern olivaceous warbler was singing its heart out on the side of the Tsiknias river.

One of the iconic spring time birds of Lesvos, the black-headed bunting. Seemingly everywhere with their beautiful song. Also along the river near the 'bandstand' had 20 bee-eaters.

The main part of the day was to be 'Out West' again. This was proving to be a very productive area for us on this holiday. Firstly it was a run down the Maladia valley. There were noticeably less shrikes around today, made up for though by 4 rock nuthatches. Otherwise we came across very much the same species as on our previous visit, until we came across this linnet, one of three. 

Our next stop was at the Meladia ford where there were 4 purple herons, a coot and this eastern olivaceous warbler.

One of my few male red-backed shrikes and one I'm not too happy with but there again a record and reminder.

Then a major panic, camera not at hand and this whinchat right beside the car, panic over and bird in the camera. Great species and one that is difficult to find near us at home. In total we had 6 whinchats in the valley. 

Our next stop was the chapel where we found a female pied flycatcher and a spotted fly.

Onwards and down to the Old Sanatorium I could see a lesser grey-shrike in a bush nearby so we rushed out to look at it, in fact there were 2! I looked behind me and sat 5 metres away was a roller. In my haste to get out of the car to look at the shrikes had left the camera in the car. An unbelievable opportunity missed and a lesson learnt!!!! 

Lunch in Sigri again.

As on previous visits it was onto Sigri and Faneromeni fields the lower ford and the beach. The ford has this very appealing little ringed plover and a distant squacco heron. 

In the other direction a male citrine wagtail - result! Also here we had a moorhen and a flyover short-toed eagle , then the familiar sound of bee-eaters - 30 -in fact. We decided to go and have a look to see if they stopped further up the road to no avail. Decided to have a look at the Upper ford, but, couldn't get there as a car was completely blocking the road in it! I do understand people wanting to get the best photographic opportunities but why can they not be aware of other people. Perhaps be should have debunked and walked into the ford!

Anyway it was back to the Faneromeni Beach and three lesser kestrels busy hunting so a record shot of one. In a bush at the back of the beach we had 2 female citrine wagtails and 13 yellow wagtails (6 black and 7 grey-headed

Our last stop of the day was to be the Lardia Valley. Whilst scanning the trees below us a warbler was seen in the trees just below our eye level, it called, the eastern bonelli's with food, result!

What an end to a great day!