I'm stuck on a snow-bound Isle of Wight at the moment but I gather that Charente has had some snow as well.

Stella has been keeping an eye on the Charente birds and she tells me that hundreds of cranes have passed over in the last few days, all moving ahead of the cold weather by the sound of it. Similarly, Irv reports flocks of lapwings near Cognac. Weather permitting, I should catch up with things after the weekend.

When back in the UK it's always interesting to note the differences from Charente in both the bird life and in the culture as it relates to birds. I cleared the snow off the bird table this morning and put out some bread and the remains of a cooked chicken carcase. The food was shifted in a minute by a flock of mainly black headed and herring gulls with some rooks and jackdaws. I don't seem to get any of these on my bird feeders in Charente. (though there were flocks of both jackdaws and rooks around La Poterie in mid November)

As for the culture, it's great to see lapwings, golden plover and curlews feeding in the fields unmolested by hunters and a walk to the River Yar reveals teal, wigeon and black-tailed godwits feeding within a few yards of the footpath. On the other hand, pheasants wander around everywhere simply because so many of them are bred and released for the English 'hunters' to shoot.

mid november

Friends from the UK were with us last week but we managed to dodge most of the showers again and get in a few walks around La Poterie.
Hawfinches were showing particularly well and a few brambling were mixed in with the chaffinch flocks. We came across several flurries of redwing and just one flock of about 30 fieldfare.
A group of half a dozen cranes was perhaps the tail end of the migration but there were one or two false alarms with small flights of cormorants that passed over.
Firecrests were not showing at all but goldcrests were surprisingly common. Skylarks were numerous especially on the plains but only one small group of woodlark revealed itself near the Bonnieure.
The woods held plenty of tit flocks; long tailed were particularly common but there was a single marsh tit in a large bird wave that also contained short toed treecreeper and nuthatch.
There was no sign of any lapwings but Irv and sandy reported large flocks of them north of the Loire so perhaps the colder weather will bring them down.
Hen harriers were very sparse

cranes

The showery weather relented by late afternoon and a long single skein of over a hundred cranes seemed to be taking advantage of the situation and passed over the house at about 4pm on November 10.
As usual, I was alerted to their presence by their call. They were flying quite high and had they remained silent they would probably have gone undetected. Some of the higher crane migration may possibly pass by un-noticed.

Bramblings--what bramblings?

The brambling flocks that were around just a few days ago seem to have moved on. In fact there are few finches around except for chaffinches. It's been raining most days for the last week and today was no exception. I managed an hour or so between showers this afternoon and struggled to find just over 20 species--not even a starling ! The liveliest things around were perhaps the two small flocks of long-tailed tits which I came across.

Back in Charente---again!

Another two week absence, this time to Germany, Poland and Italy, has meant that Charente birding has passd me by. We've returned to quite mild weather but with light rain. My gauge tells me that there has been over 25cm while we have been away. This is much appreciated by the mallards who now find that they can swim around in the pond and eat a bitof duckweed. Nine of the original twelve ducklings have survived and they are now almost the size of the adults.
I've heard nothing about the crane migration except for a report of a skein going over Lairiere on Sunday.
Three grey wagtails were at La Poterie pond on Sunday, tawny owls are calling at night including from in the garden; a flock of bramblings visited the garden today, the first this winter . About 40 skylarks were in the field opposite the house this afternon along with a few woodlark. The latter have been singing occasionallyover the last couple of days.

cranes et al

This is my first blog for a while simply because I've hardly been in Charente during the last three weeks.

Last week was spent staying in a villa on the banks of the Gironde near Blaye. There was little in the way of waders and wildfowl despite the habitat and this was probably the result of the intensive hunting in this area. The 'traditional' method seems to be to hide in large camouflaged shelters called tonnes, lure the birds down with decoys and then blast them. Doesn't sound very sporting!

What was impressive, though, (besides the hot weather) was the constant stream of migrating swallows and finches which were following the eastern bank southwards. Each day they hurled over the garden at tree-top height like so many meteorite showers and at the rate of perhaps a hundred a minute. This is the first time that I have seen finches migrating in this way. They were mainly chaffinch, goldfinch and linnet but I have no idea how far south they were heading.

They are protected species of course and thankfully seemed to be completely ignored by the chasseurs.

Other birds of interest included:

Several red kites passing southward towards the end of the week; a merlin and a sparrowhawk hunting those passerines which chose to settle in the fields. At least one whiskered tern which was feeding on one of the many ponds in this area and a purple heron standing by a roadside ditch. Grey herons, little and cattle egret and kingfishers were plentiful as were cettis warblers.

A new species for the year for me was stock dove. Two small flocks were migrating south and were a legal target for the hunters. I hope they made it through.

Since arriving home, the weather has remained warm with very little rain and the village pond is still dry. I've placed a bath full of water in there and managed to barricade the commune's ducks and ducklings in as they have killed all but two of my goldfish while bathing in the small fish pool!

A noisy flock of 35 cranes flew over the house this afternoon, the first of the return migration that I have seen. Woodlarks are singing and a few wheatears are still passing through.

ducklings

Just in case you didn't believe me about the ducklings. (The elephant is always there)

flycatchers et al

A few flycatcher pics from the garden. The first is a spotted and the other two (clearer) ones are pied.

It's been a busy last few days for me and the only birding that I have done has been around the garden and nearby fields.

There is still plenty of evidence of migration taking place.: The pied flycatchers are incessantly cheeping away and the occasional, silent, spotted flycatcher joins them. There have also been quite a few willow warblers and common redstarts in the garden.

In the nearby fields wheatears have been in evidence and I saw a flock of around a dozen whinchats at La Tache.

A lesser spotted woodpecker was in the garden yesterday as was a tree pipit.

Even closer to home are the recently hatched ducklings which took to walking into the conservatory yesterday!

migration

There are increasing signs that the return migration is well under way now. Of the 42 species which I recorded yesterday, about a quarter fell into the category of birds which are probably just passing through.

The most obvious ones are: wheatears which have just appeared in the stubble fields. I saw about a dozen. Whinchat--just one yesterday, with some wheatears. Yellow wagtails, pied and spotted flycatchers, common redstarts and willow warblers.

Other species such as the hoopoe which was in my garden yesterday and the chiffchaffs, black redstarts, turtle doves and swallows of course breed around here but most of the individuals which we now see are likely to be ones which bred further north ans are on their way south.

Also of not yesterday were two firecrests and a serin near the Son-Sonnette. The first that I have seen for a while.

the same half

half a nightjar

Sadly, this is all that remains of the femail nightjar which I found outside the house.

bathing birds

All the action was around the water fountain and fishpond at 9am this morning. Birds must be pretty desperate for a bath and a drink after this long dry spell and there were no less than a dozen species competing for the pleasure. They seemed to waste most of their energy driving each other away rather than sharing, with the blue tits seemingly the most aggressive. Few birds were able to settle for long.

There were two male common redstarts, still showing some of their bright summer plumage, a pair of black redstarts, a willow warbler which is the first that I have seen for some time, at least two pied flycatchers, chiffchaffs, two robins, a blackcap, blackbirds, blue and great tits, two goldfinches and a chaffinch.

The mallard which is nesting by the front door finally hatched her chicks today--all 12 of them it seems. They have yet to leave this nest but are already eating the moist bread which we placed next to it.

migrants and bits of a nightjar

My morning bike ride was delayed today as there was quite a bit of migration activity around the house/pond.The purple heron wasn't to be seen so I think I can safely say that he's moved on but there were several pied flycatchers about and at least two spotted flycatchers. A pair of common redstarts was an unusual sight and there were several black ones as well. Other species feeding around the pond included: cirl bunting, dunnock, robin, blackcap, chiffchaff, green and great spotted woodpecker, turtle dove, as well as the usual tits and finches and, of course, the moorhens.

All told, and including the bike ride to St Front, I came across over thirty species before 11am.

A flock of jackdaws were mixed in with the feeding crows at Bois Bernadant. This species is not common locally and i think the nearest colony may be on the chateau at La Rochefoucauld . I have occasionally seen large and noisy flocks flying over though.

Ad now for the nightjar... I was just about to leave the pond when a neighbour pointed out the remains of a freshly killed bird on the road. Curiously, all that was left of it were the wings, tail and legs ie no carcase or head. The plumage and size seemed to be that of a female nightjar. This was puzzling as I assumed that this summer visitor had migrated by now, and I had no idea what might have killed it or what it was doing in the middle of the village. Perhaps it had been hunting for moths around the street light as I have seen one doing such a few years ago. Perhaps it had been sat on the warm road surface as they sometimes do and had been hit by a car--but that still didn't explain where the rest of its remains had gone. Quite a whodunnit really.

I took another brief bike ride at dusk, this time over the fields, and just to confirm things, flying up from the track and silhouetted above the trees was the familiar shape of a nightjar.

dunnock

Another heronless day but I was cheered by the sight of a dunnock feeding on the mud. This is the first of this delicately plumaged species that I have seen for months. I was thinking during this morning's cycle ride about why there are so few ( ie no) hedge sparrows about.

quail

No sign of the heron today so perhaps he's continues his migration---but then I've prematurely said goodbye to several migrants already.

Speaking of which, 2 turtle doves were still at the pond today. But much more interesting was the quail which took of from the roadside as i was cycling near Le Chatenet. I've heard a few in the fields this summer but this is the the first that I've actually seen.

In a nearby field a flock of migrating yellow wagtails were feeding/flying. They were too far away for me to determine the race.

today's purple heron pic

We seem to be back to blue skies and sunshine although the breeze is quite stiff today.

The purple heron is still here but now seems to favour the small pond where it is difficult to observe without flushing the bird.

At least one pied flycatcher is still in the garden.

A female hen harrier past the back of the garden yesterday.

A turtle dove was by the pond this morning.

The mallard which is nesting by our door has still not hatched the 12 eggs. I don't know how the ducklings are going to cope with virtually no water in the ponds. Stella suggests I fill an old bath with water.

The sunflower harvest has just begun opposite the house.

purple heron update

The purple heron which didn't seem to fly too far off yesterday, didn't do so today either as it was sat in the trees behind the smaller pond (also virtually dry) at La Poterie at around 6 pm.

While looking for him I came across my first hawfinch for a long time-- a male who was in some low foliage close to the main pond. a few other birds were taking advantage of the moist conditions which the mud offered. They included cirl bunting, robin, chiffchaff and chaffinch.

I had a very brief view of what was probably a common redstart.

A couple of lingering turtle doves and a calling oriole (Ventouse) were of note yesterday.

black woodpecker

In all the excitement of yesterday's purple heron, I forgot to mention that a black woodpecker flew over the road as I drove through the north end of the Braconne Forest at about 7 pm.

purple heron

A third pic of the PH

purple heron

Another pic of the purple heron. The light/background were not very good and neither of my cameras were able to pic him out very sharply

purple heron

My it's hot today! but yesterday and today turned up a rare bird at the almost dry pond at La Poterie. A juvenile purple heron was attempting to feed in the middle of the pond at about 7.30 pm yesterday. I watched him for about 30 minutes before he was disturbed and flew off---but obviously not far, as he was sat there again this morning at 8 am but unfortunately he flew off when the shutters were opened.
A very small number of these birds are said to breed on the border of Charente and Vienne according to 'Les Oiseaux des Charente' but I have seen them in this region only in the wetlands of Charente Maritime. They are summer visitors and this bird is presumably on its southern migration.

belated blog

This is the blog that I was about to publish yesterday --before the arrival of the purple heron.

There was a distinct Autumn nip in the air this morning but it was a pleasant temperature for a bike trip along the Son- Sonnette. Nuthatches and great spotted woodpeckers were common and tits were flocking. There were four species in one group with long-tailed and a single marsh alongside the blue and great. I couldn't find a coal tit or any crests but a solitary short-toed treecreeper was creeping up a tree. A cettis warbler was calling at Valence and I came across several chiffs and blackcaps. Several green woodpecker were calling and two black redstart turned up on the way back. White wagtails are appearing in the harvested fields. They will probably form sizeable flocks a little later in the year.

white storks

white storks

I've just had a birding chat on this very balmy evening with Helen and Gordon from Lairiere. They tell me that about 30 white storks roosted overnight in their village about this time last year. I've seen them around here only during Spring migration but it seems that they pass through in the Autumn also--which makes sense.

more flycatchers and a storm

Predictably, yesterday's high temperatures ( still 26C at 1 a.m.) resulted in a noisy electrical storm at about 4 a.m. It brought with it some welcome rain.

The village pond is now virtually dry and the 3 mallards have taken to bathing in my small fishpond, much to the consternation of the fish.

The pied flycatchers are still flitting around the garden and have been joined by a spotted flycatcher, only the 3rd or 4th that I have seen this year.

I had a brief view of a hoopoe at Valence yesterday, the first I have seen around here for a while.

A grey wagtail was on the Son-Sonnette.

pied flycatchers

The occurrence of pied flycatchers in Charente seems curious. They are a summer migrant but I've never seen one during the Spring passage, yet on their return migration they are regular visitors to my garden. Perhaps their migration route varies between Spring and Autumn.

They usually turn up in mid August and stay around for a week or two--or at least keep passing through. Their presence is often indicated by a repetitive 'seep' call and they flit from tree to tree and sometimes to the ground, often seemingly chasing each other if more than one is present. I heard at least one in the garden yesterday and two were there today. At this time of the year the males closely resemble the females in plumage but one of today's birds still had his black primaries.

It was very warm today and not really conducive to birding but a cycle ride to the Bonnieure valley was quite productive. The woods were a lot cooler and a bit of pishing attracted a few species including lesser spotted woodpecker and nuthatch. The St Angeau little owl was on his perch behind the church.

My farewell to the turtle dove was rather premature. I saw 3 today, including one purring in the garden. Long may they hang around with their summery sound.

back to birding

Our revels now are ended---or sort of--- so I can start looking at birds again.

August is always a quiet month and the most visible activity seems to be hundreds of swallows feeding over the harvested fields.

A few orioles are still singing/calling but turtle doves seem to have gone quiet over the last few days.

I saw four stone curlews on the plains this morning so it seems as though they bred successfully. Another one or perhaps two were calling from a few hundred yards away.

Things are pretty quiet on the raptor front but a male montague's harrier was hunting on the plains yesterday. And I came across a recently killed and plucked wood pigeon on the GR36 yesterday. It's carcass was headless and surrounded by a snowstorm of white feathers suggesting a peregrine kill but perhaps a goshawk or even a sparrowhawk ould have been responsible.

The pond at La Poterie is almost dry but a few young moorhen are hanging on in there. One of the commune's mallards is sitting on eggs outside our front door. I hope some rain arrives before the ducklings do.

back again

A week's absence from Charente while I did some work in the centre of Manchester provided few birding opportunities but I did see kingfishers just by the hotel and surprisingly managed to add a couple of birds to my year list with goldcrest and tree creeper--as opposed to the short-toed species which is found here. Swifts were also in evidence but I have seen none since arriving back in Charente.

It's a coolish 20C today but I gather it has been very hot over the last week and everywhere is beginning to look a little parched.

I had a fleeting view of a common redstart in the garden today and saw a sparrowhawk being mobbed by house martins above Mansle yesterday evening but I've yet to do any serious birding..... I might not be doing too much for the next few days either as Stella and I are getting married in St Amant on Monday!

Perhaps a better pic

This is the St Angeau Little Owl

some relief from the sun

I've not seen a swift for a few days so perhaps they have finally gone.

Hot weather is not very conducive to birding and it is refreshing to get some rain and a temperature drop today. During the last very hot week I have mainly been out and about in the early morning or late evening and on Sunday I saw one, and heard perhaps another two, stone curlews at about 10.30 pm on the Lairiere plains. The number of quail which were calling was in double figures.

The little owl was showing well at Le Chatenet today and probably enjoying the light rain.

I became a grandad for the first time today but I hope it doesn't slow me down.

Back in The Charente

Well it's good to be back in spacious Charente after a month or so spent largely at a desk on the Isle of Wight.

While I was away, Stella managed to see a little bustard close to Bresdon on the border with Charente Maritime so this dwindling species has not quite disappeared from the departement.

I've had no such look since I've been back but there there seem to be plenty of other species about so here's a quick update.

I have managed to catch up on three new species for 2010:

I saw 2 little owls on the same morning, one behind St Angeau church and another at Le Chatenet.

A lesser spotted woodpecker was in the Bonnieure valley and a female red backed shrike was near La Ta Tache.

A solitary black headed gull flew southward on Wed, an unusual sight for this time of year.

Orioles are still in abundance.

A pair of woodlark seemed to have a nest in the Bonnieure valley judging by the noise they made

A spotted flycatcher was also there.

Swifts and turtle doves are very much in evidence, preparing for the return migration.

Several black kite and at least one red kite were together above recently harvested fields near Aigre.

Harriers seem sparse and I heard only one quail on the Lairiere plains yesterday.

A green woodpecker is visiting the garden.

Melodious warblers are noisily everywhere.

last full day for a bit

I'm off to the UK for a month or so and so there will be no live news from Charente. I'm sure the birds will keep doing their business without me though.

Today I watched a crow chase off a black kite that was passing over the house.

I've seen quite a few swifts seemingly heading south over the past few days. They are possibly none breeders which are already doing the return migration-or just swifts which are a bit fed up with this summer's weather.

Flycatcherd

The curious weather continues with lots of cloud cover and some rain But I managed to get in a bike ride over the plains this morning. A pair of hen harriers were circling together andIi had very close views of what was probably a different male some time later. One or two quail were calling. There was no sign of the stone curlew but their field which I had taken to be a sunflower one has grown quickly into quite high maize--so much for my farming knowledge.

I heard my first cuckoo for about a week as they seemed to have stopped calling but Irv tells me this isn't so in Charente Maritime. A singing woodlark near La Tache was the first I had heard for some time.

Near home, I watched a family of nuthatches. In fact quite a few birds seemed to be out in family groups today.

Lunch at La Chapelle wasn't meant to be a birding occasion but it surprisingly produced 3 new species for the year. A pair of spotted flycatchers were feeding by the Charente river, a kingfisher appeared on a few occasions and I had a brief view of a lesser spotted woodpecker.

In all, 45 species were recorded today---but no robin or dunnock!

New stone curlew

A 7am bike ride allowed me to almost beat the promised storm but I got wet just ten minutes from home. The black clouds and the lightning which were coming in from the west were very menacing but impressive and I obviously dallied two long while watching them.

I unintentionally flushed a stone curlew form close to the farm track near Chatenet. As with the Lairiere birds, it was in a sunflower field. A pair of corn buntings were very noisy nearby. I think I must have been close to their nest. I saw another pair later near Lairiere.

My friend Irv reports seeing a very large flock of black kites --perhaps 50--- circling above a vineyard in the east of the department .

the sun's back---for a bit at least

Well what a miserable last week in May that was; wet and cold. On the first day of June we still had to light the fire.

But today started to warm up and encouraged me to go for an early morning bike ride around the beautiful Bonnieure valley. i saw over forty species and the most interesting were:

A single cattle egret, appropriately in a field with two cows. This species is not very common around here and usually encountered on migration.

A marsh tit. Again, not often seen or heard around here but I have come across them before in the same wood near St Angeau and also in the Braconne forest.

A dunnock. Surprisingly, this common bird seems to make itself very scarce in the immediate vicinity and rarely visit my garden for instance.

A family party of at least 9 long-tailed tits.

Several house martins which were sat in the road in St Angeau, collecting mud for their nests.

I don't know if great spotted woodpeckers include cherries in their diet but one of them seems to be spending an inordinate amount of time in my cherry trees. As with all the other fruit trees, the crop seems to be especially good this year.

Apart from the birds, I watched a pair of martens at close quarters. This unpopular mammal is nevertheless very attractive to look at, almost teddy bear like with its chestnut fur and striking white V on its chest. They were unaware of my presence as they crawled around the lower part of a large chestnut tree. I was alerted to their presence by a harsh, jay-like call which I had not heard before.

More Nightjars

Another late evening trip to the forest on Friday, 29th gave us the pleasure of listening to several close nightjars calling and churring. Despite their proximity and the clear sky, we saw only one as it flew close to us, responding perhaps to some handclaps that we made to simulate the noise that that they occasionally make with their wings.

As with the last visit, a distant tawny owl was heard. and on the way there we caught a glimpse of a brown owl sat on a road sign at Puyclavaud. It was probably a little owl but that was difficult to tell for certain at 90kph.

We failed to locate the stone curlews in their usual field on a short trip to the plains early on Sat.

The weather has been pretty miserable ever since then so birding is on hold. The kestrels are still on the gable end though.

7am in the forest

Among the the more interesting birds on an early morning visit to the forest on the 25th were three tree pipits, three or four golden orioles, including one male chasing another out of his territory, a short-toed treecreeper and a calling nuthatch.

nightjars

The nightjars referred to in the last post were again in the St Mary/Cellefrouin Forest.

At 10pm five or six birds were churring within a small area and I watched two of them doing their wing clapping display. The sky was completely clear and it was almost a full moon. Even at this late hour, a cuckoo was calling and a tawny owl hooted in the distance.

How many species in a day?

No black woodpecker on the Son-Sonnette this morning (May 24th) but quite a few other birds:-

chaffinch, blue tit, great tit , long tailed tit, golden oriole, cuckoo, blackbird, crow, goldfinch, turtle dove, nightingale, wood pigeon, blackcap, song thrush, collared dove, heron, firecrest, stonechat, swallow, mallard, yellowhammer, reed warbler, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, jay, magpie, white wagtail, robin, skylark, wren, cetti's warbler, melodious warbler, chiffchaff, whitethroat, cirl bunting and greenfinch. Later in the day were black redstart, moorhen, mistle thrush, buzzard, kestrel, house sparrow, starling, stone curlew, tawny owl, corn bunting and nightjar.

I make that almost 50 species, which shows what Charente can produce in a typical day (in May at least) despite its seemingly limited range of habitat. And there were quite a few common species missing today such as dunnock, swift, linnet, house martin, short toed tree creeper, nuthatch, any of the pipits, woodlark, grey wagtail, serin, hen and montagues harrier, sparrowhawk, hoopoe, kingfisher, common sandpiper, red legged partridge, pheasant, quail, crested lark, coot, reed bunting, barn owl, little owl, goldcrest, hawfinch, bullfinch, coal tit, marsh tit, rook and bonnelli's warbler.

So 75-80 species should be achievable in a day if some varied habitats are visited and you have a bit of luck---and I have not mentioned raptors such as black and red kite, short-toed eagle, hobby, honey buzzard and goshawk all of which are seen at this time of year from time to time.

In fact, a hard day's endeavour could pass the 100 species mark; perhaps I'll try it next year.

Good Bird Day

Decided to forgo the mid afternoon birding today so i got up with the larks --and there were a lot of them on the plains. The pair of stone curlews were feeding in the same sunflower field but no sign of little bustards alas.

I then went down to the Son-Sonnette near Ventouse . A big surprise was a black woodpecker flying through the poplars. I did not see it land but briefly saw it again some 20 minutes later, again flying through the trees so it is possibly that it has a territory there. I'll look again tomorrow.

This is only the third time that I have seen this elusive bird in Charente; the other two occasions were in the Braconne Forest and in a small area of woodland not far from Les Pins.

It's status in Charente is not too clear. The data from Charente Nature has it down as a possible breeder in the Braconne and a general spread westward from it's eastern strongholds in Europe has long been anticipated. It's obviously around though, if in small numbers, and is probably overlooked because of the scant birding coverage.

Also down at the Son-Sonnette were at least two cetti's warbler, several stonechat, a great spotted woodpecker, several golden orioles, a few mallard and lots of nightingales and blackcaps.

The glorious weather continues although it's forecast to break down in a couple of days. Mid afternoon is never the best time to go birding especially in hot sunshine but a walk near the Charente Maritime border around Bourcelaine yesterday produced a honey buzzard and a black kite. We saw another three of the latter in the course of the day.

Well the warm weather seems to have arrived--for a while at least. The downside of that is the number of outdoor jobs that I've had to catch up on. Birding, therefore, has been mainly around the house.

The kestrels are still very noisy on the gable end but I don't know exactly where they are nesting. I heard them screaming yesterday as I was working in the garden and I watched them see off a passing black kite. I saw another black kite on the way to Angouleme later in the day.

Yesterday evening I heard a quail calling from the uncut verge just outside the house and this evening at about 10pm, stone curlews were calling out there.

I went up to the Lairiere plains at about 7.30 on Wed and two stone curlews were openly walking about in a maize field. The crop was only a few inches high. A single male hen harrier was hunting and I saw at least ten hares including one group of seven.

Orioles and cuckoos are singing daily and I watched a young nightingale being fed in the garden today.

The moorhen on the village pond seem to have only two young this year. The water level seems low and I suspect it may dry up again this summer as it did last year. That was the first time that it had done so since 1976 according to my French neighbour.

Other nesting birds around the house are black redstart and blackbird. Greenfinch are around daily, feeding on what's left of the fat balls. They are noisy but I do not know if they are nesting. Great tit are perhaps nesting in a hole in the stable wall.

Cirl bunitng do not appear to be common at present but pair of firecrest were singing in the garden this afternoon.

A very interesting observation from a follower of this site was of a flock of about six bee-eaters near St Angeau this week. This is a species which I have yet to see in Charente.

Cool May

The weather still remains cool and unsettled for May. There's not much to report on the bird front. On Tuesday, the 11th we visited friends just over the border in Charente Maritime, near Bresdon. The landscape/habitat is very different there with extensive vineyards and very large arable fields with little forestry compared to much of Charente. Because of this, stone curlew ( or european thicknee as they are now re-named) and little bustard should be common and they probably are. The last little little bustard I saw was in this area last summer. Their decline in Charente seems to have been very rapid over recent years. Some ten years ago small flocks were not an uncommon sight on the Lairiere plains but the best that I could manage last year was a primary feather which I found up there. This indicates that at least one bird was still about but I suspect that more intensive farming and the disappearance of set-aside has made it very difficult for this large and spectacular bird to breed successfully. Stone curlews are still holding on but I have found only one pair this year (and last year for that matter.)

But back to the Charente Maritime. We saw one black kite on the way, near La Terne and a short toed eagle was flying near Bourcelaine. Large numbers of swifts and some swallows seemed to be passing through, suggesting that this year's rather slow migration still has some way to go.

Back at chez nous, the nightingale seems to have bred in the garden and is still singing from time to time and the kestrel family are noisy on the gable end. Cuckoos and orioles are still calling and I heard a scops owl near the house on Tuesday evening.

Pinail and Brenne

We took a trip up to the Pinail reserve north of Poitiers and then went east to have a look at The Brenne.

The weather is still unsettled but the afternoon was fine and warm. We went through a heavy thunder storm on the way back.

Pinail is an unusual area of heath bog which was formerly used for quarrying mill stones. It looks as though it should hold lots of dartford warblers but we didn't see any. There were at least three hobbies flying around catching the dragonflies. We also saw a pair of montagues harrier and two short-toed eagles, one of which soared very slowly over our heads giving the best views that I have had of this bird.

The Brenne had far more human visitors (there was nobody at Pinail) a good number of whom seemed to be English.

There were lots of whiskered terns and a few black ones, pochard , shoveler, tufted duck, gadwall, black necked grebe, little grebe, great crested grebe, great white egret, purple heron, cattle egret, great red warbler and black kite but virtually no waders on the lakes we looked at--just singles of wood sandpiper, common sandpiper and redshank plus a few lapwing.

nightjars

It's been pretty wet and cool today but it improved by late afternoon. While returning from Montignac at about 9 in the evening, we stopped to try to find a red-legged partridge which had flown into the windscreen. We didn't find it but a scops owl was calling from a nearby tree. This was the first I had heard in Charente for a long time. The call is often compared to that of a midwife toad which is quite common here but in fact it is much louder.

A little later we took a drive to St Mary's forest to see/hear if any nightjars had returned. There were two sitting in the road, caught in our headlights and we heard two more churring close to the road from St Mary.

Migrating cranes are a familiar sight in Charente. The usual pattern is a southward migration from late October and the return journey from Spain around mid February. The pattern has been rather erratic over recent years, however, and the main migration seems to have drifted a few weeks later at either end of the year.

Back to Charente birds.
This nuthatch was a regular visitor to the bird food which we put out last year

rock thrush in Pyrenees

This is still not the best of pics but it does give an idea of what a superb bird the male rock thrush is. They do occur in France but sadly not in Charente (yet)

May 7th

Rain and sun today but bonellis warbler were around in the Braconne forest in the afternoon and we watched one stone curlew, one crested lark and one male montagues harrier on the Lairiere plains. A quail was also calling there.

May 7th

Just a few extra bits on the Spanish trip. The weather was rather bizarre for early May with rain, high winds and even snow virtually everywhere in Spain--in fact it was the main national news item on TV throughout the time we were there.

The birding was ok though.:

Birds in NE Spain included bee-eater, roller, oriole, woodchat shrike, lesser kestrel, sardinian warbler, pallid swift, garganey, gadwall, little bittern, night heron, squacco heron, purple heron, whiskered tern, spotted sandpiper, glossy ibis, spotless starling, great reed warbler, red-rumped swallow, and wood sandpiper. Nightingales were particularly numerous and often out in the open; sometimes several could be viewed feeding on the ground at the same time.

Most of the The Hecho valley area has been outlined in a previous post but there were also several sightings of rock bunting and one calling scops owl.

May 7th

I'm still putting together the Spanish trip list which seems to amount to 117 species.but it's back to a rather damp Charente.

A trip to St Mary's forest yesterday produced a calling wood warbler and singing tree pipit and firecrest. Cuckoo and golden oriole were also singing/calling.

missing wallcreeper pic

Another pic of the wallcreeper

spain may 2010

Not the best of pics but you can make out that this is a male rock thrush

Spain May 2010

Patience was rewarded by thiswallcreeper at the Bocco d'Infernio in the Hecho valley, Aragon, Spain . The next day we had good views a pair of bearded vultures further up the valley. They eventually settled on a ledge and proceeded to preen each other.
It was stll snowing slightly at the top of the valley and very cold. A few passerines were feeding on any exposed grass and on the road itself. they included northern wheatear, whinchat,water pipit,black redstart, thekla lark and two superbly plumaged rock thrush. Griffon vulture were everywhere of course and up to three egyptian vultures were visible at a time including one sat close to the road in a meadow. Both kites were plentiful and there were several booted eagle an honey buzzard. Flocks of yellow billed choughs numbered hundreds and they seetled in the fields to feed and then wheeled around like a crowd of mosquitos. Red billed choughs occurred in much smaller groups. We saw only one citril finch and no alpine accentors.

May 1st

Back from Ile d'Oleron late yesterday. Birds there were not so plentiful as they might have been considering the available habitat, especially marsh. We managed almost 100 species though. The highlights were: an osprey, washing itself on the shoreline, a single tawny pipit, a wood sandpiper, 20 or so avocets, plenty of marsh harrier and black winged stilts and scops owl calling each night near the villa we had rented.

Off to northern Spain later today. The weather forecast is not too good but birds should be plentiful.

April 23rd

A coolish and cloudy start to the day but it warmed up by midday. This is the last Charente blog for a few days as we are off to Ile d'Oleron tomorrow.

An early evening visit to the plains produced my first purring turtle dove of the year. A corn bunting was singing and a male hen harrier was patrolling the fields. I watched a pair of grey partridge by the roadside near La Tache and a pair of mistle thrushes flew over.

I had a slightly spooky hour at dusk in St Mary's forest. Several red deer were barking loudly and crashing through the undergrowth. I heard bullfinch and yellowhammer and a pair of hawfinches which I flushed from a conife,r perched on the skyline looking, as always, head-heavy like small parrots. These were the first that I have seen this year.

April 22nd

Not too much time for birding today as Irv and I have been cutting up the huge fallen oak which crushed my shed some weeks back. It's been a warm but partly cloudy day with much needed rain in the evening.

Midday in St Mary's forest failed to produce any bullfinches or tree pipits but the wood warbler was showing and singing well.

3 swifts flew over Puyreaux dechetterie, screaming loudly as they seemingly chased each other.

2 hoopoes were feeding on the lawn this afternoon and the nightingale continued to sing all day despite the chain saw noise going on around it.

21st April

Another coolish start and then a very hot afternoon.

St Mary's forest provided the bullfinches again, this time a pair carrying nesting material. One tree pipit--not singing --and one yellowhammer were the first of the year for these species.

Cettis and grey wagtail were the only birds of note on the Son-Sonnette

The Bandiat held nothing except for the first singing melodious warbler of the year.

Planes are flying again and while noting the vapour trails, my attention was drawn by eagle-eyed, non-birding Stella to a very high flying raptor which was difficult to positively identify through binoculars but seemed to be a griffon vulture. I saw three at a lower altitude above St Mary's forest last May. From where?

My first swift of the year flew high over the house. Swallows are still rather thin on the ground--or rather in the air--- but there was a notable small passage of south-flying birds today.

A hoopoe was on the lawn today, always a welcome sight. A pair of kestrels seem to be nesting on the gable end of the house.

20th April

A cool, cloudy start today but up to 26C in the afternoon.

Nothing on Lairiere plains in the morning except for a female hen harrier which was being pestered by crows as it sat on the ground. A golden oriole was calling in the distance near La Tache.

St Mary's forest was more rewarding later in the morning. Lots of cuckoos calling, perhaps as many as 6. Two pair of bullfinch were together in a tree and showing themselves very well.

In exactly the same area of the forest where I had located them in previous springs, 2 woodlark were singing.

Whitethroat and blackcap were plentiful and there were a few chiffchaffs, long tailed tits and firecrests.

I watched a pair of treecreeper which prseumably were short toed but they were very cleanly white below without the usual buffish flanks. I did not hear them call.

Butterflies were vittually absent but a marten walked across the road in front of me.

Monday 19th

Hot and sunny again but some cloud in the afternoon.

Had a look at the Son-Sonnette near Valence hoping that some wetland warblers might be about but nothing other than several cettis and lots of blackcaps and nightingales. A firecrest was in the conifers.

Hoopoe and cuckoo calling at the house and woodlark still singing there.

Sunday 18th April

The weekend has seen the cool wind virtually disappear so that it has been very warm--- 26C on Sunday.

A trip to the Braconne forest near Jauldes on the 17th produced several singing bonellis warblers in a small area and a singing firecrest. There were also large numbers of scarce swallowtail butterflies.

On the evening of Sunday the 18th, 2 stonecurlew were sat on the Lairiere plains and a pair of merlin were hunting. One corn bunting was singing.

Earlier in the day a black kite flew over Mansle.

Nightingales, cuckoos and willow warblers seem to be singing everywhere.

Friday 16th April

Once again it's sunny and warm but with a cooling NE wind. The sky is especially clear as there are no con-trails above Charente as a result of the Iceland volcano.

My first house martin of the year flew over today. The nightingale,blackcap,willow warbler and woodlark are all still singing around the garden and a cuckoo was in the distance.

A possible short toed eagle flew high above the house--but I was busy sawing a tree and too far from my binoculars.

A brief trip to the Bandiat produced nothing except at least one female ring ouzel and a few swallows. The flooding is now virtually over.

The weather pattern continues: warm and mainly sunny but with a cooling NE wind.

The Bandiat's floodwaters have now almost disappeared but there were still 5 green sandpiper and one greenshank present together with 3 moorhen. Blue headed wagtail numbers were down to about 10 and there was no sign of the ouzels.

A very bright male common redstart was the first for the year and several whitethroat were present.

A male wheatear perched obliging on the stable roof at the house and the woodlark was still singing there.

A swift was reported at Montignac with the swallows.

Mainly sunny today and a bit hotter.

A hoopoe was around the garden as was my first goldcrest of the year, and willow warblers and woodlark were still singing there.

Other birds in the garden or seen/heard from chez nous were:

cuckoo, nightingale, blackcap, cirl bunting, swallow, moorhen, robin, starling, blackbird, wren, song thrush, blue tit, great tit, chaffinch, greenfinch, house sparrow, wood pigeon, crow, jay, skylark, magpie black redstart. Not a great list but then I wasn't looking particularly hard.

A trip to the Bandiat produced 5 greenshank (which interestingly were on the south side of the bridge, an area which usually holds little despite having more extensive flooding) A green sandpiper was with them. The flooding on the north/Agris side has almost dried up but it did hold one green sandpiper.

More interesting were the 20 or so yellow wagtails, most of them, blue-headed, which were feeding on what was left of the mud. While scanning them I came across a pair of ring ouzel. These are only the 3rd and 4th which I have seen in Charente. The previous ones were also in the Bandiat/ Braconne area which suggests that this is a regular migration route.

The cattle farm near Agris also had several blue-headed wagtails on show.

Tuesday April 13th

The weather is still mainly sunny with highs around 20 but the wind is a cooling factor from the north.

Yesterday, willow warbler,woodlark, nightingale, blackcap and black redstart were all singing in the garden.

Today a brief trip to the Bandiat produced 4 greenshank, 2 common sandpiper and one green sandpiper despite the low water levels. There were also 2 blue-headed wagtails and 2 water pipit there along with 2 whitethroat, 2 song thrush and several chiffs and blackcap. The only hirundines wete a few swallows. The only wildfowl were 3 mallard and a moorhen.

A car-crossing of the Lairiere plains produced nothing of note but the 1st wheatear (male) of the year was in the fields opposite the house.

3 siskin were an unusual sight in the village.

April 8/9

Migration still seems slow. Nothing but swallows at the Bandiat on 8th---except for the very rare sighting of a French birder.

Water levels are dropping and there is little flooding of the Tardoire at Fougere and no birds to report.

There's a bit more water at the Bandiat and 2 sand martins were there on the 9th along with 1 snipe and 1 green sandpiper. 11 mallards were flying around but no sign of garganey, a species which has occurred there in small numbers over the last few years ( except 2009)

Nightingales were singing and I saw my first whitethroat of the year.

Spring Migration 2007

Here's the first of what I hope will be a brief data-base of bird sightings in the departmente of Charente, France.

Tues April 7

Bandiat--Agris

white stork. 3 circling at pont d'Agris

black kite 2

green sandpiper 1

water pipit 1

nightingale 1

cuckoo 1

little grebe 1

Tardoire--Fougere

green sandpiper 3

common sandpiper 1

Jauldes

stone curlew 1

corn bunting 1

serin 1