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.
What an amazing day out. Our garden seems to be over run with sparrows and the odd dunnock, but the normal number of blue tits, great tits and green finches seem to have gone AWOL.
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